RFC: KDevelop4 icons, what do we want/need?

Jakob Petsovits jpetso at gmx.at
Tue Jan 30 18:52:30 UTC 2007


On Tuesday, 30. January 2007 19:16, Andreas Pakulat wrote:
> distclean exists at least for qmake projects too. configure could point
> to running cmake or even running ccmake in a terminal. qmake or custom
> makefile projects might have a configure script too.

You're right there. However, I'm asking myself if it's really necessary to 
create a separate icon for all these actions.

The current toolbar is already crowded. If you look at KDevelop 3.4, you won't 
see any of 'Run Configure', 'Run autotools', 'Install', 'Install (as root)' 
and 'Make Messages & Merge' somewhere else than in the menu, and rightly so.

Icons (from an application point of view) serve two purposes:
- enable the developers or users to put the action into the toolbar
- be able to quickly recognize important actions in the menu,
  telling them apart from less important (seldomly used) ones.

Imho, if an icon does not belong in the toolbar, and if it's not one of the 
more important actions, it should not get an icon.


So, here's my modified version.
I dropped 'run autotools', and I'd really like to also drop
'configure', 'distclean', 'install' and 'install (as root)'.
They're still in here for completeness's sake.

Note that this is a rework of the existing entries, I think we still need more 
(think of all the plugins, and the code completion icons), and I'll add them 
in the next few days.

Hope you like it,
  Jakob
-------------- next part --------------
This is a list of icons that are needed by KDevelop that are applicable to at
least IDE's in general (some have even wider application than that, e.g. the
sync-to-current-folder icon which is also used by at least Kate).

I don't know how many are 'on the list' already, but I didn't see the compile
group, so I'm guessing most of these are 'new'.

NOTE: items with '?' are lower priority (things that don't currently have icons
and may not need them). IMO 'project', 'sync to folder' and 'find in files'
should have highest priority since these are most likely to have wider use
(also the sync icon in KDE 3.5 is terrible :-)).

In fact, don't start on any of the '?' items yet, they may or may not go away
for KDevelop 4.

Items with '!' don't need to be drawn at all, we'll be using standard icons
for those.

- project management icons
    - 'project'
          Actually we don't use this icon, but it should be there nevertheless,
          as it's used as the base icon for the other 'project' related ones.
          Ideas: a simple window
    - 'new project'
          Ideas: 'project' with 'new' sparkle
    - 'open project'
          Ideas: 'project' with small folder overlayed
    ! 'subproject'
          No need for a separate icon, we'll just use the folder icon instead
    - 'target'
          Actually we don't use this icon, but it should be there nevertheless,
          as it's used as the base icon for the other 'project' related ones.
          A target is a collection of files that can be built independently,
          the entirety of all targets forms the whole project.
          Ideas: a target, like with bull's eye and stuff

- build icons
    - 'build project'
          Builds the project (e.g. 'make')
          Ideas: project icon (like in 'new/open project' with fat down arrow
                 at the lower center or lower right
    - 'build subproject'
          Builds the current subproject (e.g. 'cd subproject/; make')
          Ideas: like 'build project but with a 'subproject' (folder) icon
                 instead of the 'project' icon
    - 'build active target'
          Builds the 'active target' (e.g. 'make <target>')
          Ideas: like 'build project' but with a target instead of the
                 'project' icon
    ? 'compile file'
          Compiles a single file
          Ideas: like 'build project' but with a document (file) icon
                 instead of the 'project' icon
    - 'clean project'
          Deletes built files (e.g. 'make clean')
          Ideas: broom
    ? 'configure'
          Generates makefiles out of the high-level build information,
          so that the project can be built by a low-level build tool like 'make'
          Ideas: like 'build project' but with a screwdriver (or something else
                 hinting to 'preparation') instead of the 'project' icon
    ? 'distclean'
          Deletes maintainer-generated files, like the ones
          generated by 'configure' (e.g. 'make distclean')
          Ideas: broom over the 'configure' icon
    ? 'install'
          Copies the files to their final location
    ? 'install as root'
          Ideas: same as 'install' icon, but in a slightly different color,
                 red for example.

- debug icons
    ! 'execute', 'resume'
          No need for a separate icon, we'll use the media-playback-play icon instead
    ! 'interrupt'
          No need for a separate icon, we'll use the media-playback-pause icon instead
    ! 'stop'
          No need for a separate icon, we'll use the media-playback-stop icon instead
    ! 'restart'
          No need for a separate icon, we'll use the media-playlist-repeat icon instead
    ! 'run to cursor'
          continues execution until execution reaches the line where the cursor is
          Ideas: VCR-style forward (play pointing to bar)?
    - 'step'
          Executes one line of code, then stops
    - 'step instruction'
          Executes exactly one machine instruction, then stops
    - 'step out'
          Completes execution of the current function, stopping when the function
          returns
    - 'step over'
    - 'set next'
          Changes the instruction-pointer to the line of code under the cursor
    ! 'breakpoint'
          No need for a separate icon, we'll use the process-stop icon here
    - 'clear breakpoints'
          Ideas: a 'delete' cross or maybe a broom
                 over the 'breakpoint' (process-stop) icon

- misc icons
    - 'sync to folder'
          Used in places where the user selects a path to set the path to the
          'working directory' (usually the location of the active document)
          Ideas: folder with an arrow pointing into it, e.g.
                 http://lists.kde.org/?l=kde-artists&m=116889123829485&q=p3
    - 'find in files'
          Ideas: folder with magnifying glass, folder with binnoculars


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