Notes from "Async and representation"

[Mark Gaiser]

On Thu, Jan 16, 2014 at 12:59 PM, Sebastian Kügler <sebas at kde.org> wrote:
> On Wednesday, January 15, 2014 20:36:24 Mark Gaiser wrote:
>> On Wed, Jan 15, 2014 at 6:19 PM, Marco Martin <notmart at gmail.com> wrote:
>> > On Wednesday 15 January 2014 16:43:43 Mark Gaiser wrote:
>> >> As for the Applet name. Why that name? I'm making a plasmoid, right?
>> >> So name it as such:
>> >> Plasmoid {
>> >>
>> >>   ...
>> >>
>> >> }
>> >>
>> >> That is also easier to explain to a user:
>> >> "To create a plasmoid you have to create a root QML item named
>> >> Plasmoid { ... } which must contain the following properties ... bla
>> >> bla, you get the point."
>> >
>> > i would call it Plasmoid if i can merge it with the plasmoid object, that
>> > is now an object registered in the root context. i'm not sure it's
>> > possible, would like to tough.
>>
>> From my "relative outsider view" Plasmoid {} seems far more obvious
>> then Applet {} so if the plasma folks agree on that then i would go
>> for that.
>
> Applet is the API name for this, so it should be called Applet, cf.
> Plasma::Applet, which is what this really implements. Plasmoid is more like
> the package format we ship these things in.

I disagree with that.

Look at it from an outsider perspective. I am a relative outsider when
it comes to plasma.
If i want to make a QML application for plasma i would assume it's
called "plasmoid" since it's called like that in KDE and on kde-look
as well. If i would want to make one i would probably search for
something like "creating plasmoid in qml" or "plasmoid qml example".
Do you see the common word? I never ever even think of "applet" yet
somehow the root of a plasmoid object is... Applet {..}. This just
seems vague to me.

If you search for kde applets (on google) the very first link you get
is explaining plasmoids!
http://techbase.kde.org/Projects/Plasma/Plasmoids

Everything just leads me to think that it should be called "Plasmoid".
Applet seems vague to me.

So please, do thoroughly reconsider calling it Applet { .. }. If you
persist with Applet then you might as well call it "Widget". Since the
common name for this stuff is widgets [1] anyhow. It which even seems
to have a web standard nowadays [2]. And a real novice user that
doesn't know plasmoids "might" just know the term "widgets" since that
is more commonly used and would thus search for something like
"widgets for kde" which funnily enough brings you to plasma's
predecessor "superkaramba" [3] which even more funnily calls the
plasmoids "Plasma widgets" on that very same page.

<snip>
> The point of having minimum* in the Applet object is easy: it's the Item's
> size (as allowed by the containment) fits within minumum*, fullRepresentation
> is loaded and rendered (and parented to the surrounding Item, if not,
> compactRepresentation is used. Only one of them is loaded, reducing overhead
> in many cases.

Sorry, but i don't understand what you're trying to say here.
I've re-read your text at least a dozen times (seriously!).

What do you mean by: "it's (if) the Item's size (as allowed by the
containment) fits within minumum*"?
Please stick to the naming we're discussing here. Since now we're
using another name for the same thing: "item".. I'm getting really
confused right now!
- "as allowed by the containment" .. What do you mean?
- "if not"... I don't even get the first condition.

[1] http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/
[2] http://www.w3.org/TR/widgets/
[3] http://www.kde.org/applications/utilities/superkaramba/

>
>> Now i'm starting to like it since - to me - it now makes sense.
>> For those two representations. I would say that one must exist.
>> Neither is mandatory on it's own, but one must be there at all time.
>
> --
> sebas
>
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