Re: Unit selection input

[Lars Clausen <lrclause cs uiuc edu>]

On Wed, 23 Jan 2002, Jason Maiorana wrote:

> 
>>Yeah, I am coming to the same conclusion myself.
>>Current units are: Feet, meter, decimeter, millimeter, point,
> centimeter,
>>inch.  Does anyone feel a strong need for things like yards, miles,
>>kilometers, pica, etc?
> 
> I would say so! Dia is slowly moving towards a point where it can be used
> for more cartography. If there where things like shapes (curved+line
> segments) with holes,

Bezierlines can do shapes (kinda), but not holes per se.

> a distance finder tool, 

That might be interesting also for other cases.

> and an object for compass, graticule, legend, and scale, it would be
> excellent for that.

These can just be new objects, no problem there.

> Alpha support, more layering control, a built-in sheet editor, and text
> along contours would make it near perfect.

Eeep!  Well, alpha would be cool, but probably slow things down.  Layering
control -- what in particular would you want more?  Sheet editor -- a cool
thing that's been mentioned before, but nobody's done.  Text along contours
is very difficult unless we get the freetype stuff going (and even then,
I'm not sure).

> also- dont forget user-defined units. And when printing- there should be
> a way to specify the mapping between real units and diagram units...

User-defined units.  For those who just *can't* live without light-years as
units:)  Yes, user-defined units is a cool idea, too.  I'll get the regular
units working first, though.

-Lars

-- 
Lars Clausen (http://shasta.cs.uiuc.edu/~lrclause)| Hårdgrim of Numenor
"I do not agree with a word that you say, but I   |----------------------------
will defend to the death your right to say it."   | Where are we going, and
    --Evelyn Beatrice Hall paraphrasing Voltaire  | what's with the handbasket?