Re: Logic Gates in SVG format for Dia

[Lars Clausen <lrclause cs uiuc edu>]

On 27 Nov 2003, Alan Horkan wrote:
>
> On Thu, 27 Nov 2003, Cyril Chevrot wrote:
>
>> Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2003 01:59:11 +0100 (CET) From: Cyril Chevrot
>> <chevrot@altern.org> To: Dia ML <dia-list@gnome.org> Cc: Alan Horkan
>> <horkana@maths.tcd.ie>, Lars Clausen <lrclause@cs.uiuc.edu> Subject: Re:
>> Logic Gates in SVG format for Dia
>
>
>> First of all, I have created a new site where I have put all my shapes:
>> http://mapage.noos.fr/chevrot
>
>>> Dia has a feature to Flip shapes vertically and horizontally but it is
>>> hidden away in the context menu and needs to be promoted to the Object
>>> menu (even if it currenly only works for SVG based shapes, it doesn't
>>> belong in the context menu).  I assume you were unaware of it and that
>>> is why you created shapes for 4 directions rather than just 2.
>>
>> Quite frankly, I had been aware of that after the beginning but before
>> the end of my work. So because it remains few logic gates I have also
>> created the last gates in all positions.
>>
>> But, don't worry, you can delete the redundant gates.
>>
>> Now, I don't understand why this functionality is so hidden.
>
> Neither do I.
>
> The explanation I was given was roughly that because it only works on SVG
> based shapes (and not the programmed objects like UML) that is should be
> in the context menu rather than the object menu.  I see that as a fault
> in the programmed shapes,

I see the fault in the fact that we don't have rotation and flipping as a
general thing for all shapes.  It's not something the shape itself really
should have to worry about, it's something that should be at toolbox
level.  I'm thinking by now that the best way is to have a
rotate/flip/scale mode that is separate from the 'normal' modify mode.  I
don't think some in-diagram handles for rotation would work well, the
objects would just be overloaded with handles.

> I'd like to see much more of the programmed
> shapes done in SVG and I have a vague theory they could be simplified a
> bit by replacing their visual representation could be with an SVG shape
> file and saving the progamming work only for the absolutely necessary
> bits.

I have a fairly strong theory that that's not possible without either
crippling the objects fatally or making the SVG markup generic beyond
usability.  But we've discussed that.

-Lars

-- 
Lars Clausen (http://shasta.cs.uiuc.edu/~lrclause)| HĂ„rdgrim 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?