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Paint.net is another example of an application that reifies its actions with a nice 'history' window that shows the semantic actions that the user has performed
by kybernetikos 9y ago
Paint.net is another example of an application that reifies its actions with a nice 'history' window that shows the semantic actions that the user has performed and allows you to jump back to earlier points in your history of editing the file. GIMP does something similar, it seems particularly common in image editing programs.
- agumonkey 9y agoone day people will have DAG based programs where history has even less importance
- timthelion 9y agoI'm curios what you mean by this. I've been working on some software called textgraph [1] (not yet ready for use, and now internally renamed gradesta ) for a couple of years now, so anything with "graph" in it makes my ears perk up. [1] http://timothy.hobbs.cz/tg/tg.html http://timothy.hobbs.cz/tg/tg.html
- agumonkey 9y agothe paint.net stacked history is similar to what was used in 3D studio max in the 90s. It was "cool" but too linear (it's a stack after all). Other software like Houdini or Maya (or NR Shake) used DAG (acyclic graph) of operations to create an output scene/image. There the history isnt linear it's a bit of a multiverse, you can disconnect part of the graph, try new things, reconnect. Everything is there.
- icebraining 9y agoLike a modern version control system?
- agumonkey 9y agoIt's the same underlying structure, replace commit by different kinds of operations.
- SilasX 9y agoDitto for AutoCAD -- I loved seeing how the equivalent CLI command appeared in the log as I was using the GUI to draw.
- colllectorof 9y agoI was thinking about this just a few days ago. This seems like a much better way of teaching people shortcuts than a 20-page cheat-sheet or even "hints" in various menus. No UI clutter, no effort. The program just tells you how to do the same thing in another way. The more you do the "thing", the more likely you are to notice those tips and try out the shortcuts. I don't think Paint.NET or GIMP do quite what you've described though. They show a history of action, but they don't show commands.
- diggan 9y agoNow I don't have lots of experience with Blender, but I do remember that Blender when hovering a button shows the Title of the interaction, but also a description, shortcut AND the equivalent python code you can run in the terminal to achieve that action. That's pretty awesome. Here is a example: https://i.imgur.com/NNFruMx.jpg https://i.imgur.com/NNFruMx.jpg
- TeMPOraL 9y agoRelated: Emacs does that too. If you invoke a command through M-x that has a keyboard binding available, it will tell you about it in the minibuffer.
- evancox10 9y agoYou also see this in chip design EDA tools, at least the good ones. Not only will they record the equivalent CLI command that affects the "data", but some will also record the commands that solely affect the GUI! (e.g. resize window)
- int_19h 9y agoIt's a common technique for document-centric editors in general, because it's usually also the best way to implement multi-step undo. Once you have the steps recorded anyway for that purpose, surfacing them in UI is straightforward.
- seanmcdirmid 9y agoThat reminds me of more extreme work like Bret Victor’s drawing dynamic visualization demo, where drawing commands are reified and can be manipulated/abstracted in place. I saw Dan Ingals do this with some of his work, but can’t find a link ATM. https://vimeo.com/66085662 https://vimeo.com/66085662