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I think the vector based UI should be on the list somewhere. Really smart solution to the HiDPI problem that gives you easy arbitrary scaling without any awkwar
by asddubs 5y ago
I think the vector based UI should be on the list somewhere. Really smart solution to the HiDPI problem that gives you easy arbitrary scaling without any awkwardness
- joshspankit 5y agoI genuinely have no idea why vector-based UIs have not become common already in at least one of the major OSs’
- phyrex 5y agoIIRC macOS’ GUI is using PDF (or postscript?) as it’s top layer
- native_samples 5y agoThey have, no? GNOME/KDE have supported SVG icons for years, the themes are usually vector based. I don't think there are necessarily many bitmaps in a default modern GNOME install. For macOS the reason is simple and deliberate: it's much easier for artists to make beautiful icons as bitmaps. They can use Photoshop and not just vector editors. Given that screen resolutions increase at a somewhat slow and predictable pace it means they can just redraw icons at higher resolutions from time to time to keep up with their hardware changes. They like to change art styles anyway.
- asddubs 5y agoWell, they don't have it in such a way that things are arbitrarily scaleable (although things are slowly moving in that direction). If you look at the demo video you can see the entire GUI scale right up and down in real time
- pmarreck 5y agoYou can store anything painted on a computer in a vector format and just rasterize it at will, no?
- joshspankit 5y agoYou definitely can
- pmarreck 5y agoLike, I almost want to say that vector should be the native format for anything created on a computer, even in "paint" programs (which might for example cache a rasterized version too)
- joshspankit 5y agoAgreed whole-heartedly
- layer8 5y agoLow-resolution monitors and laptops remain widespread [0], and vector-based UI just doesn't look that good on those (either blurry or misaligned). I'm doubtful that HiDPI will become the mainstream standard anytime soon outside of smartphones and tablets (small screens). Cost increases quadratically with screen resolution as a function of production yield, so low-DPI hardware is likely to remain the cheaper option that many people will continue to choose. [0] See for example: https://www.amazon.com/bestsellers/electronics/1292115011 https://www.amazon.com/bestsellers/electronics/1292115011 https://www.amazon.com/bestsellers/electronics/565108/ https://www.amazon.com/bestsellers/electronics/565108/
- joshspankit 5y ago> vector-based UI just doesn't look that good on those Counterargument: Fonts are vectors, and with sub-pixel hinting they can look pretty good on low-DPI monitors
- cardiffspaceman 5y ago> > vector-based UI just doesn't look that good on those > Counterargument: Fonts are vectors, and with sub-pixel hinting they can look pretty good on low-DPI monitors Ah, but I feel safe in saying, no one puts hints in nor uses hinting in the rendering of anything to do with folders and the like in a GUI. The fact that autohinting exists doesn't mean that is easy to do.
- joshspankit 5y agoAgreed that it’s a safe thing to say, but there’s nothing stopping an OS from putting in the work to do that, and therefore allow them to have a single vector-based UI for Low and Hi DPI screens.
- layer8 5y agoRight, but e.g. SVG doesn’t support hinting AFAIK. Also, realistically nobody is willing to do the work to add hinting to vector icons. Fonts with good low-res hinting have already gotten rare. I suspect that we’ll continue to live in a world where the UI is neither optimal for HiDPI nor (any more) for low DPI, while really high DPI (e.g. over 200 DPI on desktop monitors), which would enable going full vector without detriment, will rather remain the exception than becoming the rule.
- nitrogen 5y agoWeren't both X11 and Windows originally vector-based (as in drawn using lines, rects, and fills) UIs, but everyone moved to pixmaps because the X11 protocol didn't support anything remotely SVG-like and client-side drawing was faster?