On Sat, 16 Dec 2006, Bill Wohler wrote: > Date: Sat, 16 Dec 2006 09:29:10 -0800 > From: Bill Wohler <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: [email protected] > Subject: [Usability] Java Look and Feel Design Guidelines vs the HIG
I'm hesitant to answer this question at all but I am doing so to ensure you get do get some response. > I'm embarking on a new project using Java/Swing which is expected to > run in a GNU/Linux environment. Now that Sun Microsystems have released their Java Runtime Enviroment under the GNU General Public License (GPL) I hope to see many more Java projects for Gnome. (Hopefully also more attention for existing projects and work to better integrate them with Gnome.) > I'm contemplating using the HIG Gnome Human Interface Guidelines http://developer.gnome.org/projects/gup/hig/ > instead of the JLFDG as I've always done (I could have guessed but I had to look it up, so I may as well provide the links) Java Look & Feel Design Guidelines (JLFDG) http://java.sun.com/products/jlf/ed2/book/HIGTOC.nf.html I expect you are already aware of the Java Desktop Integration Components (JDIC) https://jdic.dev.java.net/ > and using the GTK look and > feel rather than the default Swing look and feel. I'd be interested in > hearing your views on the pros and cons of both of these decisions. For the most part I would hope you could follow most parts of both guidelines without needing to reject the other. I'm not up to date with the Java guidelines but I'd be surprised if they were not a great deal more specific and detailed than the Gnome guidelines. Keep in mind the Gnome guidelines have quite different techincal constraints, GTK doesn't allow quite as many complicated user interface layouts as Java can do. The Gnome HIG doesn't go into great detail explaingin the reasoning behind various decisions and limitations so a Gnome program written entirely in Java could throw out new and interesting questions and possibilities. There may well be interesting things you can do that might not follow the letter of the Gnome HIG but fall within the spirit behind the guidelines. > Also, does that opinion change if the application is expected to run > on more than one platform (like Windows or Mac). Gtk applications developers increasingly want to integrate well on various platforms and avoid limiting themselves so a certain amount of variation is to be expected, although I would urge you to be cautious and keep your application internally consistent and avoid slavishly following platform guidelines if the cause too much divergance. (Makes learning and documenting harder, can make it harder for your Windows user to help answer the questions of your Mac users etc.) I would say of course keep an eye open to platform issues but put your own applications first. > One last question: Since the development of the JLFDG seems to be dead > and the HIG community seems quite active and contains Sun members, are > there any thoughts about deprecating the JLFDG in favor of the HIG at > some time in the future? To paraphrase Monty Python: Not dead, just resting. It is entirely possible the Java guidelines are progressing, only very slowly, like a glacier. In any case the communities are quite seperate and I doubt either would choose to deprecate their guidelines but efforts to improve compatibility would certainly be welcome. The involvement of Sun Microsystems as you mention has probably gone a long way already to help make the different guidelines complementary. Sincerely Alan Horkan http://advogato.org/person/AlanHorkan/ http://www.linkedin.com/in/alanhorkan http://alanhorkan.livejournal.com/ _______________________________________________ Usability mailing list [email protected] http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/usability
