Re: [PyX-devel] Re: [PyX-checkins] pyx/test/experimental brace.py,NONE,1.1

[Michael S. <m-s...@us...>]

Hello Jörg,

On 31.08.05, Joerg Lehmann wrote:
> On 31.08.05, Michael Schindler wrote:

> Looks amazing! But obviously, we do not yet have a place where one could
> put such stuff. Maybe it would maybe be more clear if brace were a path
> instead of having a path() method.

Oh, this can easily be changed -- it is of no importance.

> We could then create a new package
> (for instance "paths", but I'm sure there is a better name, "elements"
> also came to my mind) which contains only modules generating paths. In
> principle, already a simple circle or a line would belong there, but I'm
> not sure whether we want something like:
> 
>         paths.circle.circle(1, 2, 3)
>         paths.line.line(1, 2, 3, 4)
> 

>         paths.circle(1, 2, 3)
>         paths.line(1, 2, 3, 4)
> 
> Actually, I think this is not too bad, is it?

This is worth to be considered. But the geometry elements like line,
circle, rect,... are far more basic than a brace. A brace makes no
sense to me without aligning things to it. We have a similar problem
as with the boxes and the connectors:

Two points + orientation sign are sufficient to orient a brace.
Next, the brace yields one point + orientation vector for aligning
something to the brace (some text, some connectors, another brace?)
It should also be possible to align a brace the other way round:
one point + orientation vector --> Two points + orientation sign

The boxes, when I have understood André right, should orient
themselves relative to other boxes, too. Their orientation relative to
one point + orientation vector is already there.

The connectors, on the other hand, need more information than just
points. They only work if they also have some distance information
(for cuts at their ends), so I have chosen boxes (point + outline
path) to be the alignment base for the connectors.

So, when introducing braces in a geometry package we certainly should
derive them from a class that can align (boxes?)

When seen from their path capability the braces are rather like
decorators. One decorates something (a path, a box, ...) with a brace,
similar to the arrow heads.

> Btw, André, if we are about to split path anyway (in order to separate
> normpath out), we could also think about doing things like this at the
> same time.

What is then to remain in path? Only the pathels?

Michael.

-- 
"A mathematician is a device for turning coffee into theorems"
  Paul Erdös.