Smalltalk › Squeak › Squeak - Dev

What was the idea behind the colorful windows?

_‹ Previous Topic Next Topic _›

Classic

List

Threaded

6 messages Options

Helene Bilbo

What was the idea behind the colorful windows?

Hi,
i heard in some esug video that there had beed an idea and a system behind the colorful windows. Is there some place where i can find information about it? (i like the colors :)
best regards, Helene.

Göran Krampe

Re: What was the idea behind the colorful windows?

On 02/20/2011 07:02 PM, Helene Bilbo wrote:
>
> Hi,
> i heard in some esug video that there had beed an idea and a system behind
> the colorful windows. Is there some place where i can find information about
> it? (i like the colors :)
> best regards, Helene.

Not sure if it was an idea behind it but one obvious advantage of having
different kinds of tools use different colors is that it makes it much
easier finding them when you have a whole stack of overlapping windows
to dig around in - (which btw is a very common Smalltalk "disease" since
we have too many shortcuts that spawn new windows). For example,
something pink sticking out there? Aha, a debugger.

regards, Göran

Helene Bilbo

Re: What was the idea behind the colorful windows?

> i heard in some esug video that there had beed an idea and a system behind
> the colorful windows. Is there some place where i can find information about
> it?

Not sure if it was an idea behind it but one obvious advantage of having
different kinds of tools use different colors is that it makes it much
easier finding them when you have a whole stack of overlapping windows
to dig around in - (which btw is a very common Smalltalk "disease" since
we have too many shortcuts that spawn new windows). For example,
something pink sticking out there? Aha, a debugger.

yes, of course. i meant to ask, if certain colors do have specific meanings?

Frank Shearar

Re: What was the idea behind the colorful windows?

On 2011/02/21 07:53, Helene Bilbo wrote:

>
>> i heard in some esug video that there had beed an idea and a system behind
>> the colorful windows. Is there some place where i can find information
>> about
>> it?
>
> Not sure if it was an idea behind it but one obvious advantage of having
> different kinds of tools use different colors is that it makes it much
> easier finding them when you have a whole stack of overlapping windows
> to dig around in - (which btw is a very common Smalltalk "disease" since
> we have too many shortcuts that spawn new windows). For example,
> something pink sticking out there? Aha, a debugger.
>
>
> yes, of course. i meant to ask, if certain colors do have specific meanings?

What I really like is the reminder of what the colours mean in the tools
menu: green for browsers, pink for debuggers, orange for transcript
screens, etc.

frank

hernanmd

Re: What was the idea behind the colorful windows?

2011/2/21 Frank Shearar <[hidden email]>:

> On 2011/02/21 07:53, Helene Bilbo wrote:
>>
>>> i heard in some esug video that there had beed an idea and a system
>>> behind
>>> the colorful windows. Is there some place where i can find information
>>> about
>>> it?
>>
>> Not sure if it was an idea behind it but one obvious advantage of having
>> different kinds of tools use different colors is that it makes it much
>> easier finding them when you have a whole stack of overlapping windows
>> to dig around in - (which btw is a very common Smalltalk "disease" since
>> we have too many shortcuts that spawn new windows). For example,
>> something pink sticking out there? Aha, a debugger.
>>
>>
>> yes, of course. i meant to ask, if certain colors do have specific
>> meanings?
>
> What I really like is the reminder of what the colours mean in the tools
> menu: green for browsers, pink for debuggers, orange for transcript screens,
> etc.
>
> frank
>
>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_theory

Hernán

Dan Ingalls

Re: What was the idea behind the colorful windows?

In reply to this post by Helene Bilbo

Hi Bert, and all -

Yes, the rationale behind different colors had to do with different functions in a busy screen, especially useful for partially obscured or collapsed windows. I found this important as a developer, but I never dreamed of inflicting the panoply on end-users.

With regard to the choice of colors, I did not attach any great significance to it except the obvious red for errors and, by association, the debugger. In choosing green for the browser I think I was thinking of the pale green used for some graph paper; I didn't want anything too contrasty (after having tried that for a while). And the workspace color was an allusion to parchment for useful notes; I recall the first post-its being yellow too.

The shades are not the best (someone once mentioned Necco Wafers). I know they replulse some people, but they have always been changeable. All that nice ability to change "themes" was put in by other people. I can only take credit for making things bad enough that the community came forth with the necessary improvements ;-).

- Dan
--------------------------------------

>Hi Dan,
>
>were the colors just random, or do you remember picking e.g. the browser's green consciously?
>
>- Bert -
>
>Begin forwarded message:
>
>> From: Helene Bilbo <[hidden email]>
>> Date: 20. Februar 2011 23:53:56 GMT-08:00
> > To: [hidden email]
>> Subject: [squeak-dev] Re: What was the idea behind the colorful windows?
>> Reply-To: The general-purpose Squeak developers list <[hidden email]>
>>
>>>
>>>> i heard in some esug video that there had beed an idea and a system behind
>>>> the colorful windows. Is there some place where i can find information
>>>> about
>>>> it?
>>>
>>> Not sure if it was an idea behind it but one obvious advantage of having
>>> different kinds of tools use different colors is that it makes it much
>>> easier finding them when you have a whole stack of overlapping windows
>>> to dig around in - (which btw is a very common Smalltalk "disease" since
>>> we have too many shortcuts that spawn new windows). For example,
>>> something pink sticking out there? Aha, a debugger.
>>>
>> yes, of course. i meant to ask, if certain colors do have specific meanings?
>> --
>> View this message in context: http://forum.world.st/What-was-the-idea-behind-the-colorful-windows-tp3315326p3316923.html
>> Sent from the Squeak - Dev mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
>>