Chandler v0.5 WxPython Dev't Task Planning

Draft 2.3

David Surovell

Chandler GUI Frameworks Engineer, OSA Foundation

19 January 2005

Task planning references

Specific dev't tasks

• Bold italicized items are currently in progress (29 Oct -> 13 Nov or thereabouts)
• (04-Nov-04) sidebar tasks are in flux due to ongoing design discussions

1. Calendar UI support
   • add OnClick conversion of text fields from static to editable (a la Apple's iCal)
   • improvements on current wxBitmap-based button implementation (high priority)
   • addition of column headers in Week, Day views
     • Issue: should this be a wxWidget or a part of the Calendar block functionality?
       • Mimi says "native GUI"; however, no suitable column header wxWidget exists
   • other features TBD
2. Summary view support
   • toolbar feature support
     • see Toolbar, Detail View specs
     • reorganization of v0.4 Summary and Detail view toolbars
     • changing toolbar implementation(s) to use wxListCntl with color icons (high priority)
       • see wxPython demo (Listbook) for example
   • view header UI feature implementations
     • coordinate with Jed B.
     • see Summary Table spec
     • initial approach: use owner-drawn items and 2 drawing methods - icon and text (high priority)
     • drafting plan for implementing wxWidget class to support native header controls
       • see Tabular Data UI Dev't Issues^? notes
3. Detail view support
   • add ComboBox-based implementation of "Participants" list (on hold, under review)
4. Sidebar view support
   • see Sidebar spec
   • Sidebar item definition
     • need to account for all possible fields within an individual sidebar item
       • coordinate with John A., Donn D., Bryan S.
     • need hit-test routine to determine item sub-feature target
     • need draw proc to support all valid item types
   • narrow scrollbar
5. General UI enhancements
   • improving tab appearance and other related visual behaviors (esp. on Mac) (high priority)
     • add icon and optional close box (a la Apple's Safari)
     • Question 1: is the v0.4 Summary view implementation based on wxNotebook?
     • Question 2: can wxMac-wxNotebook use a native tab control instead of the current Aqua "jelly bar"?
   • support for drop-down menus for "long" mouse-down in button
     • a la Mozilla "Back" button behavior
   • support for multiple selection colors
   • design/implement alpha channel tricks for new transparency UI polish
     • drop shadow selection adornment (a la Apple's iCal)
     • semi-transparent "lozenge" overlays (filleted rectangle with border and alpha)
     • toolbar icon "content-only" selection method (a la Thunderbird and other appls)
     • others TBD

General (ongoing) dev't tasks

1. bug fixing
   • Chandler-wxWidget boundary
   • wxWidget-internal
   • Win32 double-buffering support
     • test/debug against wxPythonDemo - bugs in print preview, list cntls, etc.
     • resolve possible wxListCntl interaction issue and post result to wx-dev list
     • others TBD
2. Wx process
   • assess wxWidget class implementation for impact during v0.5
     • wxNotebook, wxToolbar, wxListCtrl, wxTextCtrl, wxStaticText, wxGrid, wxScrolledWindow
   • get runtime symbolic debugging working on all 3 platforms
     • from within Chandler and/or wxWidgets sample apps
   • learn GTK/gdb/linux debugging and testing techniques
     • finish GTK env. setup
3. general text entry support
   • I expect ongoing work in this area because:
     • history of Chandler bugs
     • wxWidget's wxTextCntl implementation has weaknesses
       • additionally, it has an STL (Scintilla) and non-STL versions
   • smart text completion integration issues
4. planning and continued investigation
   • Unicode support
   • HTML support
5. Chandler - Wx integration
   • WxPython v2.5.3.x (now)
   • WxPython v2.6.0.x (early '05)
6. build process improvements
   • wx SWIG build integration 98% done
   • get "internal" tree builds into Tinderbox

Documentation tasks

1. overhaul current OSAF docs into "Wx Corner" wiki mini-site
2. write piece on learning wxPython/wxWidgets
3. compile OSAF-maintained patch list

Open issues

1. when can we stop considering (OSX-style) drawers?
   • currently under consideration for right-side Summary view
   • likely to be abandoned, due to lack of "public" support for drawers in general
2. Date/Time controls
   • need to have better Chandler requirements
   • need to investigate wxWidgets support for native vs. generic platform implementations
3. Drag and Drop support
   • bug fixes to shore up v0.4 implementation: Bug#2156, Bug#2158, Bug#2157 (maybe)
   • determination of new DnD requirements, by UI "area"
   • new UI requirements TBD
4. ComboBox appearance
   • should they always use lozenges or native appearance?
5. how does the Chandler toolbar appearance and usage models conform to UI Guidelines (esp. Windows)?
6. need smart text completion requirements docs
   • John A. has done previous work in this area, and should be consulted for data modelling insights