Re: [zzdev] Re: [zzdev] Raster renaming

[Benjamin Fallenstein <b.fallenstein@xxxxxx>]

Tuomas Lukka wrote:
> > I had to check a dictionary to be sure "raster" is not a right name for
> > every raster - after all, English isn't my native language. But
> > 'visualization' is quite a long word, and it if something is a word
> > with wide meaning; every time we make something visual it's
> > visualization, right?
> >
> > 'Projection' is a word that describes the operation more accurately - we
> > project the multidimensional space to three or two dimensions, also, we
> > "display outwardly especially to an audience." (Webster)
> >
> > Another, not so fancy, choise is derived from the fact that we have
> > several views that take their visualization type from a predefined set
> > of these types. The items in the set are the different 'view types'
> > availabe.
> 
> All those words have lots of syllables but we are going to need them
> often.
> 
> How about Vizn? Or just view? View has the problem that a window is a
> view as well - an instance, rather than the class.

I think projection is *great*. It brings overhead projectors and the
like to mind, refering to the PROJECTION these things throw on the wall.
And this comes quite close to the ZZ stuff. Three syllables usually
aren't much of a problem, either: computer has them, or radio, or
Saturday, or Internet, or tomato, all of which seem to be used pretty
often. :) Bigger problem is the length of the word, as we have to use it
in the code; but it's still not that bad.

If you *have* to use the other: I think Viz is cooler than Vizn, because
it's so near to a Wiz(ard) of the classical computer world, but still
has a more elegant outlook. *g* Vizn is pronounced like "vision;" which,
I would say, is a better choice, because it carries the meaning much
more direct. But the "projection" has the better conotations, IMO.
(Vision makes me think of prophecies.)

And a view is not an instance of a rasterthingy, because you can change
the raster and still have the same view. A view currently fulfills the
functions of: a rectangle on the screen, a dimension list, a cursor
cargoer, something a flob and a canvas raster is associated with,
something with key bindings, with associated marks in the structure, a
background color, and a switch to let said background color show the
color of the cursor carried by said cursor cargo cell. A bit more than
just a raster instance. :) Which is just one more reason not to confuse
the two.

So, I'm very much for projection; not because of its mathematical
meaning (which will be quite eerie to most non-math people, except maybe
painters), although it's great that's there, too. But we're all familiar
with the notion of projection (a projector projecting something), if
only from cinema.

- Benja