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Re: [nebula-dev] Date submissions - Eric and Jeremy

Sure.  The focus of SWT is native so a native version of the control is first priority for SWT.  For example, WinCE and phone versions of SWT have long wanted this native widget.  However, the native version of the control might be somewhat less flexible for desktop applications or some types of programs.  For example, a native calendar widget is unlikely to provide fine control over how a day is drawn or allow you to draw your own adornments over top.  A program that was based around a calendar might find this too restrictive and have need of an emulated version.  Hence, the Nebula one.  Do you agree?



Jeremy Dowdall <jeremyd@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
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09/18/2006 04:02 PM

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Re: [nebula-dev] Date submissions - Eric and Jeremy





Steve,

Would you expand on this a bit?
How might a Nebula version compliment the SWT widget, and how would you
see it being a benefit to the overall Eclipse ecosystem in the short,
and long, term?

thanks

Steve Northover wrote:
>
> It is true that we have been looking at this widget for a while and it
> fell off the 3.2 plan.  Even if this widget makes it for 3.3, it might
> still be beneficial to have a Nebula version of this control.
>
>
>
> *Christopher J Gross <chris.gross@xxxxxxxxxx>*
> Sent by: nebula-dev-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxx
>
> 09/18/2006 02:56 PM
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>                  Re: [nebula-dev] Date submissions - Eric and Jeremy
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>                  
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>
> (Sorry for the late response, was on vacation last week)
>
> Thanks for the write-up Eric.  I've just now read that the main SWT team
> is planning on developing a date picker widget as part of 3.3.  This
> would make a Nebula date widget unnecessary.  One of the founding
> principles of the Nebula project is to augment SWT, but not to compete
> with it.  
>
> Perhaps one of the SWT guys who might be reading this could chime in and
> confirm this.  If so, it seems to make this whole discussion moot.
>
> Regards,
> -Chris
>
>
>
>
> *Eric Wuillai <eric@xxxxxxxxxx>*
> Sent by: nebula-dev-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxx
>
> 09/14/2006 06:05 PM
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>                  Re: [nebula-dev] Date submissions - Eric and Jeremy
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> Hi Chris, Jeremy,
>
> I passed a few hours to study Jeremy's implementation to try to find
> differences between our two submissions.
> I will try to give you my vision of the differences I have noticed.
> Jeremy, please correct me if I made mistakes. Complete me also if I
> missed something.
>
> First, I think that basically the calendar (CCalendar vs CDatePicker)
> and the combo (DateChooser vs CDatePickerCombo) have the same main
> features :
> - calendar : date selection, month navigation, locale support.
> - combo : controlled input of date values, with field navigation and
> support for different formats and locales.
>
> Differences on the technologies used
> ------------------------------------
> - Comp4SWT : Java 5.0 / Eclipse 3.1 (not tested on 3.0).
> - AspenCloud : Java 1.4 / Eclipse 3.2 (incompatible with 3.1, caused by
> the use of the Spinner widget).
>
> Differences between calendars
> -----------------------------
> CCalendar :
> - Implementation based only on basis SWT widgets : labels and buttons.
> - Colors customisation (header, days labels, day cells...), based on
> color themes, with 3 default themes provided and possibility to create
> new ones.
> - Possibility to set the font used.
> - A look that match more to this kind of control in other technologies
> (I know, it's subjective).
>
> CDatePicker :
> - The clock !!!
> - Direct selection of month and input of year.
> - Implementation based on custon widgets for days grid, navigation buttons.
> - "Go today" button.
>
> Differences between combos
> --------------------------
> I just test CDatePickerCombo with its snippet. Not with custom patterns,
> so can not say if exotic patterns are fully supported.
>
> DateChooser :
> - Date input in the Text widget is delegated to a FormattedText /
> DateFormatter. So it supports differents input and display patterns.
> - No support for the moment of long format for months input (month names
> with pattern MMM or MMMM).
> - Calendar used for input is in lenient mode. So the increment /
> decrement with arrows on a field has effect on the superior field.
> - Limited to date values (its not a DateTimeChooser ;-) But time and
> datetime input are supported by FormattedText with the corresponding
> formatters.
> - Button with an image, with the possibility to change the image used.
> - Possibility to set the font used, common to the text widget and the
> calendar.
>
> CDatePickerCombo :
> - Field selection does not allow to select the full content of the Text
> widget for copy / paste operations.
> - Possibility to use month names for input, limited to increment /
> decrement by the arrows. Input by keyboard is impossible.
> - Support time input.
> - Spinner
>
> Comp4SWT FormattedText
> ----------------------
> In complement, Comp4SWT has FormattedText with its formatters. And I
> think that is the main difference.
> FormattedText is a decorator based on the same principles that JFace
> viewers. It acts as a controller, delegating the formatting features to
> formatters (the model). This gives the possibility to associate
> formatters on a Text widget in function of values to edit. Formatters
> can be instanciated and passed in parameter of FormattedText. They can
> also be created automatically when a value is setted and no formatter
> has been provided. This is realized by a customizable factory.
> Text widget is created by the FormattedText, or can be passed in
> parameter. Then it is possible to use FormattedText in UI Forms.
>
> Formatters provided actually are :
> - DateTimeFormatter : date and time values. Support two patterns : one
> for input and one for display (when focus is outside the Text widget).
> - DateFormatter : extends DateTimeFormatter to limit patterns to date.
> - TimeFormatter : extends DateTimeFormatter to limit patterns to time.
> - NumberFormatter : Number values. Support too input and display patterns.
> - MaskFormatter : Mask input for strings, allowing to control the format
> of strings like phone numbers.
>
> FormattedText gives a consistent way to create forms with input and
> display formatting features for differents kinds of values. Formatters
> model is extendable and the factory allowes to replace default
> formatters for standard types, or add new ones.
>
> To end this comparison, I think that DateChooser and CDatePickerCombo
> have two differents and incompatible implementations of the text input.
> On the other hand, I think really possible to use, with a minimum
> effort, both calendars. It is also possible to extend DateChooser to
> support time pattern, with support of Jeremy's clock.
>
> Last, but not least, congratulations to Jeremy for the clock. It's
> really a good job!
>
> Regards,
>
> Eric
>
> Christopher J Gross a écrit :
>>
>> Hi Eric,
>> Hi Jeremy,
>>
>> I'm excited that more and more widgets being offered up to Nebula, but
>> I'm also a little concerned about the overlap.  Users who come to the
>> Nebula webpage will be confused if they are confronted with multiple
>> widgets of the same type.  I am not strictly against that, but if there
>> are multiple similar widgets I'd like to see them differentiate
>> themselves in some way.  The table widgets we have, all take somewhat
>> different approaches.  
>>
>> Can you guys let us know what differentiates the date widgets?  Why
>> would someone use one over the other?  If they are similar, could you
>> guys combine efforts?
>>
>> Regards,
>> -Chris
>>
>>
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