[squeak-dev] Dependencies on Cursor

Chris Muller asqueaker at gmail.com
Wed Jun 26 00:48:59 UTC 2013


I can see how that could be annoying, and I've definitely measured a
performance difference in Magma apps when cursor flipping is on.  At
the same time, the amount of information conveyed by a sensitive
cursor is unequivocally useful, at times.

I think we'd need a user-preference to adjust the "sensitivity" of the
Cursor to application signals.  It could be specified in milliseconds;
0 for maximum sensitivity (all signals) or 1000 to wait 1 sec before
changing the cursor.

On Tue, Jun 25, 2013 at 2:58 PM, Nicolas Cellier
<nicolas.cellier.aka.nice at gmail.com> wrote:
> Ah yes, maybe it's some sort of useful warning: "beware of epileptic crisis"
> or something like that...
>
>
>
> 2013/6/25 Chris Muller <asqueaker at gmail.com>
>>
>> That's a somewhat self contradicting statement -- because:
>>
>>    "the cursor was blinking fast between these states read/write/hour
>> glass/normal"
>>
>> is chock full of information about the running program.  First, and
>> foremost, one would know the system is not locked up.  Indicating
>> reading vs. writing vs. processing is very useful with applications
>> that involve a lot of I/O, such as database or network applications.
>> By relating input actions to cursor status, the system can impart a
>> lot information about what it's doing.
>>
>> By contrast, the Cuis approach of indicating busy on a timer confirms
>> to the waiting user something they already know -- that they're
>> waiting.  It tells them that the built-in timer to switch the cursor
>> is working, but nothing else about what the system is or isn't doing.
>>
>> This should not be taken as a criticism of Cuis itself.  There's a lot
>> to like about Cuis.
>>
>> On Tue, Jun 25, 2013 at 10:55 AM, Nicolas Cellier
>> <nicolas.cellier.aka.nice at gmail.com> wrote:
>> > That's another point, I remember when using ST80, the cursor was
>> > blinking
>> > fast between these states read/write/hour glass/normal, and this
>> > particular
>> > feedback did not add much value.
>> >
>> >
>> > 2013/6/25 Frank Shearar <frank.shearar at gmail.com>
>> >>
>> >> On 25 June 2013 16:41, Ken Dickey <Ken.Dickey at whidbey.com> wrote:
>> >> > I think Juan's point may have been missed, but shows up in his change
>> >> > notes:
>> >> >
>> >> > - Automatic hourglass mouse pointer when Morphic is busy
>> >> > - Removed about 80 calls like 'Cursor wait showWhile: []', as they
>> >> > are
>> >> > no longer needed!
>> >>
>> >> I hadn't missed this particular point. But then, the #showWhile: calls
>> >> usually show _kinds_ of busy-ness: reading, writing, etc.
>> >>
>> >> frank
>> >>
>> >> > $0.02
>> >> > -KenD
>> >> > --
>> >> > Ken [dot] Dickey [at] whidbey [dot] com
>> >> >
>> >>
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>>
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