Re: [tlug] Usability (was: Top-posting)

[Attila Kinali <attila@example.com>]

On Thu, 31 May 2012 16:17:50 +0900
"Stephen J. Turnbull" <stephen@example.com> wrote:

> Attila Kinali writes:
> 
>  > As for the usability... Does anyone have any good pointers for resources
>  > (books, papers, webpages) on usability of computers?
> 
> The Apple UI standards (as implemented in Mac OS X) are reasonably
> well-documented somewhere on the ADC, but I forget where.  If you look
> up CUA you'll find older discussions of the WIMP interface and
> keyboard stuff for Motif/Microsoft Windows.

Yes, they define what you should do, but not why. And i am looking for
the why (and from that infere the how)..

> If you want to find out how Ubuntu came up with Unity or why GNOME
>  > Also appreciated would be stuff on the usability and expressivnes
>  > of programming languages.
> 
> python-lang and python-dev will provide excellent (though biased in
> favor of left-side white-space) discussion on that, though couched as
> personal opinion rather than in engineering jargon.

In my experience, discussions on mailinglists that are of a particular
language are very narrow minded. They have drank the kool aid of their
language and want to hammer down everything else into their system.
Yes, it's understandable and a valid approach for developing a programming
language. But if you want to learn what actually is a good programming
language and what are the general things you have to get right, then it
doesn't really help.

			Attila Kinali

-- 
It is upon moral qualities that a society is ultimately founded. All 
the prosperity and technological sophistication in the world is of no 
use without that foundation.
                 -- Miss Matheson, The Diamond Age, Neil Stephenson