The coming of SVG

[Mark Waddingham]

On 2017-11-03 19:02, Bleiler, Timothy via use-livecode wrote:
> This is good news!!
> 
> Is there any reason not to call the control “SVG?”

Three main reasons:

   - SVG is a somewhat human-unfriendly term

   - SVG is technically a vector graphics interchange format (and so an 
adjective, not a noun - you have SVG Files, or SVG Documents)

   - SVG doesn't represent what the control does / will do, as SVG is 
only the means it uses to describe its internal structure when you set 
or get it

The future goal here would be to make the new control the *replacement* 
for the existing image/graphic objects - it is for displaying pictorial 
things, whether they be raster images, svg files, simple geometric 
shapes etc.

Another way to look at this is to forget I had ever mentioned anything 
related to SVG and then ask yourself this:

   'What would be a good name for a control which can display complex 
vector images, raster images or combinations of geometric shapes be, 
assuming 'graphic' or 'image' were not available?'

> Why create another abstraction in the name from what the control 
> actually is?

I don't really see it as creating another abstraction, more about 
accurately representing the abstractions which are there. i.e. the 
proposed control uses SVG as one of its means of interchange, but its 
purpose is to display an image/picture. It also means that the term 
'svg' can be left for being 'an object which is *just* a manipulatable 
representation of an SVG docuent' (indeed, the experimental SVGViewer 
widget I wrote a couple of years back based on nanosvg added an 'svg' 
object to the canvas module in LCB - allowing you to render them like 
you can paths).

Warmest Regards,

Mark.

-- 
Mark Waddingham ~ mark at livecode.com ~ http://www.livecode.com/
LiveCode: Everyone can create apps