wxGUI command console: "Protocol" isn't really the right word & cleanup

[hamish]

Hi,

in the wxGUI command console tab there's a "Protocol" button.

I don't think the word really fits, or at least it's an awkward use of it.

Perhaps "Journal", "Command Log", or "History" would be better? "script" might also fit, but I'd worry it would get confused with running a script.

(my 2c vote would go to "Journal", and if we're going to change it we should try before the release)

thanks, Hamish

ps- also in the command console tab, "Click here to show search module engine >>" .. shouldn't that be on the Search module tab instead of taking valuable screen real estate away from the output canvas?

pps- still in the command console tab: there's an empty bar above the Clear/Save button row. When it's not being used for % done, could it do double duty and go below the buttons with "Manually enter commands below:" or some text? To a new user, at the start that tab just has two big white boxes, it's not clear what either of them are and that it is possible to type into the lower pane and have it do something.

[hamish]

any comments?

objections to changing it to "Journal" or "Command log" or "Command history"?

preferences?

thanks, Hamish

[hamish]

patch replacing 'Protocol' with 'Journal'

[hamish]

patch against devbr6 attached for your consideration.

also, I'd suggest on line ~780 goutput.py to change opening the file as write-new to write-append, so that your old command log doesn't get overwritten:

         try:
            output = open(self.cmdFileJournal, "w")

Hamish

[wenzeslaus]

"Journal" is for non-native speaker the same or, in my case, even worse than "Protocol".

What about "Record" or "Log"? E.g., in gmail chat there is "Go off the record". Moreover, the current behavior is that after choosing the file name, the button is toggled and the GUI is recording commands.

Also note that wxGUI code in goutput was changed in trunk and any patches cannot be easily back- or forward-ported. In this case, I would suggest to change code and user visible strings only in trunk and in releasebranch_6_4 I would change only the strings.

[martinl]

Replying to wenzeslaus:

"Journal" is for non-native speaker the same or, in my case, even worse than "Protocol".

I would tend to agree with Vaclav, "journal" in this meaning is quite cryptic for non-native speaker.

What about "Record" or "Log"? E.g., in gmail chat there is "Go off the record". Moreover, the current behavior is that after choosing the file name, the button is toggled and the GUI is recording commands.

Probably "Record", no strong preferences.

[hamish]

I'm curious about this, can you say what "journal" translates to for you? (considering that it will not always appear as translated)

From my personal, but native speaker, POV "Journal" is the best of the lot. You'll see it also used for "journaling file system", it's traditionally a personal book you keep notes in, and in finance as "journaled the expense into the ledger". It seems to me something like "The Wall Street Journal" is a bit of a colloquialism or play on financial words.

"Log" could work, but I'd expand it to "command log" or "log history" or something like that. I work on ships a quite a bit and the ship's log, where all maintenance, events, and details of the current situation at shift changes are noted, is still heavily used.

The difference between journal and log might be that log is a bit more of a formal record of events.

"Log file" might be ok too, but it could suggest that the entire session would be logged, including output. Everyone would know exactly what it meant though, so maybe a winner there.

The great "ah-ha" moment comes when the user realizes that they can 'chmod u+x' the file or rename it to ".bat", and they instantly have a runable shell script for their workflow. Super-low barrier entry to scripting/writing their first program. Typically that will want some editing and cleanup first, so the "scratch pad" idea of a journal appeals to me more than the frozen history/archive meaning that a log instills.

iPython has gone with "notebook", but I think that's too much of an interactive meaning for what the button does.

As for "Record", that sounds to me more like a screencast sort of thing, or a button for keeping audio notes. Or at least someone somewhere will misinterprept it as that.

It's all just semantics of course with no right answer, but the choice of words can make all the difference in providing subtle clues to the user about the meaning of the tool.

The "Protocol" meaning doesn't help the programmer understand much at all what it is talking about, they are more likely to think it has to do with some communication API, so I'd change it everywhere. It's only 10-20 lines.

Martin:

I would tend to agree with Vaclav, "journal" in this meaning is quite cryptic for non-native speaker.

perhaps, but it also seems to me to be the most correct. what other meaning/idea do you get from it?

shrug, Hamish

[neteler]

Replying to hamish:

I'm curious about this, can you say what "journal" translates to for you? (considering that it will not always appear as translated)

It translates to "academic paper" or newspaper (remember that non-native speakers do not well the intended meaning nor will they take a dictionary to look it up.

From my personal, but native speaker, POV "Journal" is the best of the lot.

I am pretty much -1 on using the "journal" here. Let's not add more confusion. I agree that "Protocol" is confusing, too. So, for example "Log file" is fairly clear.

[hamish]

Replying to neteler:

It translates to "academic paper" or newspaper

ok, fair enough.

I am pretty much -1 on using the "journal" here. Let's not add more confusion. I agree that "Protocol" is confusing, too. So, for example "Log file" is fairly clear.

sure, let's use that.

Hamish

[hamish]

label string rename now applied in all branches. variable renaming not yet done.

Also I changed it from overwrite existing file of the same name to append to file.

Hamish

(argh, more trac logging itself out..)

[wenzeslaus]

Replying to hamish:

label string rename now applied in all branches. variable renaming not yet done.

Variable rename is not so important and might be done as a part of some larger refactoring.

Closing as fixed.

Also I changed it from overwrite existing file of the same name to append to file.

This is surely very useful change, although maybe not expected by all, but it's the safer behavior anyway.

Change done in r56094.