Software that makes placemats

[DRT]

How could PermittedPackingStyles be generalised?

The first parameter of the array is the base class. After that things come in pairs, being the sub-parameter and its new value. So allowed items of PermittedPackingStyles include:
â—Š [ /PseudoHexagonal /MinRows 3 /MaxRows 5 /Mirror true ]
â—Š [ /SemiEllipse /ExtraCircles 2 /Mirror true ]

Hence items of PermittedPackingStyles are either /names, or arrays of odd length with the first and even-number items (starting at 1) being /names. Objections?

None.

[PhilW]

◊ [ /PseudoHexagonal   /MinRows 3   /MaxRows 5   /Mirror true ]
◊ [ /SemiEllipse   /ExtraCircles 2   /Mirror true ]
Hence items of PermittedPackingStyles are either /names, or arrays of odd length with the first and even-number items (starting at 1) being /names. Objections?

No objection, just one alternative; each additional parameter could be in its own array, i.e.
â—Š [ /PseudoHexagonal [/MinRows 3] [/MaxRows 5] [/Mirror true] ]
â—Š [ /SemiEllipse [/ExtraCircles 2] [/Mirror true] ]
The reason for the suggestion is that this would allow for modifiers with either no parameters such as [/Mirror] and for more than one parameter [/Wibble 17 29] which might provide for more flexibility in the future.

[jdaw1]

The reason for the suggestion is that this would allow for modifiers with either no parameters such as [/Mirror] and for more than one parameter [/Wibble 17 29] which might provide for more flexibility in the future.

Hmmm. So PermittedPackingStyles becomes a triple-depth array. That won’t confuse anybody.

Compromise:
[ /BaseStyle   /WibbleOneParam 99   /OtherWibbleOneParam [99]   /WibbleTwoParam [ 98 99 ] ]
So parentheses optional for one-sub-param parameters, mandatory for ≥2.

[PhilW]

The reason for the suggestion is that this would allow for modifiers with either no parameters such as [/Mirror] and for more than one parameter [/Wibble 17 29] which might provide for more flexibility in the future.

Hmmm. So PermittedPackingStyles becomes a triple-depth array. That won’t confuse anybody.

Compromise:
[ /BaseStyle   /WibbleOneParam 99   /OtherWibbleOneParam [99]   /WibbleTwoParam [ 98 99 ] ]
So parentheses optional for one-sub-param parameters, mandatory for ≥2.

Note that the suggested compromise, while facilitating the 2+ param case (which we may or may not need at some future point) loses the potential benefit for simplicity of the [/WibbleNoParam] case (which we would use).

[jdaw1]

Still being indecisive about the extra layer of arrays.

Meanwhile, the following all apply globally:

Code: Select all

/NamesAtTop false def
/RowsMinNum 1 def
/RowsMaxNum 65535 def

/PackingDirectionVertical /TopToBottom def  % /TopToBottom /BottomToTop
/PackingDirectionHorizontal /LeftToRight def  % /LeftToRight /RightToLeft
/PackingNestingColumnMajor false def

Should they become sub-parameters of the individual base-styles? For RowsMinNum and RowsMaxNum, definitely. For NamesAtTop, hmm. Maybe? (The glass arrangement code also calculates the x position of the name, if top and if bottom.) Then PackingDirectionVertical, PackingDirectionHorizontal, and PackingNestingColumnMajor: I think yes.

[jdaw1]

Different question to those about PermittedPackingStyles.

Daniel, the newest member of the Placemat makers group, has remarked by email that he ‟can't find how to make the 'Wine of the Night' and 'What is it?' TopText smaller”. Indeed, this is because the size is embedded in the code, rather than being a parameter.

There are at least three possible courses of action.
• No change, keeping the text height at one fortieth of the non-margin page height.
• Change the constant embedded in the code, perhaps to one sixty-fourth of the non-margin page height (that being ⅝ = 62½% of the current size).
• Add another parameter, allowing the user to change this height. But I’m the most aggressive user of obscure parameters, and have never needed this.

Preferences? Thoughts?

[djewesbury]

Option 2, I think. We don't need access to this feature, it's a one-off change. Can you post before / after grabs though?

[jdaw1]

Can you post before / after grabs though?

See www.jdawiseman.com/2013/20130512_TopTextHeight_Test.pdf, from which three extracts follow.







I prefer the largest, the original, but with sufficiently little certainty to be willing to follow the majority, or even a lone strongly-held opinion.

[djewesbury]

I see that I have missed the parameter that rotates names 180º. This makes your PDF look much less crowded than mine. I will return to the drawing board now and see what findings I produce.

[djewesbury]

I cannot find the parameter that controls this (orientation of names at top of VotingRecorder columns)...

[jdaw1]

I cannot find the parameter that controls this (orientation of names at top of VotingRecorder columns)...

No such parameter (again!), as it is automatic, being determined by the length of the longest name, the number of glasses, the width of most columns, the page height, and the like. If you need to know the full logic (recommendation: you don’t) ⌘F in the code for ‟VoteRecorderColWidth VoteRecorderHeightFirstRow 0.875 mul gt” and read the ¶s above and below.

[djewesbury]

Fiendish. Well in that case I have a feeling that your middle option, one fiftieth, makes my page tidier. We are not comparing like with like however. Your oranges look better than my apples, but I have just decanted a D80 and it smells very nicely of bananas.

[PhilW]

Still being indecisive about the extra layer of arrays.

Meanwhile, the following all apply globally:
<snipped>
Should they become sub-parameters of the individual base-styles? For RowsMinNum and RowsMaxNum, definitely. For NamesAtTop, hmm. Maybe? (The glass arrangement code also calculates the x position of the name, if top and if bottom.) Then PackingDirectionVertical, PackingDirectionHorizontal, and PackingNestingColumnMajor: I think yes.

Yes to all except /NamesAtTop - this seems more of a page setting than a packing style parameter to me.

Daniel, the newest member of the Placemat makers group, has remarked by email that he ‟can't find how to make the 'Wine of the Night' and 'What is it?' TopText smaller”. Indeed, this is because the size is embedded in the code, rather than being a parameter.

There are at least three possible courses of action.
• No change, keeping the text height at one fortieth of the non-margin page height.
• Change the constant embedded in the code, perhaps to one sixty-fourth of the non-margin page height (that being ⅝ = 62½% of the current size).
• Add another parameter, allowing the user to change this height. But I’m the most aggressive user of obscure parameters, and have never needed this.
Preferences? Thoughts?

Preference for automatic rather than parameter unless necessary. Happy with any considered size variant.

Additional issue noted from Daniel's draft placemats; If the wine names are very short ("1", "2" etc in this case) then the text in top left corner of WOTN and other voting sheets which says "Record points, not rank" can become very compressed (see Daniel's draft). Suggest this should be (a) on two rows, and (b) if column is so narrow that the point size becomes too small, should perhaps be rotated?

[jdaw1]

The current ‟40 div” is used for the page heading of vote-recorder, cork-display and decanting-notes pages. If I’m changing one, I’d prefer to change all. Objections?

[jdaw1]

Yes to all except /NamesAtTop - this seems more of a page setting than a packing style parameter to me.

Agreed.

Preference for automatic rather than parameter unless necessary. Happy with any considered size variant.

Agreed. It’s looking like dropping 20% of its linear size, so becoming ‟50 div”.

Additional issue noted from Daniel's draft placemats; If the wine names are very short ("1", "2" etc in this case) then the text in top left corner of WOTN and other voting sheets which says "Record points, not rank" can become very compressed (see Daniel's draft). Suggest this should be (a) on two rows, and (b) if column is so narrow that the point size becomes too small, should perhaps be rotated?

Splendid observation. Failing cogent objection, I’ll rotate the text if the cell’s width is less than â…ž of the height (thus embedding a gentle preference for non-rotated). Doing two rows would be some coding fuss I have not coded routines that insert line breaks, and this isn’t enough motivation to start.

[djewesbury]

Agree with all. I noticed the tiny type but it was too low town on my list!
Ah, labour-saving...

[jdaw1]

Done 40 div → 50 div.

Rotation of VoteRecorderInstruction to follow soon.

• Edit: done.

Larger work on PermittedPackingStyles to follow subsequently.

[jdaw1]

OK, a decision has been reached on the new format for items of PermittedPackingStyles.

If all the sub-parameters are at their default value, then it can be the name of the base style. E.g., ‟/TopRow”.

or it can be an array, containing sub-parameters, Base styles have settings than can be changed. Each setting is a name, followed by a fixed number of values. E.g., /Mirror takes no values; /RowsNumMin and /RowsNumMax each take one, a positive integer; /OnlyIfOrientation takes one, either /Landscape or /Portrait; /ImprovementPointsMin takes one non-negative real; /PackingDirectionTopToBottom, /PackingDirectionLeftToRight, and /PackingNestingColumnMajor each take a single boolean.

So a valid item of PermittedPackingStyles could be:
[ /Diamonds   /PackingNestingColumnMajor true   /Mirror   /RowsNumMin 4 ]

[djewesbury]

Is there an update at jdawiseman.com?

[jdaw1]

Is there an update at jdawiseman.com?

There often is. Line 6 of the code is the version date.

Code: Select all

% This version as of 21:30 Sunday 12th May 2013

That fixes the vote-recorder font-size issue, but not yet the PermittedPackingStyles changes.

[jdaw1]

OK, a decision has been reached on the new format for items of PermittedPackingStyles.

If all the sub-parameters are at their default value, then it can be the name of the base style. E.g., ‟/TopRow”.

or it can be an array, containing sub-parameters, Base styles have settings than can be changed. Each setting is a name, followed by a fixed number of values. E.g., /Mirror takes no values; /RowsNumMin and /RowsNumMax each take one, a positive integer; /OnlyIfOrientation takes one, either /Landscape or /Portrait; /ImprovementPointsMin takes one non-negative real; /PackingDirectionTopToBottom, /PackingDirectionLeftToRight, and /PackingNestingColumnMajor each take a single boolean.

So a valid item of PermittedPackingStyles could be:
[ /Diamonds   /PackingNestingColumnMajor true   /Mirror   /RowsNumMin 4 ]

One slight issue, when the user specifies an array. E.g., in the old formulation, the user could specify ‟[ [0 2] [2 2 3 2] [4 2 3 2] [6 2]   [0 1] [3 1] [6 1]   [0 0] [3 0] [6 0] ]”.

Could now become ‟[ /Array   /OnlyIfOrientation /Landscape   /ImprovementPointsMin 2   /Positions [0 2] [2 2 3 2] [4 2 3 2] [6 2]   [0 1] [3 1] [6 1]   [0 0] [3 0] [6 0] ]”?

[Glenn E.]

In the past, I could swear that I have printed 10 glasses on 8.5" x 14" /USLegal paper and received a PseudoHexagonal pattern of 3 rows, with the rows containing 3, 4, and 3 glasses.

When I attempt to repeat this memory, I receive a PseudoHexagonal pattern of 4 rows, with the rows containing 3, 2, 3, and 2 glasses (top to bottom).

Has something changed in the software that might have affected the arrangement of 10 glasses on /USLegal, or is my memory faulty?

[jdaw1]

I’ve slightly shrunk the default margins, from 36 pt = to 30 pt, which might have that effect. Let me test.

Edit: no. Could it be 8 glasses rather than 10, and /RectangularAlternateNudgeIf2pt (a recently constructed base style) rather than /PseudoHexagonal?

[Glenn E.]

I’ve slightly shrunk the default margins, from 36 pt = to 30 pt, which might have that effect. Let me test.

Edit: no. Could it be 8 glasses rather than 10, and /RectangularAlternateNudgeIf2pt (a recently constructed base style) rather than /PseudoHexagonal?

I could be mis-remembering 8 glasses in 3-2-3 arrangement. It would be from long enough ago that I doubt /RectangularAlternateNudgeIf2pt is the answer. I'll go back through my saved placemats when I get home tonight, but thought I'd ask since I'm attempting to put together another set of placemats at work today.

[jdaw1]

Also beware that PermittedPackingStyles is being changed, a new version being likely to appear soon.