Re: Forms definition again - confusion!

[Jason Cater]

Forms determines the "character cell size" based on the chosen display
font.  By default, this is given to us by wx (and is usually Courier.) In
the gnue.conf file, we specify the point-size for these characters. By
default, this is 12 (I think.) If you wanted more screen space, make your
point size smaller. At work, I have mine set to 10. 

We don't even look at proportioning the screen resolution to determining
this. It's simply the size taken up by a character in 12 point Courier.
(Or 11 point, or 10 point...)

I hope that clears up the confusion.

-- Jason

On Sat, 19 Oct 2002 23:48:07 +0100
"Robert Jenkins" <address@hidden> wrote:

> Hi Jason,
> 
> I accept that Forms can handle higher than 80 x 24 screen resolutions,
> but I'm still confused:
> 
> 
> With a form Height & Width less than 80 x 24, Forms displays a window on
> screen proportionally smaller (i.e. width 40 = 50%).
> 
> What does it do when width is (e.g.) 120? Does is always scale >80 to
> 100% actual screen width?
> 
> If the display size is not locked to 80 x 24, how does Forms know what
> the display's useable character resolution is - 80 or 240 chars/line
> etc.
> 
> 
> For a given form to always display at, say 2/3 screen width, it surely
> needs two sets of sizes; the Form size and a Screen Reference size,
> regardless of whether these are in characters, pixels or completely
> arbitrary units!
> 
> Isn't this a fundamental requirement of a truly device-independent
> display?
> 
> 
> 
> This is what I was originally getting at, even if I did'nt word it well;
> - for forms to display at less than full-screen size (which they can
> do), you must have a ratio of form size to display size (even if the
> 'display size' is scaled to the actual screen or window resolution at
> run time). 
> You can't have a Ratio without TWO sets of values.
> 
> With only one set of height / width values defined, the display must be
> assumed to have a fixed resolution, or part-screen scaling could not
> work!
> In other words, 'Forms' must have 80 x 24 hard-coded in to it, to know
> to display smaller forms part-screen... 
> 
> 
> Surely for device independence, form sizes need to be either: 
> Relative to a fixed reference (which must be waayy higher than the
> largest possible character count to ever be used, to avoid aliasing) or
> A 'screen reference' size must be given as part of the form definition,
> and the form scaled proportionally to this (which was my original point;
> XScale & YScale or something along those lines).
> 
> 
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Robert Jenkins.
> 
> 
> 
> 
>