GitLab

Builder Design

Obviously design is a never-ending project, but we'd like to address some things for the next release while we port from GTK 3 to GTK 4.

Builder focuses on being the best IDE it can be for writing GNOME-based applications. We know we can't complete against large projects that are more widely focused, so we take that focus seriously.

Some big ticket items we probably need to rethink:

• (High Priority) Investigate tab alternative to our document switcher
  • The primary constraint here is maximizing vertical space for code
• (High Priority) Improve visibility of search results in the editor despite overlays
  • Again, we want to maximize vertical real-estate
• (Low Priority) Re-think our layout of preferences
  • Do we introduce "per project" preferences? The backend supports it.
• (Low Priority) How should we make it easier to apply settings across languages
  • Things such as where to put curly braces, spaces vs tabs
  • Currently you can use modelines, editorconfig, gsettings...
• (Low Priority) We have relatively few templates. How should they be displayed as we add templates for new languages, application styles.
  • List scalability has reduced how many we add
• (High Priority) What are the common problems that newcomers have to contributing to a project?
  • We've already drastically simplified things by making it easy to just click "Run" and doing all the SDK management
  • What is holding them back from getting to Run?
  • What is holding them back once they have the code open?
  • Do we need to focus on Git integration?
  • Questions for users, and potential users.
• (Medium Priority) We need a "Simulator" design so people can run apps inside something that looks like a phone, tablet, laptop, etc with newest GNOME builds
  • How can we make it easier for people to make GNOME Shell extensions without breaking their current desktop?
  • How can we get people testing in-development GNOME with their app?
• (Low Priority) We've very much avoided things like menubars and favored contextual access better
  • How is that working?
  • What would we like to change?
  • What is missing?
• (High Priority) We need a new designer library/application to replace Glade or GTK 4
  • What do people love about design tooling elswhere?
  • What should we copy?
  • What should we avoid?
  • Glade was not well loved, why is that?
  • How do we tighten the loop between design and code?
• (Low Priority) How well are the container-based terminals working for users?
  • Terminal on host vs in build container vs runtime environment
  • Do we need
• (High Priority) We currently have multiple ways to search across a project. Can we unify them?
  • Global search based on file names
  • Global search based on functions/classes/etc
  • Grep across files
  • We have a command bar which is a little bit like a "shell" into the program.
    • How is that working?
    • How can we improve it?
    • Should it be combined with Search features?
  • Some previous work on #31, #29, and https://gitlab.gnome.org/Teams/Design/os-mockups/-/blob/master/command-search/command-search-aday.png
• We need new style schemes that match GTK's Adwaita theme well
  • Should we focus on type more than color?
  • Should we focus on style variants more than color?
  • How well are they working for those with vision imparments?
• (Low Priority) Spell check is an underused feature. How can we elevate it's use?
• (Medium Priority) We have a button for fullscreen to raise it's visibility. Should we move that to primary menu?
  • What about the panel buttons?
• (Low Priority) Are users using the shortcuts? Are they discoverable enough?
• (Low Priority) What languages are people using most?
  • What languages would people use?
  • What missing language features are driving them to other products?
• (High Priority) Builder uses devhelp for documentation access, but that is showing design issues and we need something that can work better for accessing documentation while people write code.
  • What do people really like on other platforms?
  • How can we display that information to users when they need it?
  • When do users need it most? Browsing? While writing? Quick reference?
• (Medium Priority) Builder uses Sysprof for performance profiling and that likely needs redesign work going forward.
  • I wrote it while trying to triage GNOME Shell performance issues
  • It is a bit cumbersome to use from a Sandbox, but possible
  • How are people other than us on the GTK upstream team using it?