Re: transitions vs. animations

On Apr 9, 2010, at 1:42 PM, Håkon Wium Lie <howcome@opera.com> wrote:

> Brad Kemper wrote:
>>
>>
>> Sorry. I meant to say 'translate', not 'transform'. This probably
>> proves a point of some kind.
>
> It does. We see it all the time, even in the CSS WG meeting where
> people have been looking at this for a while.
>
> I think transitions will be a big hit, they will change the web.

I agree.

> We
> have the power to give it a likable name.

I like it when the name makes it pretty clear what it does and what it  
is for, succinctly. .

> The name we give it will
> aquire the meaning we want.
> ...
> There are several good alternatives to 'transition':
>
>   shift: left 1s;
>   change: left 1s;
>   flux: left 1s;
>   phase: left 1s;
>
> E.g., "CSS shifts" is a marketable term.

Considering all the following property names:

Transition
Translate
Tranform
Text-transform
Character-transform

Of all these, I'd say that 'transition' is the best, the one I'd most  
like to keep. It described exactly what's happening, in a way that  
'shift' doesn't, IMO. The one I like the least is 'translate', a word  
that probably appeals to mathematicians and engineers, and not many  
others. Everyone else speaking English would just say 'move'.  But it  
and 'transform' are in SVG, so I suppose we may be stuck with them.  
And if we have 'transform', then 'character-transform' makes logical  
sense, since the characters are being scaled and "translated" (you  
know, moved). That only leaves "text-transform", and it is way too  
late to change that one. So I don't know.  Maintain an open mind to  
alternatives to 'transition', but so far I've haven't heard one I like  
better.

Received on Friday, 9 April 2010 23:24:59 UTC