Re: marker-pattern syntax

Dirk Schulze:
> This would not be a good idea, and we just can support one repeat. But why should authors just differ with different markers at the beginning and the end of the path? Why shouldn't they want to have special value in the middle and everything around repeats? This gets ridiculous complicated. Let us concentrate on basic functionality. Something that you would expect from a pattern: it repeats.

If all we want is repeating then I would say do away with the initial 
offset.  As I said, if we include an initial (non-repeated) offset, then 
we should allow one at the end as well.  The use for this is to ensure 
repeated markers in the middle don't run up against the ends of the 
path, right?  (It might be you have marker-{start,end} markers there you 
don't want to run in to.)  In which case it's just as likely you'll need 
to do this at the other end of the path.

Of course this is all about balancing power and complexity for the 
author.  I am happy with not having arbitrary non-repeating patterns at 
the start/end of the path; you can do that with separate tracks (as long 
as you don't mind that they'll be all painted above or below the 
repeated ones).

Cameron McCormack:
>> I didn't realise that about Tab's proposal (if it is actually the case),
>> that the url()s are implied between each length.  I assumed it was like
>> in the current spec text, where consecutive lengths just keep advancing
>> the current position.

Dirk Schulze:
> No, he explained that this would be possible with calc(). We don't need to invent the wheel again. If you want 20% + 10px then do calc(20% + 10px).

OK thanks for explaining.  I am OK with calc() here instead of 
consecutive lengths.

> I think this makes clear what he wanted:
>
>>>         marker-pattern: path 10px url(#m1) 20px url(#m2) 50px;
>>>         -#--#-----O--#-----O--#….
>>>
>>>         marker-pattern: path 10px url(#m1) 20px url(#m2) 50px 10px;
>>>         -#--#-----O-O--#-----O-O--#….
>>
>> These last two aren't right.  They should be, respectively:
>>
>> -#--O-----#--O-----#--O---...
>>
>> -#--O-----O-#--O-----O-#--O---…
>
> Here it seems the first distance is the offset of the pattern, the last distance the gap after the pattern sequence. Two distance after each other imply that there is the previous url between them.

But I don't like the omitted url()s -- I would rather it be explicit by 
including them.

My issue about the initial offset (and final offset as above in Tab's 
example) still stands: to me it looks very much like it's part of the 
repeating pattern, and in the first of the two examples above I would 
have to think hard about whether the 50px at the end is an offset or if 
it is part of the repeating pattern.  I think the repeat() syntax helps 
make that distinction clear.

Received on Wednesday, 28 November 2012 05:21:15 UTC