Feature Proposal: Harmonize Text Area Definition

Motivation

It is super frustrating that in some parts of TWiki text areas are defined by 5x20 but in others by 20x5, for a height of 5 and a width of 20, as example.

Description and Documentation

This is difficult as any harmonization will cause backwards incompatability, but this difference is just plain silly.

Examples

Impact

Implementation

-- Contributors: ThomasWeigert - 2010-09-11

Discussion

Yes, this is silly. Idea how to solve without breaking compatibility? May be use different syntax but support old syntax as an undocumented feature?

-- PeterThoeny - 2010-09-14

Unless we change both syntaxes to something else, which maybe more unintuitive, there is no way out...

-- ThomasWeigert - 2010-09-15

Let's be concrete:

• TWikiForms defines texarea size field as columns x rows, such as 80x6
• EditTablePlugin defines text area field as: textarea, <rows>x<columns>, <initial value>
• EditRowPlugin defines text area field as: textarea, <rows>x<columns>, <initial value>

Somewhat related syntaxes:

• SpreadSheetPlugin uses R80:C6 notation for cell address
• TWikiDocGraphics defines icon image size as width x height, such as 80x16

IMHO, columns x rows looks more natural than rows x columns. If we change the syntax we need to find one that has two numbers in one field, e.g. we could replace the 'x' with something else. In any case, for the foreseeable future we need to support the old syntax as a deprecated syntax. Ideas for new syntax:

• 80 col 6 row
• 80c 6r
• 80*6

None of these look good. May be we need to live with what we have?

-- PeterThoeny - 2010-09-15