Good point! I forgot to add radial tiling in there by the way. But what's a sevenfold axis of symmetry?
Now that I look at your links, I realize it's not as simple as that either. I should take a better look at the different types of transformations... (and ignore the coming headache)
Maybe the Tiling tool could still combine everything and work like this: - When you select a new object with the tiling tool, a drop-down in the tool control bar shows "none." The various types of transformations are listed. A larger preview with the cell structure shown in your first link is also shown (are those picture under CC license? Could we just grab
them?).
- When you select a tiling type and press "add", Inkscape make a group out of the object (suggested default behaviour so that users can add more items into it) and create a basic cell for that transformation as
guide. This cell can be edited on canvas. - Eventually Inkscape can toggle on an off a view of extra cell boundaries so users know what's going on. This gets dynamically updated as the basic cell border gets updated.
Under this proposal, the sub-tools become: - Symmetries - Radial clones - Tiling - Clone along path (maybe?)
I want to keep simple symmetries (point and axial) separate because they are very basic use cases. I'm among those who'd run for the hill if I had to deal with the whole tiling interface just to get half a vase. :S Also, simple symmetries are something technical drawers could use often for example, the tiling interface is more suited for pattern design.
----- Original Message ----- From: Krzysztof Kosiński <tweenk.pl@...400...> To: Valerie <valerie_vk@...36...> Cc: Inkscape-devel inkscape-devel@lists.sourceforge.net Sent: Friday, February 3, 2012 12:22 AM Subject: Re: [Inkscape-devel] Inkscape tiling interface redesign proposal
2012/2/2 Valerie <valerie_vk@...36...>:
In this case, I'd be dividing into the following sub-tools:
- Point symmetry
- Symmetry
- Rectangular tiling
- Triangle tiling (P3 and P6 transformations)
- Copies along path (maybe)
Mathematically the best division would be into point symmetries and plane symmetries (aka tilings). For example, axes of symmetry and mirror planes are point symmetries, while P1 tiling is a plane symmetry. This is somewhat important, as for example you can have a sevenfold axis of symmetry as a point symmetry, but there is no plane symmetry that has such an axis.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallpaper_group http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_groups_in_two_dimensions
Regards, Krzysztof