next »

[davewa]

My next project (which is currently in the "derive the equations" stage) will be a program to plot a view of Jupiter and its Galilean moons as seen in 7x35 binoculars.  The program will plot a view for any specified time (even times that won't make sense for a particular locale because the planet is below the local horizon or because it is daytime).

I'm considering an "animate" feature which will show how the Jovian system evolves over time.  With luck, the beta version of this should be released in November.

[davewa]

Here's a teaser image of ByJove:


The "What" toolbar allows for inverse display and night vision; the "When" toolbar lets you set the desired time and timezone offset (or just display for "right now", updated every 10 minutes); the "About" toolbar displays the version ID and help URL.  (See the description of StarChart for how these controls work.)

I have yet to confirm that I'm plotting the positions of the moons correctly under all conditions, but otherwise the program works.  The accuracy should be sufficient for any date between 01/01/1900 and 12/31/2099.  Expect a beta-1 release soon.

[natet128]

Not to be a pedant, but all Sugar activities should be verbs. It ensures correct grammar.

[davewa]

Yes, like Pippy is a verb.  Like Terminal is a verb.  Like Journal is a verb.  Like Library is a verb.  In what language is Tam Tam a verb?  Etoys is not a verb.  Turtle Art is not a verb.  Distance can be a verb but is not in the usage to which it is being put. 

You need a bigger statistical sample, I think.  Can you cite where in the OLPC wiki the policy of naming activities as verbs is stated?  Only about half of the names for activities listed as preinstalled are verbs.  If you count all the activities listed in .../go/Activities/All and use a generous interpretation of the name, only about 30 of the nearly 140 activity names are verbs.

Besides being a word-play, the name of the activity is descriptive, as it shows the region of space near (by) Jupiter (Jove).

This program, when it's released, will be my fourth contributed science and math activity.  None of my others were given names which are verbs.  You are the first to raise the issue, so I'm assuming that most of the 75,000+ users of my programs do not object to the names I choose to give them.

[garycmartin]

Can you cite where in the OLPC wiki the policy of naming activities as verbs is stated? Only about half of the names for activities listed as preinstalled are verbs.  If you count all the activities listed in .../go/Activities/All and use a generous interpretation of the name, only about 30 of the nearly 140 activity names are verbs.

Hi Dave, here's the link to the Sugar HIG section that recommends using verbs for activity names; goes way back, you can find the same thing in the olpc wiki.laptop.org. FWIW many of the non verb names are due to application ports from other platforms, often not well designed for Sugar:

http://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Human_Interface_Guidelines/Activities#Activities_as_Verbs

It's just a recommendation as the Sugar UI is trying to be all about doing, activities with verb names help reinforce that idea vs. other platforms where the focus is generally on stuff/things/nouns. I agree it is really tough to get a good verb, quite a challenge.

Looking forward to trying your new activity out, still love StarChart and ConstellationsFlashCards! Keep up the fab work, and reminds me I should really release a feature update for Moon (a verb I'd not recommend doing)

[davewa]

I stand corrected.  But I don't think there's a good verb for what ByJove does, anyway.  "Revolve" doesn't seem descriptive enough.

Looking forward to seeing what you're adding next to Moon.

[davewa]

Got the algorithms working properly -- finally!  Will package the program and start building the documentation page tomorrow.

Beta-1 will be available by November first, most likely.

[davewa]

It's alive!

ByJove can be downloaded from http://www.wa1gsf.net/downloads/XO/ByJove-1.xo

and its wiki page is
http://wiki.laptop.org/go/ByJove

Have fun!