Monday, December 14, 2020

GUI and Screen Size

It's past time for developers to learn two things: 

1 - Fixed size windows are POOR programming practice 

2 - Most users are NOT using 8K, 40+ inch screens 

What is a wonder is the arrogance of so-called software developers that they don't test their "beautiful" creations on a 12/13" laptop BEFORE they release it on an unsuspecting public. Windows that clearly don't fit and don't have scroll bars can be impossible to use. Fonts that are so large that the whole screen has very little data on it is extremely annoying. Layouts that are mostly "white space" are not very useful nor impressive. And this applies equally to pop-up windows as well as the main application window. 

GUI windows should automatically adapt to their physical display/monitor characteristics. They should, to a large extent, be dynamic in size. NO, they should not change to fonts so small that you need a magnifying glass to read them. And they should ALWAYS have vertical and horizontal scrollbars if they don't completely fit. 

You know that it just seems like common sense when building a GUI, but apparently such things aren't taught in "computer science" curriculums.