[Merkaartor] Why so many modes?

[Dirk Stöcker]

On Mon, 19 Jul 2010, Chris Browet wrote:

> Indeed. Maybe the "create node" and "create way" can be merged in merkaartor, too.

Maybe beside some smaller issues JOSM still works like the older 
mode-based versions. We added new user interfaces and from time to time 
I choose which ones we do expose more and which ones we silently forget. 
This allows old users to keep their workflow as well as new users to take 
advantage of improved UI design. Sometimes this also means the exposure 
of new design changes is silently reverted, when the old way was better :-)

One of the advantages (and probably also one of the disadvantages) of JOSM 
is that there are really lots of ways to do a single task. This better 
fits the needs of different people with different computer skills and 
backgrounds.

There are other opinions, but I think it can't be wrong when there "is 
more than one way to do it".

> IMHO, although the lack of uniformity is a downside.

Yes. It is. On the other hand it helps to define where the future may be :-)

> As I said recently, I think the proper place of merkaartor is between potlach simplicity and JOSM power.

Competition is good for business.

> The way modeless is implemented in potlach (apparently; I must say I 
> never check the other editors, I'm afraid this would hinder my 
> "creativity" and would more-or-less unconsciously make me reproduce 
> rather than innovate; virtual nodes was a request based upon your work 
> and I implemented it "my way") seems fine for power users, I could 
> implement it as an option and leave the "step-by-step" approach default 
> for casual mappers.

I always look at the others and take ideas whenever I find them useful. 
Virtual nodes are also taken from some other software I don't remember 
which the original bug-reporter mentioned as example.

Software development is an evolutionary process and taking ideas from 
others usually also means the original idea is improved and these 
improvements can then be backimported into original application.

Ciao
-- 
http://www.dstoecker.eu/ (PGP key available)