[Pythonmac-SIG] Fwd: MacPython icon mockup

[Michael Barber]

On Apr 20, 2006, at 12:31 PM, Jacob Rus wrote:
>
> On Apr 20, Brendan Simons wrote:
>> You do see other apps badging icons with the suffix.  It's standard
>> procedure for those files which can be opened by more than one
>> editor/reader.  Take PDF for instance.  The preview icon is there,  
>> but
>> so is "PDF", as a reminder that you don't -really- need to open it  
>> with
>> preview.
>
> Hmm... I would suggest that it's more about applications which can  
> open
> more than one type of file.  For instance, Preview.app puts a "PDF"
> badge on those icons because it opens many types of image files,  
> and has
> 24 different badged icons for PDF, JPEG, ICNS, TIFF, FAX, etc., as  
> well
> as a "generic" icon with no badge.  The "PDF" badge shows up as a
> reminder that you aren't dealing with a JP2 file.
>
> I don't mean to be contentious here though.  I'm perfectly happy  
> putting
> "PYTHON" on the bottom of the document icons.
>
> -Jacob
>

There is an interesting point to consider, here. As noted by the  
above writers, Preview has different badges on otherwise generic  
icons, although they interpret the reason for the badges differently.  
Possibly, both reasons are intended.

However, the icons for Python are not completely analogous. With  
Preview, it doesn't matter that much what kind of image file you  
have: you open it and Preview shows it to you. With Python, we expect  
quite different behavior for .py files as compared to .pyc/.pyo -- so  
to me the real question is whether these two types of files are  
distinct enough. My impression is that they are distinct enough, but  
a bit more contrast wouldn't hurt, especially for smaller sizes. A  
badge wouldn't help me, since they are normally too small to be  
useful in column view in the Finder; I essentially don't use the icon  
view.

So, what would the badge actually be for? Would it just be used to  
distinguish between .pyc and .pyo files? Would a visual difference  
between the two actually be useful? It wouldn't for me, but maybe for  
others. I guess I'd say go with PYC and PYO badges, or none at all,  
and rely on the stronger differences in the "page" part of the icon  
to ensure that the more important distinction between source and  
bytecode is clear. Moving the paired snakes badge off-center for the  
bytecode, like in the current icons for Python bytecode, could  
reinforce the difference, if desired.

I must admit to not being terribly concerned about the point on a  
personal level. While I like the new icons very much, I doubt that  
I'll see much of the one for .py files; mine will continue to look  
like SubEthaEdit documents.

-- 
Michael