Cytoscape Wiki
About this document
This is an official Request for Comment (RFC) for a a new icon set in Cytoscape 2.4.
For details on RFCs in general, check out the [http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Request+for+Comments&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&linktext=Request%20for%20Comments Wikipedia Entry: Request for Comments (RFCs)]
Status
Open for public comment.
How to Comment
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Try to keep your comments as concrete and constructive as possible. For example, if you find a part of the RFC makes no sense, please say so, but don't stop there. Take the extra step and propose alternatives.
Proposal
I'd like to propose that Cytoscape 2.4 adopt a new, more intuitive set of icons for the main tool bar. The current set of icons is not very intuitive, and a number of users find them very confusing.
As part of this RFC, I have explored a number of icon options:
[http://www.kde-look.org/index.php?xcontentmode=22x27 Linux KDE Icons]: Lots of beautiful icons, but unfortunately, none of the icon sets support key Cytoscape actions, e.g. zoom selected region.
[http://www.gnome-look.org/index.php?xcontentmode=120&PHPSESSID=9ca47374357d9e9552e40100e3f5da69 Linux Gnome Icons]: Same problem as the KDE icons. Lots of beautiful icons, but unfortunately, none of the icon sets support key Cytoscape actions, e.g. zoom selected region.
[http://www.codehaus.org/~bwalding/eclipse-icons Eclipe icons]: Has lots of potential, but I couldn't find all the corresponding zoom icons.
Stock icons from commercial companies. I found a number of relatively cheap icon sets for sale. These range in price from $100-$400. However, many of these icons have redistribution requirements. For example, icons can only be distributed as part of a binary or exe. For an example commercial set of icons, see: [http://glyphlab.com/stock_icons/index.html Glyph Lab].
- Custom icon design from a commercial company. I requested a quote from one icon design company to get an idea of how much custom icon design costs. Their quote was $60-$120 / icon.
[http://tango.freedesktop.org/Tango_Desktop_Project Tango Project]: This seemed to be the most promising option. From the web site, "The Tango Desktop Project exists to help create a consistent graphical user interface experience for free and Open Source software." Sounds very promising, and they have a great set of base icons. But, it is not yet finished, and there are lots of missing icons. Once Tango creates a complete set, I think we should re-evaluate.
After evaluating the above options, I stumbled upon the Open Office Icon set. More specifically, a [http://www.novell.com/coolsolutions/feature/1637.html Ximiam-themed Open Office Icon set].
Deferred Items
None defined yet.
Open Issues
None defined yet.
Comments
EthanCerami, 07/05/2006 - This is a sample comment to get things started. Blah, blah, blah...