https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=115099
Bug ID: 115099
Summary: Pattern Field: Improve property names related to the
masking operation.
Product: LibreOffice
Version: 6.0.0.0.beta2
Hardware: All
OS: All
Status: UNCONFIRMED
Severity: enhancement
Priority: medium
Component: Base
Assignee: [email protected]
Reporter: [email protected]
Created attachment 139203
--> https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/attachment.cgi?id=139203&action=edit
Screenshot of "Properties: Pattern Field" dialog
If possible please improve these property names as follows:
Rename Literal mask To Mask literals
Rename Edit mask To Mask operators
An alternate name option:
Rename Literal mask To Mask character constants
Rename Edit mask To Mask character filter selectors
Rationale:
As it is now, with the word "mask" following "Literal" and "Edit", it appears
that these are two different masks.
You don't say "Dog brown". Rather you say "Brown dog". The 2nd word (in this
case "dog") is the thing itself.
Actually these properties are not two masks but rather two inputs used together
for one masking operation.
1) The first property is a set of character constants, one per character
position. The word literal is fine, but because it's singular it suggests just
one thing. "Literals" (plural) suggests a set of independent things, which is
closer to what is happening here. (Each character position operates
independently of other character positions, thus the idea of a mask.)
2) The second property is a set of function selectors, one per character
position, which might also be called operators.
Therefore I think the word "Mask" should be first to denote that these are both
related to the mask, then should be followed by what the property actually is,
in this case the dog is a either a set of character literals or a set of
function selectors or operators. (Both plural.)
BTW, "Edit" (in "Edit mask") isn't really right because we're not always
editing. We might be creating, like with a new record.
Also as it is now some users get confused and think this is like a regular
expression or globbing type pattern, ref:
https://ask.libreoffice.org/en/question/64386/cannot-enter-phone-numbers-into-pattern-field/
Making these plural, and denoting that they both feed into the mask should
help with this confusion I think.
_____________
Contrast this to the terminology for a "bit mask operation", where 01101110 are
the "mask bits", and the mask operation is specified elsewhere, e.g. XOR, AND,
etc.
In this case the mask operation is just one thing performed over and over for
each bit position, in other words it's a set of side by side XORs - or a
plurality.
To better reflect on what Pattern Field does, imagine if each bit position were
dealt with differently, e.g. bit position 0 as ANDed, bit position 1 was XORed,
bit position 2 ORed, etc. Then we might refer to "bit operators" - again
plural.
_____________
So changing these properties from singular to plural to me suggests that what
follows is not one thing that operates as a whole, but rather a plurality of
things that operate independently which is what actually happens.
_____________
For reference, here are the mask operators:
a - Alpha : Input a-z | A-Z -> Outputs a-z & A-Z
A - Alpha upper : Input a-z | A-Z -> Outputs A-Z
c - Alpha-numeric : Input a-z | A-Z, & 0-9 -> Outputs a-z, A-Z, & 0-9
C - Alpha-numeric upper : Input a-z | A-Z, & 0-9 -> Outputs A-Z, & 0-9
N - Numeric : Input 0-9 -> Outputs 0-9
x - Any : Input * -> Outputs *
X - Any upper : Input * -> Outputs uppercase*
L - Literal : Use the "Literal mask"'s character value for this
character position, i.e. this position can not be edited.
____
With the "upper" flavors `a-z` will be automatically converted to `A-Z`.
With '*' all printable characters can be input, and are output just as they are
or upper case converted.
Thank you.
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