[Implemented] GUI extra graphics for selected device

[Azimutz]

yeah, you have nice ideas for themes, man... keep it up
About the code mods, my knowledge is also limited and i'm busy with other stuff i must finish, but i'm using them on my test booter and besides the problem with the "old" themes, the concept is proven to work!
Will take a look at the code asap, see if i can learn something from it.. i'm learning C as i go along so

[Blackosx]

Thanks azimuth and Great.. It would be amazing if you or anyone else would be happy to help tweak this idea/piece of code to make it more workable/presentable and I know valv expressed an interest in it too which was nice.  Then I will be happy to work on extra graphics.... I have been working on trying to finalise the device icons for my glass ball theme... Here is what I have so far:

[smith@@]

Thankc blackosx, i've a request. Can you up directly the patch and not only the diff, so i can patch "always" the last chameleon from svn? Or this isn't possible, least until the patch will be official..

[Blackosx]

Hi smith@@

I could if I knew how.. What do I have to do? 

[smith@@]

Hi, black, but i don't know

I thought it was you know ... but don't worry. I will wait till the patch is official

[Azimutz]

I think smith@@ was/is thinking something in the line of, commit the patch to the trunk...
Am i right, smith@@? If so, that can only be done when the patch is approved and someone that has permission to write to the trunk does it.

@Blackosx, i will have a word for you soon about the patch and theme...

[smith@@]

Perfect Azimutz, you're right;)

[Blackosx]

@smith@@.. Sorry for the misunderstanding..  I thought you were after a patch which you could run against the downloaded source to automatically add this mod..  Doh!     

And what Azimuth has said is right, as to get it added to the svn is a different matter and I think before that happens it needs to be given the all clear by somebody like zef or another experienced coder to make sure the changes aren't going to upset anything else in the bootloader. We have to remember that I don't have any real coding experience and just tinker for fun (which could be dangerous).

Thinking about loud, there might be some things to consider before it goes further?:
• I haven't looked at any runtime memory requirements the extra graphics may need (also not sure if it's necessary or not, but I wouldn't have a clue what to look for!)
• Also, I think the code would maybe benefit from being able to work with existing themes too and only perform the switch of the _0.pngs if they exist?
• And then there's the matter of what happens when the bootloader is to be built with an embedded theme? If the extra graphics are used then they would have to be of a small enough file size to not exceed the file size limits. And a decision would need to be made as to what those graphics would look like.. Maybe a new theme for Chameleon?
• I like this idea and it seems a few others like it too, but there are also other users who don't really have great affection for the GUI and would prefer to just have a slimline, fast, quiet bootloader to get their hack up and running. So the question of is this really needed might need to be answered?

These decisions would need to be made by the Chameleon team, or maybe at least they should be consulted as to which direction to go with this if it's to ever make it to the trunk on the svn.

Anyway, enough of my rambling and thanks everyone for your interest in this.

@Blackosx, i will have a word for you soon about the patch and theme...

Thanks Azimuth. That sounds interesting..  and I look forward to hearing about it

[Azimutz]

Blackosx, so let me rumble a bit on your rambling i been looking at the code and the way themes work so, things are a bit clearer now...
- runtime memory requirements doesn't seem to be a problem, but it's wise to check it; i was missing that
- is this really needed? No! but adds new functionality (works in a diff way) and can coexist with the existing code,
  that handles "selected/non selected" devices. There's just a catch...
- size! boot file is said to have a 383.5k limit, and atm is at 185.8k no theme embedded;
  with Default theme embedded jumps to 349.9k leaving only 33.6k available.
  For instance, the patches i have add 17.7k to the booter, mostly the AutoResolution one.
  With this in mind, embedding Default theme with that trick i use to use it with this mod, is impossible!
  Embedding Bullet is possible, works fine and still leaves 26k. It's all down to the images size.
  If we want to go all creative with themes we really have to get outside boot file, possible atm. Only problem i know of
  is that glitch with boot0hfs + fat32 partitions.

So, tweaking the code seems to me to be the correct choice. I've been thinking about something in the line of, adding a
"Rollover" key to theme.plist to signal if the theme uses the functionality and if not, use only the images with no _o.
Thinking is easy we'll see. As i said, things are clearer, but not completely.

About the theme it self, i have some problems with the non selected devices icons, they are too transparent, at least for the background; for instance, i can barely see the Windows logo;
the background also doesn't help with the white font, in case of verbose boot.
Those icons you posted look great i saw this theme proposal and immediately though of these icons over black background, being the non selected devices just the logos without the glassball effect. Just a idea...

Back to code ivestigation...

[Blackosx]

Hi Azimuth - Thanks for rumbling on the rambling..

• In my tests the runtime memory hasn't given any problems but is that safe to say it won't for every system?
• Yeah.. Size on the embedded theme build was Zef's original concern as I mentioned in the opening post.. But if we go down the route with the code being able to handle both existing themes and new rollover themes, then if anybody wants to build with an embedded theme it would make sense to just use an existing theme without the extra graphics.
• The flat black coloured graphics of the Bullet theme are a good example of how to create a small file sized GUI. Also, the 8KB device icons can be re-saved to 4KB without any noticeable loss of quality, so that's further valuable bytes saved.
• I like the idea of adding a 'Rollover' key/string to the theme.plist. That makes sense to ease identification as to which theme supports the extra graphics or not.

So with regard to tweaking the code to function with the 'Rollover' key in the theme.plist and operate conditionally dependent on the value is what we need..  This is where help is now required by a kind, skilled individual who has some time on their hands..

As for the Glass_Ball theme, that's something that's still a work in progress and can be changed to get just right. So I can edit the device graphics and change the font colour to make it more readable when in verbose mode. And the black theme idea is something else I have on my TO DO list so I will play with your suggestion when I get some time for that.

But really, my theme creation is sort of on hold at the moment until I know which way this rollover idea goes.. I don't want to waste my time creating rollover graphics if they're not needed.

So thanks for the feedback

[zef]

And yes the issue with older themes not working with it is something that may hold this back from inclusion to RC5, unless of course the code for this mod was re-worked to support both the older themes and the additional _o.pngs.  But unfortunately for me, my coding skills aren't that great and this serves more as a demonstration to show what I had in mind.

What if we make using the _o.pngs optional? Finally i got some time to inspect your changes and other issues.

[Blackosx]

Hi Zef.. Good to hear from you.
Yes, optional would be great. Maybe use the 'Rollover' key/string in the theme.plist as Azimuth suggested?
Could you possibly make the required changes?

[zef]

Hi Zef.. Good to hear from you.
Yes, optional would be great. Maybe use the 'Rollover' key/string in the theme.plist as Azimuth suggested?

I think it would be better to not add another option key, instead boot2 could figure out what's going on. If it finds the addon _o.pngs then the rollover images will be used, if not then it would work as before.

[Blackosx]

That would be absolutely perfect.
If you need anything from me then just ask.

I look forward to hearing more when you get time

[Azimutz]

Why didn't i thought of that? 
That's just perfect, zef.

Sorry for the absence, Blackosx. Been busy and there wasn't much more we could rumble here.
I did look at the code and got to the same conclusion as before so, i kept reading...
Count on me to help