Skinning News

[Old Dog]

Are you referring to baseskin.xml or the skin BaseSkin by MixMan?

yes

[Fatman_do]

yes

Ok.

Then the answer is Yes (baseskin.xml) and No (BaseSkin).

They are independant and unrelated to each other.

[Old Dog]

I've seen a few posts recently where the author implies that with the new BaseSkin standardization scheme, skinners won't need to create skin.xml files for all the plug-ins.

Well, if the skinners don't create these files, who does?

Then the answer is Yes (baseskin.xml) and No (BaseSkin).

Are you suggesting that Yes and No are going to create the skin.xml files?

Who's on third.

[Fatman_do]

Are you suggesting that Yes and No are going to create the skin.xml files?

Who's on third.

Ok, ignore all posts you have read referring to images, BlueMCE2, image standards, BaseSkin ect.

Here is how I see sub's plan for baseskin.xml working in the future. He is going to introduce new processes that can be handled by baseskin.xml.

Baseskin.xml will define common elements and "styles". Once this change has had time to filter down through all plugins and skins, these common elements will be controlled by one file, the baseskin.xml.

*New Johnny on the block plugin gets introduced with the default blue skin.xml written to follow blue's new baseskin.xml file.

*SuperFantasticMonkeyBallGo skin's baseskin.xml file is written the same way (ie it defines the same common elements, just using the skin author's preferences for either images, xml, colors, textstyles, ect.).

*SuperFantasticMonkeyBallGo is a very popular skin, but the author is visiting releatives in the jungle and does not access to the internet for a month or so and is unaware of the new plugin.

*Little Billy's father downloads new plugin and installs it.

*Fires up GB-PVR, and the plugin works with SuperFantasticMonkeyBallGo. It even looks a little like the rest of the screens to a degree. Little Billy is happy daddy didn't have to switch back to blue to use the plugin, and is happy Johnny on the block screen doesn't look like a combination of blue and SuperFantasticMonkeyBallGo.

*SuperFantasticMonkeyBallGo's author returns to find new plugin. Creates custom edits in no time and completes the theme for that plugin.

or

*SuperFantasticMonkeyBallGo's author desides to stay forever in the jungle, and all new plugins will continue to work with SuperFantasticMonkeyBallGo.

End results, everybody happy.

Who is on First Base!

[Fatman_do]

Wow!
Thanks Reboot.

I'll download CheckEmail tonight.

Pretty much everything is hard coded in that one. You can change colors (or turn them off) of screen elements. They are all special elements, no composite images. Here is the entire skin.xml file.

Code:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><settings>
    <!-- named colors -->
    <!-- text style -->
    <TextStyles>
        <TextStyle name="ScreenName" color="LightGray" typeFace="Tahoma" size="17" style="bold" />
        <TextStyle name="ButtonMenu" color="White" typeFace="Arial" size="16" style="normal" />
        <TextStyle name="EmailPanel" color="White" typeFace="Arial" size="16" style="normal" />
        <TextStyle name="YesNoDialog" color="White" typeFace="Arial" size="16" style="normal" />
        <TextStyle name="OKDialog" color="White" typeFace="Arial" size="16" style="normal" />
    </TextStyles>
    <!-- special elements -->
    <SpecialElements>        
        <SpecialElement name="ButtonMenu" xpos="30" ypos="40" height="410" backGroundColor="DarkBlue" selectedButtonBackGroundColor="Blue" deSelectedFontColor="Cyan" depressedButtonBackgroundColor="Black" borderColor="White" showButtonBorder="true" />        
        <SpecialElement name="EmailPanel" backgroundColor="DarkBlue" selectedBackgroundColor="Blue" borderColor="White" />        
        <SpecialElement name="YesNoDialog" xpos="80" ypos="120" backGroundColor="DarkBlue" selectedButtonBackGroundColor="Blue" deSelectedFontColor="Cyan" depressedButtonBackgroundColor="Black" borderColor="White" showButtonBorder="true" />    
        <SpecialElement name="OKDialog" xpos="80" ypos="120" backGroundColor="DarkBlue" selectedButtonBackGroundColor="Blue" deSelectedFontColor="Cyan" depressedButtonBackgroundColor="Black" borderColor="White" showButtonBorder="true" />    
    </SpecialElements>
    <!-- Composite Images -->    
    <CompositeImages>
        <!-- static background image -->
        <CompositeImage name="Background" size="720,480">
            <DrawImage filename="..\background.jpg" loc="0,0" size="720,480" />
            <DrawText text="Check Email" loc="5,5" size="230,120" textStyle="ScreenName" align="Left" />            
        </CompositeImage>
    </CompositeImages>                
</settings>

[McBainUK]

Well I for one am looking forward to a SuperFantasticMonkeyBallGo skin

[Fatman_do]

Well I for one is looking forward to a SuperFantasticMonkeyBallGo skin

I didn't want to steal the name of a cartoon my kids watched.
"Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force Go!"

So I combined it with the Super Monkey Ball video game.

It took all that I could do to keep from jabbing a sharp object into my eye when they would watch that show.

[Old Dog]

Well I for one am looking forward to a SuperFantasticMonkeyBallGo skin

Where do I sign up?

[Old Dog]

Baseskin.xml will define common elements and "styles". Once this change has had time to filter down through all plugins and skins, these common elements will be controlled by one file, the baseskin.xml.

SuperFantasticMonkeyBallGo skin's baseskin.xml file is written the same way (ie it defines the same common elements, just using the skin author's preferences for either images, xml, colors, textstyles, ect.).

All BaseSkin.xml files for all skins are identical in what they specify?

New Johnny on the block plugin gets introduced with the default blue skin.xml written to follow blue's new baseskin.xml file.

Who wrote the skin.xml file?

[Fatman_do]

All BaseSkin.xml files for all skins are identical in what they specify?



Who creates the skin.xml file?

Look at baseskin.xml in blue. Not much there. Now imagine it expanded with more data that sub puts in there (I have no clue how or what he is doing, I only gather it from the posts he made on his ideas).

3/ CompositeImage can draw another CompositeImage. If you have common elements like a file selection list that might occur on half a dozen screens, you could define this in the BaseSkin.xml and have the specific skin.xml files just to a <DrawCompositeImage> for this common element. The implementation in BaseSkin.xml might use <DrawImage> or <DrawRoundRect> or whatever.

You might need to use your imagination a bit to see the full extent of how these will be used.

Remember, he only will be supporting his own product, not anyone elses. This isn't a one step overnight fix.

If I were to guess, maybe he will have in baseskin.xml something like this:

Code:

<CompositeImage name="ItemListBackground" size="525,310">
<DrawRoundedRect loc="3,2" size="515,305" radius="7" borderWidth="6" borderColor="LightGray" fillColor="Black"/>                            
</CompositeImage>

Then, in a plugin like Net Radio2, he would have something like this:

Code:

<DrawCompositeImage name="@@ItemListBackground" size="520,310"/>

Now the exact code used may not be anything like how I constructed it here.

Once everything is defined decent enough in baseskin.xml, a plugin author can refresh his 'blue' skin.xml file with this new method. Legacy plugins would rely on community "refreshes" that go no further than following that example provided in 'blue'.

Now lets say you "refresh" Plain Jane to use that same composite image structure, but you want no visible "ItemListBackground"

Your baseskin.xml file would use "transparent" for color values or an image file that was blank. Your choice. The plugin would drop right in and follow your lead without ever exsisting in the Plain Jane directory. If you wanted to further tweak the plugin, no harm no foul.

The same thing for popups, and selectors. This scheme does not care if images or xml create screen content.

As a skin author you would only need to define the look of your popups in one place (you currently use colored xml boxes). It would be a great benefit to you if you only had to change its xml colors in one file instead of every occurance.

I really don't know where your concerns are comming from. What are you afraid of resulting from this? Your "unique" approach to skinning is not in any way threatened. Nobody's approach to skinning is threatened by this.

Oh, and sorry, I am not used to giving short answers much am I?