Leopard resolution independence!!

zoranb · #1 June 19th, 2007, 01:51 PM

Can someone explain to me what exactly is this?

bobw · #2 June 19th, 2007, 01:58 PM

Resolution Independence
In Leopard, the system, including the Carbon and Cocoa frameworks, will be able to draw user interface elements using a scale factor. This will let the user interface maintain the same physical size while gaining resolution and crispness from high dpi displays.

This idea of resolution independence, as you might glean from the name, is a new concept (as far as I know) that restructures how element sizes are defined in Mac OS X, ideally making it possible for higher resolutions without forcing users to squint at everything they do on-screen. This also could usher in much higher ppi resolutions which could bring computer displays that much closer to properly displaying high-detail objects.

zoranb · #3 June 19th, 2007, 02:10 PM

ok and this will make bigger the elements in OSX interface, what about elements of apps? Say like the palletes in Pshop etc?

zoranb · #4 June 29th, 2007, 08:00 AM

ElDiabloConCaca · #5 June 29th, 2007, 10:41 AM

It means that you will be able to make UI elements as large or as small as you like while retaining a high-quality display of those elements.

It means that switching resolutions from 1024x768 to 1280x1024 will no longer mean that everything on the screen has to shrink.

Of course, PhotoShop would have to have support for resolution-independent icons and user-interface elements, which it does not at the moment.

**Captain Code** · #6 June 29th, 2007, 02:21 PM

Current displays are mostly 72 pixels per inch. If a developer does custom drawing with an object of 100 pixels in size it will look as they intend. Once Apple comes out with higher dpi screens say 120 dpi or more, this 100 pixel object will now be smaller in size.

Without resolution independence, all application elements will look really small. Making an application resolution independent means drawing in POINTS not PIXELS which now one point will not equal one pixel. When you make your object x points in size, it will be scaled by the OS to the correct size in pixels.

What this means to users is that text and photos will look sharper because you are seeing more pixels per inch.

If you're feeling adventurous:
http://developer.apple.com/releaseno...IndependentUI/

elander · #7 June 30th, 2007, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain Code

Current displays are mostly 72 pixels per inch.

Bollocks. That hasn't been true since the MacIntosh SE/30, which was the last computer on earth to use that resolution. Ever. All usbsequently released displays have had a higher resolution, and most displays today have resolutions around 100 ppi or greater.

The comment becomes even more silly, when you consider that all modern displays have variable resolution: in Mac OS X you can alter the resolution in System Settings: Displays.

A more relevant measurement is the dot pitch, or maximal resolution of the display, which is what the resoultion independence is all about. Todays more common screens have a dot pitch of .28 to .22 mm (horizontally) which gives potential resolutions of approximately 90 to 115 ppi. If I recall correctly, the smallest dot pitch today is somewhere in the neighborhood of .099 mm, which would yield a resolution of 256 ppi.

This is why Leopard is going "resolution independent" or rather, making resolution dependent only on the viewing device, much like PostScript makes printing resolution dependent only on the quality of your printer.

**Captain Code** · #8 June 30th, 2007, 12:43 PM

Regardless of whatever the actual number is, what I wrote is correct.

"Tiger continues the evolution of resolution independence in Mac OS X, bringing it to the computer user interface by breaking the software assumption that all display output is 72 DPI.

Let's assume that on a 1600x1200 pixel display we want to target the basic "look" of our current user interface at 1024x768, which assumes a 72 virtual dpi. "