Re: How to read an integer from the minibuffer

[tomas]

On Sat, Nov 13, 2021 at 07:59:49AM +0100, Marcin Borkowski wrote:

[...]
> There are lots of examples out there of form controls trying to
> prevent the user from entering invalid data, and they demonstrate many
> things you can get wrong while implementing one.

I tend to call this "authoritarian software" and I think
it is one of the most preposterous blights our trade has
to offer.

I mean -- the programmers assuming they're smarter than
me, the user, is already somewhat arrogant. But assuming
/their program/ is smarter than their users is downright
insulting.

Now I konw this happens unintentionally (or with the best
of intentions), and it takes some work to "get out" of this
mindset ("don't let the user make /any/ mistake whatsoever").

What does help me, sometimes, is to turn around things and,
for example, consider "let the user make mistakes, but make
it so that they are recoverable".

And, most important: respect your users. Assume they know
best what's good for them, and if, in some situation, you
have evidence to the contrary, help them to find out instead
of telling them.

Usually, this leads to more enjoyable UIs.

Cheers
 - t

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