[p4] P4V vs. P4WIN

[Ivey, William]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: perforce-user-bounces at perforce.com
> [mailto:perforce-user-bounces at perforce.com]On Behalf Of Shawn Hladky
> Sent: Monday, April 16, 2007 12:43 PM
> To: Sheizaf, Yariv
> Cc: perforce-user at perforce.com
> Subject: Re: [p4] P4V vs. P4WIN
> 
> 
> I'm surprised so many people think P4Win is more intuitive 
> than P4V.  My
> experience is the opposite.

An "intuitive interface" is a myth - an interface is only
intuitive to the extent it matches a paradigm, mataphor or
process you already know. (And while an interface with an easy
learning curve is a good thing, the easiest learning curve is
one you have already scaled.)

I remember when Lotus Notes won an "award" for having an
"intuitive" interface that managed to equally confuse users
of all operating systems.

> The terms "Get Latest", and "Check Out" are much more
> intuitive than "Sync to Head", and "Open for Edit" 

They aren't intuitive, they are just familiar if you come
from CVS and a few other SCMs. If you started using Perforce
six years ago they aren't as intuitive because they conflict
with what you have learned about using Perforce.

Arguing over which is more intuitive is pointless, it's whichever
does what you want in a way you are either familiar with or are
willing to put in the time to learn. For me, p4win currently
presents exactly the display and tools I want (when I'm not
using the command line), but it's not for everyone.

> Here's a list my favorite P4V features (not in P4Win):
> History Tab
> Address Bar
> Find File Tab
> Context Menus in Revision Graph & Timelapse View
> Drop-down to switch to frequently used client specs
> Details Pane (particularly in Submitted Changelists and History Tab)
> Workspace Tab
> Folder Diff

A lot of those are in P4Win, actually.

-Wm