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hex (3272)

hex
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http://downlode.org/
Perl, RDF and wiki hacker, London, UK. This is my former Perl blog; I now write at Earle's Notebook [downlode.org].

Journal of hex (3272)

Friday June 13, 2008
09:29 AM

Better-looking search.cpan.org results

[ #36683 ]
The current appearance of search results on search.cpan.org is a little old-fashioned-looking and doesn't use space effectively (notice the huge empty space on the right hand side). I had a play around and have come up with this mockup of how it could look. The little icons are direct download links.

What do you think? If people like it, I'll ask Graham if he'll consider implementing it.


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Better-looking search.cpan.org results 13 Comments More | Login | Reply /

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  • Two huge thumbs up. I like that a lot.

  • Too wide for my typical browser window. I think the current design is easier to scan.
    • The search results contained a very, very long module name that stretched everything out (i.e., an edge case). What do you think now that I've commented it out?
      • Actually, I've restored it with a linebreak in the middle. Trivial to do in most templating systems.
      • I think it looks nice but I still prefer the traditional style. I like that I can scan straight down and see all the details without looking right/left.

        Spreading it out does have its virtues, though. However, there are long-named modules in CPAN and the design need to account for that without screwing up the whole page.
        • Yeah, I just wrote some Perl to deal with that. Of course, the search.cpan code isn't public, so I don't even know what templating language I could offer it in....

        • I like that I can scan straight down and see all the details without looking right/left.

          Same here. Lining columns up horizontally would be nice, but spreading the whole thing over the entire page width is a no-no.

          • How wide works for you?

            • Works in what sense? I’d prefer the data arranged primarily vertically, in a table something like this:

              +-----------------------+----+-------+------------+
              |                            |                    |
              | Module::Name               | xxxoo (1 review)   |
              +-----------------------+----+-------+------------+
              | short description blurb

  • Since you have >= two lines of text at the left, how about using two lines at the right when there is a developmental version and listing it under the mainstream version?
    • Well, developmental versions aren't currently listed in search results - it would be up to Graham Barr to make a change like that. (I should note that I have no connection with search.cpan.org beyond being a user.)
  • First let me congratulate you on your courage. I think it is brave that you have the guts to post a graphical presentation/mock-up and opening the discussion of it's contents. Where I come from everybody has an opinion on layout and this can generate immensely disproportionate discussions on details.

    So even I have an opinion on your mock-up as well and some feedback, which I hope you will find constructive.

    1. Headings for the columns would be nice, it is always a good idea to tag your data with some sort of
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