Before starting my exploration of database options, I realized it would be a good idea to do a bit of informal testing with the current front-end/back-end logic/no data-storage build of Scaffold. I wanted to make sure that the UI would be usable enough that I wouldn't start working on integrating a database and then end up having to shoot back up the stack to fix the front-end.
After plugging in a few articles to , some necessary changes to my pre-testing UI have surfaced:
1) I'm realizing how helpful it would be to have a UI element that would directly allow for case-by-case feedback on the results. This would both be for making my testing process easier and for allowing users to provide more specific feedback down the road. I'm thinking a radio button next to each item in each category allowing for a tester (or feedback-inclined user) to indicate if a result was incorrectly categorized and why they considered it to be. Still trying to decide how to I would design this in a way that is easy to understand and also not a visual atrocity.
2) Speaking of visual atrocity, the current black and white list-format results are a little brain-numbing to look at for too long. To be clear, I don't mean to say that the problem is that they are bereft of artistic merit. The problem is that my eyeballs are physically in agony after using the app. The combination of eye-muscle strain occurring while scanning for the location of a specific item's usage in an article and overall blinding effect of the white background is truly exceptional for conjuring ocular pain. While I could leave it as is and appreciate that Scaffold will be a stand-out application in at least one way, I'm not so keen on beginning all of my demos with the phrase, "now this may hurt a little..."*
3) Scaffold's results and line-numbered article need to wrap to fit the browser window. Currently, they don't do this and it's a guaranteed bad time since Scaffold is almost always going to be occupying one part of the screen while the user has a document editor/browser/etc. open at the same time. In my case, I need to be able to stare at Scaffold (in app form) while also staring Scaffold (in code form).
That's all of the main UI fixes I have decided need to be dealt with before I move on. Let the HTML encore begin!
*EDIT- I realized going back to this that I never actually specified what my next work item was to fix the eye-hurt interface. I'm going to try out a couple of alternative color schemes to see which one has good contrast but isn't over the top. I also intend to break up the text blocks into more readable tables or at least a more eye-scan-friendly arrangement of text
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