I really want to make my own ui... where to start?

[jishk]

So, I really enjoy a sleek, minimal ui. I've installed ones in the past, but I really want to make my own? I consider myself to have a pretty good sense of technical aptitude, and know my way around other languages pretty well (c#, python, js... not sure if those would be of any use, though). Might this be of any use in learning, or would I pretty much be learning how to do this from the beginning? Also, are there any good resources out there for tutorials or documentation?



If anyone has any experience with this, and/or can point me in the right direction, that would be awesome.

[Deleted]

For clarification:
Are you trying to write your own UI from scratch or are you simply trying to build one from existing addons?

[jishk]

From scratch

[Darth Steve]

Anything that you can learn about XML and LUA(scripting language, so closer to Python and JS rather than C#) will be a bonus. There's an older book you can grab about WoW Add-On Programming that still has all the LUA basics you'll need. The WoW UI forums are a good place, as is just taking UI code and stepping through it to see what does what, like when you first learned HTML. At least, that's what you should have done. View Source ftw.

Also, Notepad++. Get on it.

Does WoW Add-On Studio still exist? Didn't it help auto-generate code?

Also, as always, Google. Programmer's best friend.

[Deleted]

Well I've been studying C++ and really want to get into lua script but don't have the time. I've been making a few very small simple things and the skills I've picked up from C++ Programming do actually help. Many things are similar but at the same time there is a very big difference of course. So your programming knowledge should help you understand some things in lua. However I am no expert. All I am saying is that it helped me. I understand how lua works better than before I began studying C++ .

Definitely get Notepad++ though and if you want a graphical UI then I also recommend using illustrator/Photoshop and then GIMP to change files into .tga's for easy importing. That's just what I do though ^^

I've tried creating a UI from scratch before but my knowledge in lua just limits me too much unfortunately

[jishk]

Should be enough to go on. Thanks, guys!

[Deleted]

I'll give you my usual post for this kind of situation, then.

1. Don't use WYSIWYG. Use Notepad++ or a comparable plain text editor.
2. TOC format information
3. Lua 5.1 manual
4. API doc, event doc, widget doc. There's also the FrameXML, but you probably won't have to look into it until you get into hooking.
5. Feel free to ask for any advice regarding issues you're having on this forum - we'll be more than happy to assist.
6. You can also find me on IRC if you have questions. The channel is #mmo-champion @quakenet - if you're not familiar with it, there's a simple webchat you can use.
7. It's also helpful to look at other peoples' code. Most authors will be happy to help you out with any questions you have regarding their code if they're not busy. You can find most of them in the #wowace/#curseforge/#wowuidev channels on freenode.