Apologies if this is the wrong forum. Please move it if there's a better home for this post.
Anyway, since I am starting on GUI programming (with Python, currently PyQt, soon PyKDE, I hope), I would like to know if there is a KDE HIG available somewhere, so I can read up a bit on what mistakes to avoid when creating a GUI. I have (very briefly) googled about it but I didn't find links to the current (4.x series)version, if there is one.
If anyone can shed some light on the matter, it would be greatly appreciated.

there is one in techbase.kde.org
I could give you the direct link, but it seems to be down at the moment.

Here are the current guidelines for KDE4 applications. It won't be too hard not to follow.

The general conception I hear from a lot of die-hard KDE users (and often very anti-Gnome for this very reason) is that a HIG would increase "user friendliness" at the cost of losing productivity. Thus, it is not a top priority for many KDE users, and hasn't been written yet.

EDIT: Oh... didn't know that there was one on the techbase...

See here for more information: http://techbase.kde.org/Development/Guidelines

jrick wrote:Here are the current guidelines for KDE4 applications. It won't be too hard not to follow.

Link seems to be broken.

The general conception I hear from a lot of die-hard KDE users (and often very anti-Gnome for this very reason) is that a HIG would increase "user friendliness" at the cost of losing productivity.

They just have a wrong idea about HIGs, HCI, usability, and accessibility. Probably from trauma from GNOME. But that doesn't mean it's bad.

Thus, it is not a top priority for many KDE users, and hasn't been written yet.

HIG's are not something users write. It's not something directly for users but for developers. So while it may not be a top priority for users, it is a priority for KDE developers, specially for KDE 4. So much so that there is a KDE HCI Working Group.

KDE has had HIG or style guidelines even in KDE 3. The problem was that it wasn't really well known nor properly followed. Celeste Lyn Paul and Ellen Reitmeyr have been working their asses off to change that for KDE 4.

http://wiki.openusability.org/guideline ... /Main_Page

(Unfortunately, up to now, it doesn't seem to be completely finished yet...)

The general conception I hear from a lot of die-hard KDE users (and often very anti-Gnome for this very reason) is that a HIG would increase "user friendliness" at the cost of losing productivity.

No, it would create consistency so everything works the same. Which, in the end increases productivity. Developers also like guidelines because it makes it easier to code UIs and release faster (they don't have to think about the design as much).

Thus, it is not a top priority for many KDE users, and hasn't been written yet.

As Jucato says, HIGs are not the responsibility for users to write. They should be written by experienced UI designers/developers.

http://wiki.openusability.org/guideline ... /Main_Page

(Unfortunately, up to now, it doesn't seem to be completely finished yet...)

Those are no longer valid. The following guidelines are the correct location for the KDE4 HIG:

The KDE4 Human Interface Guidelines
http://techbase.kde.org/Projects/Usability/HIG/[hr]
I should also mention that the HIG is a living document and is not complete, always changing, and currently under development Usually if you have a specific question, it is best to ask via one of the communication methods (IRC, mailing list, forum), and sometimes the question ends up as content in the document.

seele wrote:

http://wiki.openusability.org/guideline ... /Main_Page

(Unfortunately, up to now, it doesn't seem to be completely finished yet...)

Those are no longer valid. The following guidelines are the correct location for the KDE4 HIG:

The KDE4 Human Interface Guidelines
http://techbase.kde.org/Projects/Usability/HIG/

Cool! Thanks for that. Need to update my bookmarks.

EDIT: seele, that page doesn't seem to exist yet on techbase.

The page does exist. Remove the trailing slash.

OK, my bad. Then for those listening in on the thread, the proper URL is http://techbase.kde.org/Projects/Usability/HIG

good.
gonna study a little bit to follow this on my app.

Tomaz wrote:good.
gonna study a little bit to follow this on my app.

If you have any questions let me know. The HIG is not yet very comprehensive, and developer questions help us make the articles more clear and add content.