Re: SVG format in metacity, gtk, desklets and build system for Gnome

[Marcin Antczak <marcin antczak e-dev pl>]

W liÅ?cie z Å?ro, 03-09-2003, godz. 13:33, Havoc Pennington pisze: 
> On Wed, Sep 03, 2003 at 12:02:53PM +0200, Marcin Antczak wrote:
> > Hello!
> > 
> > I have some thoughts after reading "KDE and Gnome" threat recently on
> > this list and I would like to share them and ask what do you think about
> > it.
> > 
> > 1. About themes...
> > 
> > 	a. We have Metacity which uses specific XML structure do 	describe
> > theme layout and elements.
> > 
> > 	I wonder why developer invents it's own "priopretary" format 	instead
> > adapt SVG semantics?
> >
> 
> SVG is a drawing format. The metacity theme is not just drawing. You
> could use SVG for the drawing part, but not for the geometry parts or
> things like using GTK theme colors.

I know that SVG is a drawing format, but SVG (I don't know if librsvg
supports it) is also provides some interactivity.

You can define events and use scripting for actions invoked by user
actions (mouse, keyboard).

So, I just thought that it could be fun to draw Metacity theme as SVG
object with some rules of course.

Then SVG model could have some required elements and some optional axes.

I imagined this:

required: two rectangles - one into another to define "frame geometry"

and theme designer should define some more objects with predefined names
to provide some interactivity like this:

<g id="close_button"></g>
<g id="minimize"/>

etc.... then Metacity should parse this SVG and find required objects
and link them with adequate actions.

I just know that Metacity has specific XML parser built in and I wonder
if it just can parse something based on different XML struture - based
on well documented and defined SVG format and not on "prioprietary
Havoc" ( ;-) ) format....

I know that now i can link svg images as theme elements but I just would
like to go further and not only define button box but entire
"title_bar".

I just don't understand why for example (based on
http://developer.gnome.org/doc/tutorials/metacity/metacity-themes.html):

"Metacity supports the following operations in any given drawing
'operation' -
rectangle Draws a rectangle with origin (x,y) and given width and
height. It takes optional attributes filled, which is "false" by
default. 
<rectangle color="blend/gtk:fg[NORMAL]/gtk:bg[NORMAL] x="0" y="0"
width="width" height="height" filled="true"/>"

So if Metacity supports this then why not this?:
http://www.w3.org/TR/SVG/shapes.html#RectElement

"The 'rect' element defines a rectangle which is axis-aligned with the
current user coordinate system. Rounded rectangles can be achieved by
setting appropriate values for attributes rx and ry."

Why you create your own "standard"?

> 
> If you want to add SVG support for the drawing then please feel free
> to send a patch, but you are going to be embedding SVG in the theme
> file for the drawing, not using SVG for the whole theme.

Well... I just ask - why not?


-- 
Marcin Antczak <marcin antczak e-dev pl>