RE: PROPOSAL : Integrating system tools in GNOME

[Alberto Ruiz <arc gulic org>]

On jue, 2004-06-03 at 15:44 -0700, Eugenia Loli-Queru wrote:
> >The PROBLEM :
> >Gnome is absolutly UI inconsistent in respect to system tools.
> 
> The problem is real, but your solution is probably not the best. Gnome is a
> framework, and it should provide framework-oriented solutions, not do the
> job of the distros, bsds and unix (or osx). That would be way too much work
> and a nightmare to maintain so many distro versions and OSes that work a bit
> different than each other (e.g. Solaris, HP-UX, IRIX, OSX, AIX, all BSDs,
> all gazillion Linuxes). Gnome is, let's say, an OEM desktop solution, rather
> than the solution used unchanged everywhere.
> 
> So, to fix the problem of preference/system-settings inconsistency is to
> create a *framework* where distros/OSes can use it to *easily* port or
> rewrite or write their tools. The target would be that by using that
> framework these settings panels would feel like home, integrated to Gnome
> and well-placed in the menu hieriarchy without having the OS makers thinking
> too hard how to do things to look good (the framework should take care most
> of the pain).
> 
> I have already talked about this extensively and provided some half-a$$ed
> mockups. :-)
> http://lists.gnome.org/archives/desktop-devel-list/2004-January/msg00250.html
> 
> To recap, pointing the problem is correct, and Gnome should provide the
> backend functionality operating as an OEM framework, instead of
> re-implementing every single system-specific system setting/panel that might
> be very different from distro to distro and OS to OS. That would be
> unmaintainable.
> 

Gnome system tools has a backend that does all that stuff, and has a
frontend to manage the backend too, the backends supports most of unix
flavours and distros, all this work is already done. The only thing that
leaves to do is include GSTools in the Desktop correctly.

> Rgds,
> Eugenia

Greetings,
Alberto Ruiz.