Re: how to store prefs/session data

[Glynn Foster <glynn foster sun com>]

On Wed, 2001-10-10 at 06:30, Maciej Stachowiak wrote:
> Here are some questions to poke at a few of the design's assumptions:
> 
> * If a user wanted one setup where Nautilus uses a new window for each
> directory and has the toolbar and location bar off, and another where
> it has the default settings (perhaps because of differences in
> available screen size or pointer device, I dunno) how would they do
> that under your proposal? (Note: this is neither a session setting nor one
> that is managed by the control center.)

In this case, Nautilus would have to act as it's own session manager in
some sort of way using, presumably, globally defined settings in
/apps/nautilus .... but it does get a little hazy here :(

> * How should settings that an app currently lets you set globally _or_
> per-instance, like some of the terminal settings be handled?

It sounds like there should be some sort of heirarchy, whereby
per-instance should override per-session should override globally, or
well maybe the other way around. Anyway, configuration like this is on
crack and should be removed because it's only going to confuse the hell
out of normal users.

[snip some stuff about location management which I can't make my mind up
about]

> * Let's say display size and color depth are per-session. Does that
> mean that gtk theme, background color, window manager theme and all
> font and color settings must be per-session only (since it's clear
> that you might want all these things different between color and
> grayscale, 8-bit color and 24-bit color, and different screen
> resolution)? Does that imply that changing themes and fonts and colors
> will not be remembered next time you log in unless you save the
> session? Is that acceptable if we leave not saving the session as teh
> default?

Yes, in my mind they can be both...there are always a few borderline
settings that could be either global or per-session and really the only
way to decide which they should be is to let the user decide. Really the
whole idea of multiple-sessions is an advanced feature anyway. Currently
gtk theme, background color and window manager theme are automatically
saved and I think perhaps this is still the way to go, with the session
saving callback 'save_yourself'  being used to remember which
applications where present on the desktop at logout/shutdown/whatever.
The idea of using instant apply dialogs seems to sort out some of the
confusion [I think].

			See ya,
				Glynn ;)