Re: GNOME::Selector

[Dietmar Maurer <dietmar ximian com>]

Martin Baulig wrote:

> Joe Shaw <joe ximian com> writes:
>
> > > so which non-file uses do you envision for this interface?
> >
> > And perhaps that non-file selector should be developed in parallel with
> > the file selector, so we can be sure that the final interface is generic
> > (and in this case more complicated) but adequate for our needs, so we
> > don't end up with another GtkCList.
>
> You guys are all talking about file selectors ...
>
> The file selector is the most basic and most trivial implementation
> of GNOME::Selector - and it clearly doesn't need all of it's functionality.
>
> What I want to use GNOME::Selector for is at least:
>
> * GnomeImageSelector
>
>   This uses the standard GtkCombo in the entry widget (see the Anatomy diagram)
>   and a GnomeIconList in the selector widget and it can pop up a file selector
>   dialog (which is, of course, a component).
>
> * GnomeImageEntry
>
>   This has two modes of operation - as pixmap or as icon entry.
>
>   The icon entry is what was GnomeIconEntry in GNOME 1.x. The pixmap entry has
>   the standard GtkCombo in the entry widget and an image preview in the preview
>   area. Both of them can pop up a dialog with a GnomeImageSelector or another
>   component in it.
>
> * A file selector for special file types
>
>   This one still needs to be written - we need two things:
>
>   a) a generic file selector component
>
>      This can be a simple BonoboControl with an e-table or a clist in it
>      which displays a file list (I'll write a very simple sample implementation
>      this weekend, something which can be done in a few hours, just to make
>      sure the API works).

This already exists and is actively developed by Jacob. Please take a look at
GNOME CVS module  file-sel.

>   b) a preview area
>
>      This will be another component - depending on the file type.
>
>   If you plug a) and b) together to a GNOME::Selector you'll
>
>   - an image selector with a file list (actually, GnomeImageEntry will allow
>     you to load a component in the selector widget)
>
>   - theme selector
>
>   - netscape bookmarks browser

Well, you can try to define such a selector shell, but I hardly believe that it
will be used the way you think. For example I am sure that a bookmarks browser
will have other requirements. And it is not much work to synchronize the selection
area with the preview area, so I think we would not gain anything from using a
generic selector interface (like my gshell, which was never used anywhere)

Anyway, I consider your code highly experimental, and I don't think we should
include it now into the base libraries. It should reside in bonobo-extra until it
is stable enough (I will add that module next week).

- Dietmar