Re: GNOME::Selector

[jacob berkman <jacob ximian com>]

On 02 Jun 2001 12:29:33 +0200, 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 ...

(possibly because all the mails i sent you asking what specific problem
you were trying to solve remain unanswered)

> 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.

indeed i am wondering if we need all of the functionality too.  i will
try, in the next few days, to look for instances where this ends up
being useful, both in gnome/kde and whistler/mac os x.

> 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).

this is very similar to a file selector which is set to show images, and
does image previewing.  so a better general purpose file selector can
fill this role.  not only this, but it does this without any added
api/complexity to the developer, or in fact the user, who has one less
dialog type to learn.

> * 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.

this is just the image selector with a preview component, no?
 
> * 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).

file-sel/flist/

>   b) a preview area
> 
>      This will be another component - depending on the file type.

this is indeed tremendously easy to do with bonobo.  well it should be
at least.
 
>   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
> 
>   - etc.

while i am emphatically convinced we need a new file selector, i am not
as sure about these other generic selectors, at least with this
interface, since i fell it is way to complicated for what it is trying
to achieve.

jacob
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