RGSG Proposal: Application Interfaces

[Gleef <gleef capital net>]

NOTE: This is a proposed modification to the Rebel GNOME Style Guide.  It 
is an attempt to give a more useful structure to the start of Chapter 3.
It is intended to replace the introductory paragraph, section 
<3.1 - Menus> and section <3.5 - Navigation>.  All other items from should
remain as they are, and be renumbered appropriately (for now).

I have deliberately left the bodies of the sections out, as I feel there is
more likely to be debate on those, and that debate should be kept separate.
This proposal is to put a more managable structure for some things that are
commonly agreed upon (with a few of my own points put in so people can
debate something ;-).

****************************************************

Chapter Three	Gnome Application Style Guide
=============================================

This chapter contains guidelines for GNOME Applications.  They are sorted by
topics and marked with C-Levels for compliance. 


3.1 Primary Application Interface
---------------------------------

C2 - All GNOME Applications must use one of the following kinds of user
interface:

     Option 1: A menubar, as defined in section 3.1.1.  This option is
               intended for most applications, as it is the most familiar
	       interface for most users.
	       
     Option 2: Buttons, either organized in a button bar, or separated, as
               defined in section 3.1.2.  This option is intended for
               lightweight applications which need to have a very simple
               interface.
	       
     Option 3: A pop-up menu, appearing when a button is hit (configurable,
               but defaulting to the right mouse button), as defined in
               section 3.1.3.  This option is intended for applications which
               need to maximize their use of screen real estate.

C2 - The above user interface must allow the user to Exit the program,
and to obtain the About information for the program.

C2 - If any of the following functions are availiable, they must be
accessible through the same interface as above: Help, New, Open, Close,
Save, Print, Application Settings [rename this to whatever gets decided on],
Document Settings [rename this to whatever this gets decided on].  [I assume
this list will get addded to]

C3 - All other major functions of the application should be accessible
through the above interface.

C1 - If the user selects Exit from the above interface, and the user has
unsaved information, the application should pop up a modal dialog to ask the
user if they are sure they want to exit the application without saving.

C1 - The application should have the same behavior when it receives a SIGINT
or a SIGTERM signal as when Exit is selected.

C1 - Upon receiving a SIGKILL signal, the program should exit as quickly and
cleanly as possible, with no user input.

[Note: I did not forget the item in <3.5 - Navigation> regarding the last
four documents, I just think it is only appropirate for the Menubar
interface].


3.1.1 Menubar Application Interface
-----------------------------------

[ Intentionally left blank, you can fill in the former section 3.1 here,
though if it makes you feel better ]


3.1,2 Button Application Interface
----------------------------------

[ Also intentionally left blank, I'll be posting proposals for these sections
separately ].


3.1.3 Popup Application Interface
---------------------------------

[ What do you want, a medal? ;-) ]