Re: patch for gtk+-2.0 : support for new Application Launch Feedback mechanism

[Elliot Lee <sopwith redhat com>]

On Wed, 21 Mar 2001, Mary Dwyer wrote:

> There are problems with your proposal as I understand it:
>
> 1. The launcher would:
>       - start the feedback display
>       - fork and exec application
>
>       But, if the feedback display window is awaiting an X client
>       message then it would have to use gtk_main(). Therefore, the
>       start_feedback() would not return to allow launcher to fork and
>       exec the application.
> (In galf the feedback display window just
>       uses gtk_widget_show()).As far as I can see, you would have to
> use
>       threads to get around this ......

I'm really not comprehending the problem here. A description of a sample
launcher implementation follows:

During initialization, it sets up a 'client_event' signal handler on its
main window.

When it wants to launch an application, it creates an ID number to
internally identify that instance. It forks, and in the child does
setenv("DESKTOP_LAUNCH_ID", "launcher_main_window_ID,launchee_ID"), and
execs the application. The main launcher process then can sit around
waiting for the launchee notification, or can timeout if no notification
is received.

> 2.  The mechanism you propose relies on the toolkit being compliant (ie
>     sending the X client message). The galf mechanism has a workaround
>     for non-compliant toolkits (ie toolkits that do not set the
>     _NET_WM_LAUNCH_ID property), in that it monitors for the mapping of a new
>     window that does not have that property set.

The requirement of dealing with non-compliant apps was not given. If this
is in fact a requirement, this will certainly complicates things, and
might make the X part of the current design necessary (there is no benefit
to requiring a notification message from the launchee if you are going to
have to be examining all the new windows shown anyways).

> Can you outline the issues/problems you envisage with the CORBA solution?

Can you explain what functionality CORBA adds that cannot be done in the
launcher by a library?

Thanks for your patience :)
-- Elliot
The truth knocks on my door, and I say
"Go away. I'm looking for the truth"
...and so it goes away.