Re: Icons of program

[raster redhat com]

On 17 Apr, Sangsu Kim shouted:
->  Most file managers use icons for presenting file objects but there is no
->  standard method of managing icon-filetype database in UNIX world.
->  KDE uses MIME type database  based on the file extensions and predefined
->  icons for some programs.
->  But for the files without extension like  most other executable files,
->  it is not so easy to decide which icon will be used.
->  So if  icon information is included in executable files just like as
->  Windows does,
->  it  provides an very straight way of showing icons for executable files.
->  
->  Is there any standard method of include  icons into executable file?
->  I think that ELF format is generous and flexible enough to include the
->  icon information.

Bad Idea. We cannot generalize this to "any file" - time to take a
lesson from the Amiga:

filename
filename.info

The filename is the actualy file... nothing magic about it.
filename.info is an icon file. ALL files with icons posess these and
they "tag along for the ride" whenver you copy, move, etc. The icon file
contains the graphic data for the icon, plus properties of the file (the
amiga had an "icon" equivalent of comand-line-options for programs or
data files when run with a program.. eg the icon would store what
program to run to retrieve the data again.. each an image could store
"ee" as the retrieval program.. or gimp - it could also store
properties that were effectively command-line-options for the program
being run. The icon file coudl stroe multiple images, eg for norma,
selected etc.

fils that didnt have .inof fiels tagged along in the dir would be
"given" and icon from a system repository of icons based on file
(executable, project, device etc.) this can be expaned to use mimi
types for extensions and magic numbers (i personally propose magic
numbers as a FIRST means of identification - if this fails fall back to
extensions.. if that fails treat the file as unknown data (unless stat
on the file reveals its an executable, named pipe, fifo, directory,
device etc.) the filenamager when it first scans a dir of files that
havent been given icons can go create .info files so in future it
doesnt have to keep working it out every time... the info file will
store everything needed. If the user cannot write then the fm will have
to work out what system icon to use each and every time. (unless we
make the fm suid root and it will "become root" whenever it needs to
create or modify icon files that the user cannot access normally - but
now we're talking REALLY evil)... Anyway.. Just thought I'd throw this
in...

-- 
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