file selector re-visited

[Michael L Torrie <torriem cs byu edu>]

Just a quick note and a question or too.  First off, awhile I hacked the
file selector for gtk 1.2.8 to add some features and change it's look.
Now apparently XMMS 1.2.5 breaks with this custom widget design because it
reaches into the file selector object structure and accesses an internal
widget directory.  This widget (formerly an input box) is now a drop-down
box, so things core dump.

Is it not improper for XMMS to be working in this manner?  They are
expecting the internals of the file selector to be a certain way.  Should
not they be treating the file selector like a black box, as much as is
possible, and sticking to the APIs?  What is the official recommendation
on this messing with internal widgets directly?  Is the file selector
design so bad that this is required to make it useful to XMMS?

Also, if programs are going to extend the file selector dialog box to
include custom things, such as extra buttons or preview windows, shouldn't
an api be added to expose certain parts of the hboxes and vboxes to allow
controlled, sane, extension of the dialog box, rather than assuming the
internal structure is a certain way, which is what XMMS and the GIMP
currently do?

Anyway, thanks for your input.

cheers,
Michael