Re: [gtk-list] Re: MDI?

[KC5TJA <kc5tja topaz axisinternet com>]

> The point about MDI is that the separate windows are _inside_, (corralled,
> if you will) the main application window. If they are shrunk to icons,
> those icons appear in the main app window, etc. Basically, _everybody_
> (including MS, who invented this thing) seems to agree that this is all a
> rather bad idea, and for X in particular it would be a miserable idea,

I agree.  I dislike the MDI interface myself, as implemented by Microsoft
at least.

> The one variant that has been invented (again, by MS) that does make some
> sense is the VB 5 approach, which replaces the sub-window manager with a
> tiled window manager. (Which isn't too easy to describe. Think something
> like the Paned widgets, but where you can rearrange the panes. Also think
> Windows 1.0 :-)

MSVC 4.0 and later also uses this approach, and I personally like it *IF*
you have no more than three "windows" open at once.  Anything more, and it
becomes a hinderance.

> I don't see any reason why this can't all be treated as a general
> mechanism: have something called a "Page", that can be placed into a
> notebook, "ripped" out of the notebook into a separate (top-level) 
> window, or managed by some other system (like an tiled or MDI, yuck, Page
> manager.)

This, ideally, sounds like a good idea, and bears similarities to the
elusive pinnable menus.  I can see where this can become useful in some
very specialized applications.

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