Re: Motif Hints [was: Re: Fwd: Draft 1]

[Matthias Ettrich <ettrich troll no>]

> 
> so what classes of windows do we have ?
> 
> * normal ones (ie main app windows)
> * transient dialogs (these are closed before continuing work 
>                      in the main window)
> * non-transient dialogs (these could be left open for a long time)
> * naked windows (??)  
> * tool windows (??)
> * tiny (??)
> 
> Matthias, could you come up with an explanation for the last three,
> which your first draft only explained in terms of the decorations to apply
> to them (although you condemned the motif hints for doing just that).

I'd like to comment on the first three first: we have to be careful that people
don't mix transient dialogs / non-transient dialogs with the idea of transient
windows. Per definition, all dialogs are somehow transient windows, thus
meaning they can be closed with the application continuing and they only make
sense in combination with an application main window.

So I'd rather suggest we speak of modal and non-modal dialogs.  Both types of
dialogs shall have the transient_for hint defined.

*naked windows: All the stuff that currently is mostly override_redirect:
taskbars, panels, pagers etc. Making them naked windows instead makes it
possible to access (and use them) with they keyboard, since the window
manager's focus handling will then apply to them as well.

* tool windows: Microsoft calls it: "A window intented to be used as a floating
toolbar [....] it has a titlebar that is shorter than a normal titlebar and the
title is drawn using a smaller font. [...]"

*tiny ( a stupid name, I admit): similar to naked, but the WM provides a small
visual frame around it so that the window can be easily resized / move /
accessed.

KDE currently uses "tiny" for floating toolbars as well (since we provide a
toolbar handle for moving ).  "tool" is IMO very practical for slightly bigger
tool windows used in graphics applications.


Sorry, that's the status of my considerations regarding decoration classes. I'm
sure there's more to it and in particular better definitions. 

Matthias