Re: issues for future version

[jg pa dec com (Jim Gettys)]

--
> From: Havoc Pennington <hp redhat com>
> Date: 28 Aug 2001 21:17:11 -0400
> To: jg pa dec com (Jim Gettys)
> Cc: Mathias Hasselmann <mathias hasselmann gmx de>, wm-spec-list gnome org
> Subject: Re: issues for future version
> -----
> jg pa dec com (Jim Gettys) writes:
> > Not all that weird.
>
> OK, I've never used a PDA... so "weird to me" - I assume the idea is
> to save space.

Yes.  Definately the motivation.  You just don't have pixels to waste.  You have
a bunch of different apps that need to show small items somewhere.

>
> > You just use the docking mechanisms for panels for this...
>
> Right now they are not the kind of thing you'd want in a spec; too
> embarassing. ;-)


>
> Owen and Matthias developed an XEmbed spec for this that AFAIK hasn't
> yet been posted, but GTK 2 and Qt 3 support it I think. Owen wanted an
> X extension to get it 100% reliable though.
>
> Still, docking arbitrary stuff in the titlebar sounds like a lot of
> crackrock to me. ;-) Maybe a list of strings to be displayed inside
> buttons, with the WM rendering the actual buttons (app just provides
> the text) - that's relatively simple/cheap to implement, and doesn't
> break themes (as much).

It isn't arbitrary stuff: it is stuff we really care about....

>
> But I know for a WM supporting these hints I'd want to see a separate
> "PDA mode" and ignore such hints unless I was in PDA mode. These
> titlebar buttons are definitely out of line for desktop
> machines. There's too much usability value in consistent window
> borders.
>
> Maybe we could have a separate section in the spec for "PDA hints" -
> I'd want to see a few people who actively hack on PDAs working on that
> section, rather than the usual crowd here.
>

A bit premature.  We need more experience/experimentation before coming
to any conclusions....  Anything we'd do right now would be half baked
at best...

                   - Jim