Re: Applications menu for Fvwm
On Thu, 03 Oct 1996 09:58:01 +0200 Christian Linhart
(clinhart@ping.at) wrote:
> First, I think it's an excellent idea to provide an automatically
> configured wm-menu. This will make the use of the system a lot more
> user friendly.
Definitely agreed.
> I think we should use a generic installer script (install-menu).
> This script can then call the window-manager specific scripts.
[snip]
As every wm configuration file is different, I suggest that every wm
package provides an install-menu-<wm> script which will handle
removal and additions to the window manager menus...
Then install-menu would dispatch the request to all installed wms.
[snip]
> Now, I can think of some open questions:
> * What information should be provided to install-menu ?
> This must be enough information such that all window managers
> are happy with it.
We probably want:
1) an action (add/remove)
2) a package name
3) a category (nobody wants menus filling the whole screen)
> * Interaction with dpkg, e.g., should install-menu be integrated
> into dpkg ?
That should probably be part of the dpkg package. Install-menu would
be called from the post/pre installation scripts, the same way that
install-info is.
> * Should we use the package section as the name of the menu ?
> (This will be more consistent and thus probably easier for the user)
Duh ? Makes sense as long as the package name does the same (I think
that if the package `xterm-color-3dscrollbar' (if it ever comes to
life) shouldn't appear like that in the menu. This could be an
argument for install-menu:
install-menu <action> <name> <category>
where name is not always the package name...
Some additional remarks...
We'll be faced with the same problem as with /etc/skel.... What about
if users copy the wm file and modify it (which is quite common) ? The
case will happen much more often than /etc/skel (I mean /etc/skel
files aren't changed very often, at least less often than this case),
as any X package will want to update the menus.
I've always considered a nice thing to update all of the users
menus... But what if the user changed the conf file beyond
recognition ?
I suggest using a meta comment, like this:
#---DEBIAN-UPDATE-CONFFILE---
With some other comment around saying that if this line is
changed/deleted, automatic updates won't be possible anymore...
Of course, this will make the update task quite complex...
Additionnaly, what about the existing installed Debian base ? We must
think about a roadmap...
> * Who writes it ?
> [I know that I'm kind of volunteering for it when I ask this
> question ;-)]
I could try to help (when I'll have upgraded my packages to the new format :-)
Phil.
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