Re: sensible-browser and sensible-image-viewer
On 11-Apr-01, 17:34 (CDT), Malcolm Parsons <malcolm@ivywell.screaming.net> wrote:
> On Wed, Apr 11, 2001 at 09:58:29AM -0500, Steve Greenland wrote:
> > On 11-Apr-01, 08:20 (CDT), Bill Allombert <allomber@math.u-bordeaux.fr> wrote:
> > > Erik Steffl wrote:
> > > >Malcolm Parsons wrote:
> > > >>
> > > >> I'd also like to see a tool to allow a user to select alternatives, by
> > > >> creating symlinks in ~/bin to the appropriate binaries.
> > > > perhaps that's what update-alternatives should do when run as non-root
> > > > user?
> >
> > There is a tool to do this: it's called 'ln'.
>
> Yes, that's what I'm doing at the moment, I'd like something more user
> friendly, allowing the user to select the link destination from a list.
I guess I'm missing the point: who generates the
list? Update-alternatives doesn't do any such thing.
'ln' is the standard unix tool to generate such a link.
> > > I think it's a good idea. Users ready to use update-alternatives
> > > should be able to set a PATH(in .xsession, else apps launched by wm
> > > does not have the good path). But how we implement it ?
> >
> > alias vi=vim
>
> I don't start all applications from a shell.
Then use the menu entry that points to the editor (or whatever it is)
you want. Or create user menu entries. Or create a desktop icon that
points to what you want. I just don't get it.
> > HOWEVER, there is nothing to prevent the user from typing whatever name
> > they want, or creating an alias to do what they want, or creating a link
> > in their own ~/bin to point to whatever they want.
>
> So you agree that links in ~/bin should be supported?
Links in ~/bin are supported, if you put ~/bin in your PATH. I've lots
of links in ~/bin, and they work just fine.
> (I would like to persuade Christian Marillat to fix bug #79941)
Ahh. Well, Christian gave you a completely legitimate standard Unix(tm)
working solution to your problem: define WINDOW_MANAGER. I don't see
why this is any harder than making a link and modifying your PATH, nor
do I consider it un-Debian: Debian is a Unix(tm)-like OS, and supports
all kinds of environment variables, such as EDITOR, PAGER, etc. OTOH, I
don't see your request ("readlink `which x-window-manager`") as being
that big a deal, either, but then I don't maintain gnome-session, and
this is a enhancement (not bug, because there is a way to do what
you want: you just don't like it) clearly under the maintainer's
purview. Hmmm, I guess I would be tempted to argue that gnome-wm
overriding the user's setting *is* a bug, if in fact that is what it
does.
In any case, none of this has anything with update-alternatives, which
is a *system* level tool that is not applicable to user level choices,
because there are many ways for users to accomplish the same kinds of
choices.
It's Linux: get used to it. Or prove me wrong: create a tool that does
what you want, and get it packaged and uploaded. If it's generally
useful, it will get used.
Steve the grumpy old (Unix/Linux) user.
--
Steve Greenland <stevegr@debian.org>
(Please do not CC me on mail sent to this list; I subscribe to and read
every list I post to.)
Reply to: