Re: Debian menu system update
Colin Walters dijo [Thu, May 29, 2003 at 11:18:27AM -0400]:
> > I have read this standard again and again and I have trouble to
> > see how far it is relevant to the Debian menu system:
>
> Primarily because the rest of the world has settled on the .desktop
> format as the standard for menus. The whole idea with .desktop was to
> supplant the myriad incompatible menu systems used by various
> distributors.
>
> Third party software developers nowadays are going to be writing
> .desktop files, and dropping them in /usr/share/applications. I doubt
> that very many at all are going to go to the trouble of learning
> Debian's menu system and writing an additional menu entry for it.
>
> And more and more upstream packages are coming with .desktop files now;
> why should I have to write a Debian menu file when my package comes with
> a perfectly good .desktop menu file?
I am not too sure I want this... One of the great things about our menu
system is that it complies with a rather logical policy - menus are not
overly nested. I don't know how is the .desktop format, but I understand
it is just that - a format. I really doubt it provides the coherency of
Debian's menu system - Imagine, for example, a developer files his
browser in Apps/Browsers instead of Apps/Net - What can we do about it?
We can not even file a bug. He will probably not care about our
complaint, as he does not need to abide by any policy for HIS work.
Menu systems, IMHO, are the task of a distribution - a way to organize a
collection of software. They should not be the task of individual
developers.
Greetings,
--
Gunnar Wolf - gwolf@gwolf.cx - (+52-55)5630-9700 ext. 1366
PGP key 1024D/8BB527AF 2001-10-23
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