Re: Debian menu system update
On Sun, 2003-06-01 at 10:10, Bernhard R. Link wrote:
> * Colin Walters <walters@debian.org> [030530 19:45]:
> > What do you mean "consistent concept overall"? Using the freedesktop
> > standards makes things more consistent, not less.
>
> Then please point to a documentation, how to overwrite the menus
> installed with the packages as admin or other things like this.
Basically you would edit the system .menu file, say
/etc/menus/applications.menu.
http://www.freedesktop.org/standards/menu/draft/menu-spec/menu-spec.html#MENU-FILE-FORMAT
> We will need to add some way to get windowmangers and modules
> to existing windowmanagers handled.
No window managers should have to change. We will probably have to
update their /etc/menu-methods/foo though.
> The most of the complexity is not what and how to do things, but to see
> what needs to be done. A classical menu item is easy to do and well
> documented. Checking a .dektop-file, if it is good enough to be included
> it not so easy
And why is that?
The .desktop format is quite well documented:
http://www.freedesktop.org/standards/desktop-entry-spec/desktop-entry-spec.html#BASIC-FORMAT
> , but easy to miss looking into it at all.
The idea is that we switch to .desktop as our native format as a first
step. That way you can't "miss looking into it at all".
> If it is translated upstream and the name is usable, then there is no
> problem in taking the translations. If it is not, it has to be done
> anyway.
Yes, but the point is that the former case will be the vast majority.
> I strongly believe the menu is something to be maintained.
I strongly believe that too.
> Debian is
> about quality and Debian is the only one to include almost any piece
> of free software. We cannot let slip in whatever any upstream thinks
> is the best place for its items.
No kidding. Why do you keep repeating this, when I have answered that
we can easily make whatever edits are required?
> Let me come back to my directory example. Some time ago people switching
> to Debian had to learn headers are in /usr/include and nothing installed
> by debian is in /opt. I did not think it was a bad things and others
> following have showed it was the right way.
But your example is a straw man, because all those paths are specified
by another non-Debian-specific standard (the FHS). Just like the FHS,
the Desktop Menu standard will save administrators time.
> (Next step is abolishing
> update-alternative, just another things people have to learn...)
Sigh.
> It was designed to cope the needs of KDE and GNOME. These are well known
> to favor single-user systems, pretend nothing outside their own exists and
> in general be a nightmare to administrators.
Ah, right. The "I can't think of a technical argument, so I'll just add
in some uninformed flames at GNOME and KDE even though this argument
isn't really related to them" part.
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