Re: Debian packages and freedesktop.org (Gnome, KDE, etc) menu entries

[Mathieu Roy <yeupou@gnu.org>]

Cameron Patrick <cameron@patrick.wattle.id.au> said:

[...]


> A standard like .desktop or the Debian menu system we have now /is/ a
> good thing; we also need a way to make those menu hierarchies available
> to applications which cannot and will not read them directly (hence the
> "weird formats" that I mentioned).  Currently, freedesktop provides the
> former but not the latter, so in order for freedesktop's scheme to be
> considered as a replacement for what we use now, there must also be a
> way to convert them into the format used by some arbitrary menu system.
> In practice, a way to convert existing menu entries into the new system,
> and ideally also a way to make use of existing menu-methods, would also
> be required.

Ok.

[...]


> Of course not.  But a lot - in fact, the overwhelming majority - of
> these environments predate .desktop files, and are unlikely to change.
> They don't integrate directly with any menu system but their own.  For
> new window managers (or or menu systems), I agree, it makes sense to use
> .desktop files for the appropriate menu, as they are more widely
> supported outside of Debian.

Ok.

[...]


> | > There is no reason for Debian to do something merely because Red Hat
> | > does.
> | 
> | Why do you assume that I want Debian to follow RedHat choice?
> [...]
> | Nobody proposed that. I do not see the point in arguing about a
> | non-existant proposal.
>
> In that case, why did you mention what Red Hat were doing?

Since the paragraph where I mentioned RedHat is no longer quoted, it
is less obvious why I mentioned it.

I mentioned RedHat choice has an example of major GNU/Linux
contributor that apparently decided that current development activity
on the project WindowMaker is too low to continue to support
commercially WindowMaker.

I have to admit that all the information I can found about that is
very laconic, for instance, in 
<http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/linux/RHL-9-Manual/release-notes/x86/>
is says that wmaker has been removed due to "Developer resource
constraints". 

I remember about a message from a guy from RedHat saying more or less
that he see no point in supporting an environment/wm that do not
follow the new standards decided at freedesktop.org (is open to
anybody if I understood right), that makes hard for RedHat to avoid
some specific troubles, to provide support easily. But I'm not able to 
remember where I seen that message, so maybe it was a mistake from me.  

This example was not meant to be a plan for Debian but an example of
persons thinking that it could make sense for wmaker to consider
following freedesktop.org standards in some cases.

The point was only: apparently it does not look so dumb to everybody
to consider using .desktop even for some of the environment/wm listed
by someone previously in this discussion.

(A bad example, I have to admit, considering the size of my
explanation of its usage)






-- 
Mathieu Roy

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