I've gotten some bug reports lately asking for desktop files to be added
to packages like xgalaga and kobodeluxe, and saw some others in the BTS.
All of these packages, of course, already include Debian menu files. But I
don't understand what the rationalle is behind adding a desktop file to a
package that includes a Debian menu file and is not a Gnome/KDE component.
My understanding is that in both Gnome and KDE, the main menu is created
based on the desktop files, and in both environments, we have a "Debian"
menu with the regular Debian menu system in it, based on the Debian menu
files.
This division, while not IMHO technically very nice, helps the
consistency and usability of the desktop environments, since the most
accessible menu items are those from the desktop files for that
particular desktop environment. To find some strange program that is not
a Gnome (or KDE) program, the user has to go spelunking in the depths of
the Debian menu structure.
Assuming that's accurate, I don't understand why we would want to add
desktop files to lots of non-Gnome, non-KDE applications such as xgalaga
and kobodeluxe[1]. It seems that if we added desktop files for
_everything_, the abovementioned benefits would basically be lost. And
we'd have to maintain both desktop files and Debian menu files for
_everything_, which turns the abovementioned technical infelicity from
not very nice but manageable on a small scale, to a gobal PITA.
--
see shy jo
[1] Bear in mind that they're not just non-Gnome/KDE, but relatively
ancient and nonintuitive, though fun, programs.
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