Re: request for new feature

[Igor Pechtchanski <pechtcha at cs dot nyu dot edu>]

On Sun, 3 Aug 2003, Harold L Hunt II wrote:

> Igor,
>
> Igor Pechtchanski wrote:
> > On Sat, 2 Aug 2003, Harold L Hunt II wrote:
> > Harold,
> >
> > I have to agree with David here.  If everyone's pet commands were to be
> > added into the default X tray menu (an equivalent of the root menu in
> > other WMs, I guess), that menu would be well nigh unmanageable.  It would
> > be much nicer to have the configurability of, say, fvwm in the multiwindow
> > WM.  This would let people actually add their own commands as they please
> > without necessarily affecting other users.  The multiwindow window manager
> > is still young, with room to grow -- it might be better to learn the
> > lessons of other WMs and do it right.
> >       Igor
> > P.S. You're also right that adding a static xterm startup item to the menu
> > is a step in the general direction of a configurable menu.  Besides,
> > you're the maintainer, and thus, you're the boss. :-)
>
> I am all about baby steps.  We haven't even proven that we know how to
> start a new application for the user from the system tray icon yet.
> Until we actually do that this discussion is really pointless.

Harold,

It would be relatively simple to start an application given a command line
(basically a fork() and exec()).  I'm also assuming the tray icon message
handling routine would know the display number of the X session (to pass
it to the started app).

> My development plan goes something like this: do it simply, test it,
> make it more complex.

Sounds like a good plan.

> As for adding xterm... I really don't think it is a pet command.  xterm
> is often an item in shortcut menus and it happens to be the only
> application that we start by default in startxwin.bat.  So, it wouldn't
> be such a leap to want to let people start another xterm if they
> accidentally close the default one.
>
> Harold

Umm, yes, I didn't mean to say that that particular command was a pet
command; rather, I meant that adding commands on someone's request sets a
precedent, and then everyone and his brother will want their own commands
in the tray menu (which is not necessarily a bad thing to want, but you
don't want to be the one adding them).

Now that that's cleared up (hopefully), I think the tray icon menu could
be treated as the multiwindow window manager's root menu, and thus,
whatever commands (and configurability) other window managers might have
in the root menu belong in the tray icon menu (also considering the fact
that when not in multiwindow mode, the WM will have its own root menu).
	Igor
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