Re: the gnustep wreckage. Part 1: windowmaker and user apps

[Uli Kusterer]

In article <mailman.3902.1100879672.8225.discuss-gnustep@gnu.org>,
 Enrico Sersale <enrico@imago.ro> wrote:

> In this perspective, the existence of all the helper apps is easy 
> understandable:
> 
> both the apps needs file operations.
> both the apps needs an Inspector.
> both the apps needs a Finder and will use its File Annotations and Live 
> Search Folders.
> both the apps use fswatcher, thumbnailer, etc...

 I have the creeping feeling that I originally encouraged the splitting 
of Inspector into a separate app way back when it came up ... it had 
something to do with allowing people to choose a different file manager 
or desktop, right?

 So, what's keeping us from just taking one step and making those 
frameworks? I.e. there'd be

   Desktop.framework
   GWorkspace.framework
   Inspector.framework
   ...

and then there'd be a Workspace.app, which would simply load these 
frameworks. That would avoid the entire issue of having to kill the 
apps, it would not cause any excess dock tiles for what is essentially a 
window of the main app, and since they're still separate frameworks, 
it'd still be possible to replace the GWorkspace.framework with another 
framework which, say, implemented a different file browser GUI a la 
Finder or Bob, or whatever.

 All that would be needed would be a simple protocol that defines the 
minimal set of methods that an inspector, workspace, or desktop has to 
implement.

 Even if there are reasons against these I've overlooked, I wouldn't 
advise integrating the desktop into the window manager. Even Apple, 
whose desktop/Finder/Dock combo is an almost incestuous design where 
half the things that should be done elsewhere are actually done by the 
dock (making it pretty much impossible to replace the dock on a Mac), 
don't do that. The desktop is actually just a transparent window created 
by the Finder on top of the actual desktop background.

 Now, admittedly X11 doesn't widely support transparency for windows 
yet, but I think it'd be better to have one host app that loads 
frameworks. Even if just for stability's sake. Otherwise, when the 
desktop crashes, it'd pull down all the user's windows... wouldn't it?

Cheers,
-- M. Uli Kusterer
http://www.zathras.de