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List:       kde-core-devel
Subject:    Re: Moving QExtMDI to kdelibs
From:       Jason Keirstead <jason () keirstead ! org>
Date:       2003-05-13 21:39:39
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On May 13, 2003 11:12 am, Cornelius Schumacher wrote:
> On Dienstag, 13. Mai 2003 15:57, Christoph Cullmann wrote:
> > > We already have these guidelines. From the KDE User Interface
> > > Guidelines
> > > (http://developer.kde.org/documentation/standards/kde/style/basics/wind
> > > ow s. html):
> > > 
> > > "KDE does not use MDI"
> > 
> > Which doesn't reflect the current situation in kde, lets name konqueror,
> > konsole, kate, quanta, kdevelop, .....
> 
> But nevertheless is a good guideline...

That is a matter of opinion. Let me quote the justification for no MDI from the \
guideline...

  "But times and technology move on, and today MDI is widely considered to impose \
unnecessary restrictions  on the way users work. Users with multiple desktops or \
large, high-resolution monitors don't want to be  constrained by one mother window. \
Users expect the freedom to move windows where they want, and spread  them out over \
as many desktops as suits them. The MDI mother window offers the programmer a simple \
way to  control what is being displayed by the application, but it offers no benefits \
to the user."

This whole paragraph is wrought with problems IMO. "Users with multiple desktops or \
large, high-resolution monitors" When was the last time you saw an average user (read \
- non-developer, probably Windows users ) have multiple monitors or multiple \
desktops? *I* have multiple monitors, but the average user does not. Also i'd be \
surprised if the average user even had the slightest idea what you meant by multiple \
desktops, let alone have the desire to have some of his web browsing windows on one \
desktop, and some on another. Users have a hard enough time keeping track of the open \
windows on one desktop, nevermind keeping track of whats on 4 or 8.

And the idea that MDI offers no benefits to the user is insane.  It lets you avoid \
having tons of windows everywhere you have to manage, you know where  everything for \
that app is, and I can close them all with one click. You have only one menu / \
toolbar / interface to have to work with.. if you enable / disable settings in it you \
are assured they will take effect for all the child windows. 

Whether or not MDI is horrible in theory is not the issue.. it is if the user should \
be forced ot use SDI when they don't want to. I can tell you right now that if the \
MDI was removed from Konq, Kate, and Konsole we would suddenly see the usage of those \
apps drop like a rock, and I would probably be forced to ditch KDE altogether for \
(ugh) GNOME, because I *like* MDI (tab style), always have. I still turn it on \
whenever I fire up MS Office under Windows, and many many other people feel the same \
way, proven by the huge number of MDI apps already in KDE. 

I think this QExtMdi would be excellent in kdelibs because finally all these MDI apps \
can have a consistant interface and features. Right now they all behave differently. \
But the ability to switch from tab mode to to level mode on the fly in apps like Konq \
and Kate and KOffice would be a dream come true for me.

-- 
Jason Keirstead, BCS
http://www.keirstead.org


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