From kde-core-devel  Fri May 04 18:26:56 2001
From: Charles Samuels <charles () kde ! org>
Date: Fri, 04 May 2001 18:26:56 +0000
To: kde-core-devel
Subject: System Configure tool
X-MARC-Message: https://marc.info/?l=kde-core-devel&m=98900101330849


Upon reading the latest article at The Dot, I've come to the conclusion t=
hat=20
we need to write a Generic System Configuration tool.

And I'm now volunteering to kickstart it, despite the fact that I promise=
d to=20
not :)

But before I begin, I want volunteers to help out.  At least 2 more peopl=
e=20
other than myself :)

Isn't this the responsibility of the vendors?  Yes, and no.  Yes, because=
=20
they're the jerkwads that can't decide on the standard for configuring th=
ese=20
things, but no, because they're a) incompetent and can never do it right =
and=20
b) we want the best for our users and ourselves.  Or at least I think we =
do=20
on point b... ;)

How do I indend to acheive this?  We'll be abstracting both the configure=
=20
system, and the user-interface. and both of these components will be=20
dlopened.  This is to make it possible to have a console version, and a K=
DE=20
version, with the same configuration backend.  You want a console version=
 for=20
only a few specific modules, particularly stuff to configure the X server=
 ;) =20
Welcome is the other tools, however.

First, on app startup, it reads all the .desktop files, and creates the=20
kcontrol-like tree (and similarly on the console).  If I click on an item=
 on=20
the tree, it looks for the associated .desktop file, in it, it looks for =
the=20
UI front-end that corresponds to the mode of the app (in our case, an X t=
ype=20
frontend).  Then it tries to the backend corresponding to the system, tel=
ls=20
the frontend of the backend to use, and "executes" the frontend.

This method, thereby, allows all backends to have the same user-interface=
=2E

Why am I not abstracting the "widgets" as well?  Why should we?  We're=20
supporting KDE-only, last I checked, this _is_ KDE, and we'll be linking =
to=20
Qt anyway, and the added complexity is not worth the benefit.  And this=20
method will also make it possible to later add auto-generating=20
user-interfaces.


-Charles


--=20
Charles Samuels <charles@kde.org>
K Desktop Environment
"The people. Could you patent the sun?"
 -- Jonas E. Salk, when asked who owned the patent on his polio vaccine.