[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread] 

List:       kde-devel
Subject:    Re: icon for jar files?
From:       Lotzi Boloni <boloni () cs ! purdue ! edu>
Date:       1999-01-24 21:03:29
[Download RAW message or body]

>>  If any, the jar file icon should be identical with that
>>for regular libraries (.so, .a etc). This is the normal use
>>of them. Maybe put a J marker on them. 
>
>No!!!! A jar file is and can be many things:
>
>- compressed archive full of class files, one of which could have a 
>   main() method (and hence be a program) - you could have 1+
>   programs in a jar file - or 1+ packages, or packages and programs
>- an archive full of anything really (you often include images in the
>  jar file that go with the program, default config files, etc...)

  Well, this is the definition of a "library" or "archive".
By the way, the ".a"  files are the exact counterpart of
".jar" files. They can contain anything. (See "man ar").
The hype associated with the introduction of the jar format
by Sun was one of the most meaningless from the many hypes
associated with Java. 

>While kfm and the mimetype can only really say "yup - its a jar
>file" the user/admin could identify some jar files as programs (the
>kdelnk would jave something like "jre -cp <jarfile> <class with main>"
>in it) or as packages (~libs), which would not be executable at all.
>It would be nice to have an icon that tells the user "if you click on
>this, a java application will run", which is quite different than "this
>contains some class files". Also, one can un-jar a jar file to get classes
>and/or images out of it...

  Well, this will be the icon associated with the given
kdelnk. And of course "ark" may be extended to handle the
jar format (it is probably an easy task).    

  So I stick to my vote that the icon should be identical
or a marked version of the library icon. 

            Lotzi

--
-----------------------------------------------------
Lotzi Boloni
boloni@cs.purdue.edu  www.cs.purdue.edu/homes/boloni
-----------------------------------------------------
"Been there, done that, didnt like it, threw it out"

               --Alan Cox, Linux guru
                 about using C++ in the kernel
-----------------------------------------------------

[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread]