Three different tab implementations

[Neil Stevens]

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On Friday January 31, 2003 12:08, Christoph Cullmann wrote:
> Hi,
> just my thoughts as kate maintainer:
>
> I would like more to have a generic mdi lib/implementation in kdelibs
> than messing around with the window manager. If we rely on windowmanager
> support for the whole mdi stuff, we will make it impossible to use KDE
> applications (which would use the mdi stuff, like e.g. konqueror,
> konsole, kate, quanta, kdevelop, ....) outside of kwm, as we can't
> enforce that other wm's get the same mdi support ad hoc. And a
> implementation lib wise would still have many good sides: (as mentioned
> allready by others)
>  a) no code duplication
>  b) better GUI for the apps, as more consistent
>  c) less possible errors for the app developers, as they don't have to
> mess around with the internals, the classes could even hide some
> windowmanager magic later

Disadvantages of the lib approach:

a) Users' wishes are ignored.  SDI fans get snubbed by MDI apps, and MDI 
fans get snubbed by SDI apps.
b) existing apps must have their windowing code rewritten to use the 
MDI-lib
c) people using other window managers will have a jarring difference of 
look between the MDI window mangement widgets and their window manager 
widgets.
d) non-KDE apps are left out entirely from the user's wishes.  Imagine if 
non-KDE apps couldn't be moved from one desktop to another.
e) It completely ignores the root problem that turns some people to MDI: 
KWin, the task bar and other KDE services are failing people.

[snipped a lot of MDI lib ideas that I'm not a good person to have comment 
on :-)] 

- -- 
Neil Stevens - neil at qualityassistant.com
"Distinctions by race are so evil, so arbitrary and insidious that a
state bound to defend the equal protection of the laws must not allow
them in any public sphere." -- Thurgood Marshall
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