[Kde-games-devel] KNewStuff Repositories

[Jeremy Whiting]

On Sunday 04 May 2008 08:44:50 pm Ian Wadham wrote:
> Hi guys,
>
> I think it is time to bring this discussion back to the list.
> BTW, I missed the IRC meeting, so I am pretty much in the dark
> about this thread.  I do not even know what this feature
> is called (KNewStuff, KNewStuff2, KHotNewStuff - I have seen all
> bandied about), nor do I know what/where the server is, nor even
> that we had one now, nor what is on it and in what form.

Ian, others,

KNewStuff2 is a library that implements the ghns specification on 
freedesktop.org (http://ghns.freedesktop.org).  There is also a test app we 
ship called khotnewstuff4 that can be used to test repositories, etc.  
(Currently, with no changes to kgoldrunner, besides adding a kgoldrunner.knsrc 
file 4 lines of configuration, you can now run khotnewstuff4 kgoldrunner.knsrc 
and get the ability to install/view, kgoldrunner themes).  See 
http://techbase.kde.org/Development/Tutorials/K_Hot_New_Stuff2 for more info.  
Besides that, using KNewStuff2 in your application is trivial in most cases, 
and doubly trivial since Matt Williams made KGameThemeSelector which 
simplifies KNewStuff's use for themes.

> On Mon, 5 May 2008 02:09 am, Jeremy Whiting wrote:
> > > On Sat, 3 May 2008 08:19 am, Ian Wadham wrote:
> > > I don't get this.  Why did you put the *Egypt* theme on the server? 
> > > It's part of the KGoldrunner releases, not "hot new stuff".  Also, with
> > > a feature freeze coming up in a few days, there is no chance of the
> > > program supporting KNewStuff this time around ... it will have to wait
> > > for KDE 4.2 at least.
> >
> > I only put it up on the kns server so when you do use it in kgoldrunner,
> > you can ship with less themes if you want.  In the kdegames meeting last
> > Wednesday, we decided games should probably ship with one or two default
> > themes, and have the rest available through hot new stuff, that way they
> > can be updated between releases, etc.
>
> I do not think it is a good idea to "release" our own themes through
> a hot new stuff site.  It endangers the artistic integrity of the work IMO.
> What do artists think?  Do you want unknown guys tinkering with your
> work and perhaps damaging it in the process?

That's a good question I hadn't thought of.  Currently only the author can 
change an entry on sites/providers like kde-look.org.  I'm not sure if the 
same is true for HotStuff (current hotstuff server software written by Josef 
Spillner).  Josef, feel free to chime in here :)

> The idea that we can update between releases is a good one, so maybe
> we should just release artwork as usual but allow between-release updates
> to be distributed via KNS, if required, re-syncing on the next release. 
> That way, unwarranted "tinkerings", would at least have a short life.
>
> For that matter, the same arguments might apply to code and game data.
> I find it daunting that we are currently faced with a 2.5 month freeze on
> adding new features to games in trunk.  It is hard for me to believe, based
> on past experience, that we actually need that long, in KDE Games, for
> bug fixes, etc.
>
> > Anyway, Mauricio just said kgoldrunner would be a good one to do, since
> > it has the most themes I guess.  So all the themes except default are up
> > there if/when you want to use them.
>
> Thanks, Jeremy, but I don't know anything about this, as I said above.
>
> Is KNS a stand-alone utility of some kind some kind that mimics "make
> install" (i.e. it just plugs files into designated areas)?  KGoldrunner is
> already designed to accept something like that, with no code changes.

Yes. in the form of khotnewstuff4 test app (in kdebase/runtime/knewstuff).

> They can even be plugged into $KDEHOME areas and KGr will pick them up
> (games data or themes) and display them in lists within the gameplay flow.
> So you do not have to have "root" privileges to add new stuff.

Yep, default is to install to $KDEHOME, soon there will be an option to 
install to system folder, but the user running that will need permissions.  
Later we might be able to hook into policykit or kdesu to get elevated 
permissions for installing, but that's a bit of a tanget to this topic. :)

> Or is KNS some extra library thing we have to integrate into every game?
> And is it somehow wired into that "Configure GameName" construct that
> I have deliberately avoided using in KGoldrunner?

Also yes.  If you want I could add an action to kgoldrunner menu to launch the 
KNewStuff2 download dialog, or alternatively, someone that knows 
KGameThemeSelector could do likewise (probably a better idea) if you don't 
have time, or you can integrate it when you want/need later if you wish.

> If "yes" to either of those questions, there is indeed no chance of making
> changes before the KDE 4.2 release cycle.  There is just nobody doing much
> work on KGr during the next two weeks (for various reasons), other than to
> "put to bed" features we have been working on in the last few months, such
> as sound.

Ah, awesome, sounds like you've been busy.  Anyway, it's no rush, I was just 
really looking for some app to use as a test case to add to the existing 
server really.

hope that helped un-confuse,
Jeremy

> Confused, Ian W.
>
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