[kde-linux] 4.14.3 issues #1 Folder Widget

[James Tyrer]

Well (Duncan), I finally finished updating KDE to 4.14.3 and the first 
issue that I found is that I have a new "feature".

The Folder Widget for my Desktop Folder now has a new menu item:

	Icons -> Arrange In -> Rows|Columns

Steve's (now) ghost tells me that this is another example of bad design. 
  Actually, the concept here is wrong.

What happens is that the existing menu option:

	Icons -> Lock in Place

does not override that new setting (which it should).  This is the 
concept of hierarchy which is always present in procedural programs but 
takes some effort in OOP.  I regard this as a serious programing error.

The concept should be "Fill by -> width|height", not "Arrange in ...". 
The reason that this should be the different concept is that after "Fill 
by" is selected, the User should then be free to select how the other 
dimension is arranged.  Why is this the case?  Because if the User wants 
to arrange, for example, executable programs or Desktop files that are 
for executable, he may want to have them sorted by categories to make it 
easier to find what he wants.  If arranged in vertical columns, the 
columns would be of different numbers of icons so if they started at the 
top, they would not make an even bottom line.

Note that if "Lock in Place" is not chosen that "Fill by" will have the 
same effect as "Arrange in"

Again, this is a case of the need for design and the problem is that the 
coder did not do the design work before the code was written. 
Excellence in code requires proper design.

-- 
James Tyrer

Linux (mostly) From Scratch