[KDE/Mac] plasma-desktop on other environments (bis)

[Kai Uwe Broulik]

Hi,

> FWIW, a good part of the KCMs you seem to think I include on OS X are in fact excluded because X11 isn't provided.

I just went through the CMakeLists.txt

> As long as KDE code uses its own way (or a Qt-provided method, I don't know) to determine what application to use this will continue to make sense.

If I click on a link it should open with my default browser. Period. If that doesn't work for some reason, then this must be fixed. Adding a setting instead is the least desirable solution, this is not kde 3 anymore where we "fixed" deficiencies on our side by dumping in setting for the unimaginable.   

> No, KDE translations aren't linked in any way to the way the system handles these

That doesn't change the fact that when my system is French I want the application to be French, too, which is what this kcm is about, choosing a language.

> No, KDE has its own set of font roles which are independent of the system, but which are used (expected) in KDE interface design. Without support for them,  applications look just awful on OS X because most text elements will use what Qt 
considers the platform default font (Lucida Grande 13).

Then this needs to be fixed. Also, the font stuff is enforced by the Platform Theme as far as I can see, so toolbar fonts for example will just use Qt's defaults for that, not KDE's semantic font.

> It should be up to the user, and I'd even go so far as to say that this would be a big plus for KDE applications on OS X.

I wouldn't call an application being ugly (read: not looking like all the others) a big plus.

> boost their productivity by tweaking the interface to their personal taste.

You can still re-arrange panels, customize toolbars and so on. Using a different theme to boost productivity, really? I agree that an application like Krita or KDevelop might want to offer a dark theme but then it could do that easily from within its settings.

> there's the additional reason that the Macintosh style is not very robust and often leads to misaligned and/or overlapping controls, esp. buttons and comboboxes. This is visible in parts of Kate, but becomes extreme in KCalc.

Then this needs fixing. If we just use Breeze widget style the incentive for fixing it becomes near non-existent... 

> I agree that lookandfeel has little interest, but that's probably because I don't see its point anywhere. 

It's for providing a big-ass theme package consisting of a theme, splash screen, and so on, for easy adjustment to other form factors or distribution branding.

> No, only for a very actions.

I see most of its actions mapped in the Plasma Platform Theme though. 

> Through kglobalacceld? That is part of a framework that's supposed to work on all major platforms, and as far as it has ever been functional there I don't see why it wouldn't be possible to configure it.

Ok...

> Ditto.

If we made an Activity switcher UI for other platforms *that* would be a selling point for KDE Applications.

> ??? Kded is required for certain features like cookie management.

Really? Now I can understand why KDE 4 on Windows shipped with a "shutdown kde" application. Don't tell me I need DBus as well?! 

> Because it handles audio and hasn't been reintegrated into Qt? Without phonon, no sound, not for notifications, not in kdenlive (or video, for that matter).

QtMultimedia? Also, the Phonon KCM is really not something I want to have user needing to deal with... If it's up to the application to do that on os x (Windows can do this at system-level) the application should have options for that.

> Oh please no, that would really look wrong on OS X.

From what I can tell toolbar icons in os x are black and white outlines just like Breeze so it would fit perfectly. 

> Just remember that all these KCMs do is providing an interface to settings that exist and can be modified by hand if required.

I'm not arguing with that but I don't want a setting to be there just because we can if it doesn't make any sense on another platform. More importantly, I want to avoid having kde systemsettings installed when I just want for example Kate. The few settings that may make sense could be embedded in the application and that's it.

Unless, of course, we're aiming for a "suite" thing which installs a gazillion kde applications at once, then we might as well dump that in, just because, and while at it, kded, dbus and Co for good measure, too.

> Settings that are problematic on a 
given platform, for whatever reason, should indeed better be disabled.

Looks like we have a different understanding of "problematic", for me problematic is not just when it doesn't build.

Cheers, 
Kai Uwe