Plasma desktop init scripting

[Marco Martin]

On Monday 03 January 2011, Jeremiah Summers wrote:
> 
> I have attached the simple script I have so far, maybe someone else will
> find a use for it. I have no issue contributing what I know and taking the
> time to write it up to the best of my knowledge unfortunately that's
> limited. I don't think JavaScript is the most widely used scripting

the script seems quite good so far (the desktop.reloadConfig() line shouldn't 
be necessary)

> language for Desktop use, though. It's a little unfair comparison, in that
> case everyone should know C#, html etc.. because they are very much widely
> known languages. I wouldn't expect anyone to know C# because they knew C++
> or visa versa, or to understand Perl because they knew Python. For that
> matter expect the desktop developer to know and use html. Talking to
> anyone else outside the KDE world they're a little surprised JavaScript is
> being used (outside of desktop webapps). Of course some of those same
> people have some quite negative views on JavaScript and security so they
> may be already biased. I would like to see some awesome scripts that are

well, it's a completely misguided bias in this case, because exactly for all 
security concerns the first javascript environment (the web) had it's probably 
the language with less issues.
with a bash script, python, ruby, whatever you always have access to dangerous 
operation (you can't be really stopped from putting rm -rf in the bash script 
fr instance)
instead in javascript you have exactly nothing available by default, and only 
what the environment binded (in this case the desktop scripting one) will be.
I'm not saying it can't have security issues, but it's the less likely of all.

> creating default apps like the trash can on the desktop or any other
> plasmoid that is actually positioned. The Closest I have seen is Ubuntu's
> yet it's still not quite there. You might be trying to call my bluff but I
> have actually looked through every known distribution that uses kde4 for
> an advanced scripting outside the norm and found nothing, that another
> script doesn't already do. I requested one of those features you're

well, correct approach is actually trying to do it, when something that 
doesn't work is encountered coming to us and we're happy to help and fix bugs.
maybe so far not many distribution encountered the need to change everything..

> talking about, and yes it was done and I appreciated it. I guess what it
> comes down to is I would be much more apt to learn JavaScript if it would
> actually replace those human readable files and the bash script I am still
> using to setup the first run
> environment, but at this point I am now trying to figure out Javascript and
> still maintaining a bash script and some of those human readable files. I
> don't want to do that, I like the idea of one script to rule them all I
> have just seen no one (distribution or KDE example) do it. Maybe you have
> and I have completely missed it. If so please point me in that direction
> and I'll learn what I need too. This is what I mean by I think the point

at the moment only plasma supports it, a reason is not being trivial to adjust 
a default layout that will llook correctly on diffrent screen resolutions, 
while other apps are being less affected (tough i tink for some of them a 
similr approach would be sound)
again, correct approach is to contect us when specific roadblock are 
encountered, "look i can't script this specific detail" that maybe wasn't 
clear ho to do it, maybe is not possible yet. In this case we can fix it.

Cheers, 
Marco Martin