Thank you both Paul and Eshat for your answers. I'm working with Ulrich (CC'd) on theme packages<https://lists.debian.org/debian-desktop/2012/07/msg00002.html>currently available on our bitbucket accounts here https://bitbucket.org/ronoaldo/desktop-theme-growing/src and here https://bitbucket.org/uhansen/desktop-theme-elegance-blue/src. Currently, there is some postinst, postrm stuff that are hack's to get the theme updated once installed, but if we put the alternative system to work on the base packages they can be removed and things will be very easy to manage.
Also, after writting the first theme package with Ulrich, I noticed that most boilerplate packaging code could be in a support package. My long-term ideas are in this draft: https://bitbucket.org/ronoaldo/desktop-theme-util/wiki/Home. I'll put some code and see where it goes, but any suggestions are very welcome. Just a final quote on my request for the kde-wallpapers package: the symlink of the kde-wallpaper.png file being on the alternatives system will be easier to manage when multiple packages provides an anternative for it. I'll try to send a patch for this so you can review it. Finally, a few more comments on previous answers: 2012/7/10 Paul Tagliamonte <paul...@debian.org> > If there are followups on debian-qt-kde, if you wouldn't mind CCing me, > that'd be great. I'm not on that list. > > On Tue, Jul 10, 2012 at 05:16:57PM +0200, Eshat Cakar wrote: > > Hi Ronoaldo, > > > > 2012/7/10 Ronoaldo José de Lana Pereira <ronoa...@gmail.com>: > > > I'm working on theme packages for the Debian Desktop, and came with a > few > > > problems overriding the default KDE wallpaper. I noticed that > > > kde-wallpaper-default comes with a symlink in > > > /usr/share/wallpapers/kde-default, that points to the default > wallpaper. It > > > would be very nice to be able to override this default link with a new > > > installed theme. > > > > I don't have much experience with /etc/alternatives, but managing the KDE > > related artwork with symlinks is definitely doable. > > /etc/alternatives is magic, but also symlinks :) > > > > > > Currently, desktop-base (and probably any other theme package) creates > a > > > plasma script to run upon the user's first KDE configuration, and at > that > > > point override the default. > > > > It took me a bit of time, to get this working correctly with plasma > scripting. > > This was suggested to be the way to go, if you want to modify the users > > workspace. > > > > > This simply don't work very well for some > > > scenarios, like installing a new theme or changing the default theme to > > > another one by the installation of a package. Put in other words: it > could > > > be nice to be able to change the default KDE wallpaper systemwide. > > > I wold like to discuss with the kde maintainers if there is any way to > > > change this symlink to use the alternatives system, allowing the > default > > > theme to be replaced by another package or by user choice if there is > more > > > than one alternative, and potentially avoiding the use of > plasma-scripts to > > > set the default wallpaper. > > > > The plasma script is part of the desktop-base package. So there is > probably no > > change needed for KDE packages. We just have to make sure that > > /usr/share/wallpapers/kde-default (and also kdm and ksplash themes) is > reset to > > whatever KDE upstream has as default, when no theme package is installed. > > alternatives can take care of this if configured correctly :) > > Exactly. The theme packages above (still in alpha testing) are doing some use of other alternatives that maybe desktop-base could provide too. Alternative naming still open :) > > > > Another alternative would be to have a clone of the desktop-base > package, using > > the same current methods to set defaults but additionally conflict with > > desktop-base (and other theme packages), so that users can only have one > theme > > package installed at a time. > > Bleh. OK, this addresses some changes I've been mulling to the > desktop-base package / how we handle themes in general. More on this > topic later, but it's my intent to help fix this situation for wheezy+1. > > I was thinking that too. The problem I see if the themes are conflicting, is that multiple themes will not be able to co-exist on a installation. This is why I fell like alternatives to the look-and-feel will work better. > This definitely is an unclean way, but would avoid changes to the current > > desktop-base package, which could be a problem because of wheezy's > freeze. > > > > > If something similar could be done with the default Ksplash theme, > that wold > > > be also great. > > > > Well, this is handled by > > /usr/share/desktop-base/profiles/kde-profile/share/config/ksplashrc > which could > > also be changed by /etc/alternatives/. Same is true for the KDM Theme. > > > > Since KDE packages are not involved here, we could move this discussion > to the > > debian-desktop ML or to IRC, where you can find me and Paul in > #debian-desktop. > > o/ (come hang out!) > > I'll get into IRC as soon as I can, so we can discuss that, absolutely! > > I'd want at least Paul (CC'ed) to confirm /etc/alternatives is the way > > to go to manage > > multiple themes. > > Right now, yeah, that's pretty much the best we've got. > > > What about the other DEs like Gnome and Xfce? Are they already working > > with your theme > > package? > > Yep, update-alternatives handles their stuff too. Check it out! > > This was from my old VM, which still had all the krufty old packages with > Joy > installed with it :) > > debian@debian:~$ sudo update-alternatives --config desktop-background > There are 11 choices for the alternative desktop-background (providing > /usr/share/images/desktop-base/desktop-background). > > Selection Path > Priority Status > ------------------------------------------------------------ > * 0 > /usr/share/images/desktop-base/joy-wallpaper_1920x1080.svg > 70 auto mode > 1 > /usr/share/images/desktop-base/debian-blueish-wallpaper.svg > 30 manual mode > 2 > /usr/share/images/desktop-base/joy-inksplat-wallpaper_1920x1080.svg > 65 manual mode > 3 > /usr/share/images/desktop-base/joy-wallpaper_1280x1024.svg > 65 manual mode > 4 > /usr/share/images/desktop-base/joy-wallpaper_1600x1200.svg > 65 manual mode > 5 > /usr/share/images/desktop-base/joy-wallpaper_1920x1080.svg > 70 manual mode > 6 > /usr/share/images/desktop-base/joy-wallpaper_1920x1200.svg > 65 manual mode > 7 > /usr/share/images/desktop-base/moreblue-orbit-wallpaper-widescreen.svg > 50 manual mode > 8 > /usr/share/images/desktop-base/moreblue-orbit-wallpaper.svg > 50 manual mode > 9 /usr/share/images/desktop-base/nightly-wallpaper.png > 40 manual mode > 10 > /usr/share/images/desktop-base/spacefun-wallpaper-widescreen.svg 55 > manual mode > 11 /usr/share/images/desktop-base/spacefun-wallpaper.svg > 60 manual mode > > Press enter to keep the current choice[*], or type selection number: > > It's hacky and hard to use, but it totally works :) > > Is there any "graphical front-end" to the alternatives system, like the one we have for debconf? Anyway, I guess I can work out on a small tool to allow the user to change the theme based on the installed themes. Just an idea... > > I myself, as co-maintainer, am fine to clean up the > > deskop-base package to work with multiple themes for KDE. > > > > > Thanks for your attention and comments. > > > > And thank you for working on the other theme packages. > > Huge +1 to this. > > > > > Cheers, > > > > Eshat > > Fondly, > Paul > > -- > .''`. Paul Tagliamonte <paul...@debian.org> > : :' : Proud Debian Developer > `. `'` 4096R / 8F04 9AD8 2C92 066C 7352 D28A 7B58 5B30 807C 2A87 > `- http://people.debian.org/~paultag > Thank you for you support. I agree, we can do a more in-depth discussion to desktop-base lists. I guess it is more apropriate. Best Regards, -- Ronoaldo Pereira http://www.ronoaldo.net/
