Although I am sure that the MDI classes provide more functionality than my
suggestion below, (and that everybody knows about this option) let me throw out a
thought for those that have an existing application that they want to move to
mdi...
Use Xnest, run your favorite window manager in it, and turn off the window
decorations for your multi window application.
Anybody really tried this one?
Mark
Rick Scott wrote:
> On 1-Feb-01 at 04:56, Michel Bardiaux ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) wrote:
> > Rick Scott wrote:
> > >
> > > On 31-Jan-01 at 17:26, Michel Bardiaux ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) wrote:
> > > > Does anyone know about any done or ongoing translation of Scott W.
> > > > Sadler's "Motif MDI" C++ classes into C and/or a proper Motif XmManager
> > > > subclass?
> > > >
> > > > And would it be worth doing? I can see several cons:
> > > >
> > > > (1) In the Open Source world many people hate window-in-window MDI, for
> > > > ergonomy reasons or because they hate anything smelling of Windows...
> > > > the 2 reasons are not incompatible!
> > >
> > > Personally, I would like to see this type of interface banished from the
> > > planet. What we really need is something that implements a "normal"
> > > windowed environment out of any app that tries to confine me to dealing
> > > with only their application. And if this is the only way you can figure
> > > out to iconify multiple windows when a main window gets iconified, read
> > > the man pages!!! Microsoft has some nice features in their interfaces,
> > > THIS IS NOT ONE OF THEM.
> >
> > I thought I *had* acknowledge the repulsion some people have towards WiW
> > MDI, so we could go forward and be constructive. But if we must:
> >
> > (1) Personnally I have used both WiW MDI (Interleaf, Word, Excel) and
> > WaotP (window-all-over-the-place) MDI (Island, FrameMaker) and I prefer
> > WiW.
> >
> > (2) To each his taste, the *best* approach surely is to offer a *choice*
> > of policy, just as window managers usually offer choice of
> > focus-on-click vs. focus-on-move.
> >
> > (3) One doesn't always have a choice: when you have an application that
> > must also run on Wintel and is targetted at non-geek Wintel users, you
> > follow Wintel common practices.
> > >
> > > Let the flames begin, if you must. But I will ignore them, much the same
> > > as I ignore the comments that emacs is better than vi (NOT).
> >
> > I do a few minutes of vi every day to keep in practice. After all, vi is
> > the only editor you find on *all* 'nix machines, so, like English, it is
> > worth knowing.
> > >
> > > Recently I have been forced into some development that has to be done on
> > > a Microsoft platform, I need to produce a win32 dll. This involves
> > > multiple tools that each has its own MDI, each _requires_ it's own editor,
> > > and so on. It's a ****** nightmare!!!!! And I consider myself somewhere
> > > above the "rookie" stage when it comes to programming, probably not an
> > > "expert" but definitly beyond rookie. When I need to deal with one window
> > > from "this" MDI, and one window from "that" MDI, you end up with two
> > > applications that "assume" they "own" the entire screen.
> > >
> > > I am however starting to understand why there are so many people getting
> > > rich offering "Windows" help, it is so ****** up that you need an expert
> > > to explain the screwed up reasoning behind doing the simplest of
> > > tasks.....
> > > Damn, this is turning into a rant.....I haven't had a good one in a while
> > > though.....sorry.....
> >
> > I had a rant of my own recently on a completely different topic, see
> > "Almost giving up" in comp.os.windows.motif. So, I recognize and
> > understand the feeling.
> > >
> > > Bottom line, don't expect any help from me to implement an MDI interface
> > > :)
> >
> > Pity, I'm sure it would have been invaluable. But I'm not asking for
> > help at this point, just discussing desirability and feasibility. Is
> > your aversion towards WiW so intense an MDI widget would be *banned*
> > from Xlt?
>
> No. Like you said, to each his own. It would be nice to have a manager that
> gave the choice, either organize all windows inside this one, or at the flick
> of a resource make them real topLevel windows. That way one application could
> satify us both. I still don't understand why an application wants to be a
> window manager as well as an application.
>
> > >
> > > >
> > > > (2) These classes impose the MWM look-and-feel regardless of the actual
> > > > window manager - and Linux has KDE, Gnome, Enligtenment, AfterStep, "A
> > > > maze of twisty little WMs, all different".
> > > >
> > > > The pro, of course, is that there does not seem to be anything else...
> >
> > Greetings.
> > --
> > Michel Bardiaux
> > Peaktime Belgium S.A. Rue Margot, 37 B-1457 Nil St Vincent
> > Tel : +32 10 65.44.15 Fax : +32 10 65.44.10
> >
> >
