updates

2002-12-08  Havoc Pennington  <hp@pobox.com>

	* README: updates

	* src/window.c (MAX_RESIZES_PER_SECOND): change to 20 instead of
	30, just as an experiment.
	(MOVE_THRESHOLD): change 15 to 20
	(RESIZE_THRESHOLD): change 15 to 20

	* src/util.c (ensure_logfile): kill this function when verbose
	mode is disabled.

1 files changed, 220 insertions, 58 deletions

diff --git a/README b/README
index 820cdde3..0ac6002b 100644
--- a/README
+++ b/README
@@ -13,13 +13,19 @@ You need GTK+ 2.0, ideally the latest in the 2.0.x series.  For
 multihead/Xinerama support to work, you need GTK+ 2.1.x or 2.2.  For
 startup notification to work you need libstartup-notification at
 http://www.freedesktop.org/software/startup-notification/ or on the
-GNOME ftp site. You also need GConf 1.2 (though it would be easy to
-remove that dependency in a custom hacked metacity, if you wanted).
+GNOME ftp site. You also need GConf 1.2 (unless building a funky 
+extra-small embedded metacity with --disable-gconf).
 
 REPORTING BUGS AND SUBMITTING PATCHES
 ===
 
-Report new bugs on http://bugzilla.gnome.org.
+Report new bugs on http://bugzilla.gnome.org. Please check for
+duplicates, *especially* if you are reporting a feature request. 
+
+Please do *not* add "me too!" or "yes I really want this!" comments to
+feature requests in bugzilla. Please read
+http://pobox.com/~hp/features.html prior to adding any kind of flame
+about missing features or misfeatures.
 
 Feel free to send patches too; Metacity is relatively small and
 simple, so if you find a bug or want to add a feature it should be
@@ -27,6 +33,39 @@ pretty easy.  Send me mail, or put the patch in bugzilla.
 
 See the HACKING file for some notes on hacking Metacity.
 
+SHRINKING METACITY
+===
+
+Not that metacity is huge (<400K binary last I checked), but about
+half of that is in the preferences handling, in static strings that
+aren't essential, and in the theme engine.
+
+You can strip about 70K from the metacity binary by compiling with 
+options such as:
+
+ --disable-gconf
+ --disable-sm
+ --disable-verbose 
+ --disable-startup-notification
+
+However the result is no good for desktop use, all prefs have to be
+hardcoded in the binary, for example. If you wanted to make a really
+small metacity, here's some additional stuff you might consider
+implementing:
+ 
+ - add --disable-themes, which would replace theme.c and theme-parser.c 
+   with a hardcoded implementation of the interface in theme.h, 
+   should save about 80K. This should be fairly easy.
+
+ - add --disable-gtk, which would implement the interface in ui.h
+   without using GTK. This one is easier than you think because the
+   main part of the window manager doesn't use GTK directly, but is
+   still fairly hard to do.  You would probably have to give up some
+   of the features, such as window menus, as menus are pretty complex
+   to implement well.  So time may be better spent adding a GTK
+   configure script feature to build GTK with only a small core set of
+   functionality.
+
 METACITY FEATURES
 ===
 
@@ -36,8 +75,22 @@ METACITY FEATURES
  - Uses GTK+ 2.0 for drawing window frames. This means colors, fonts, 
    etc. come from GTK+ theme.
 
+ - Does not expose the concept of "window manager" to the user.  Some
+   of the features in the GNOME control panel and other parts of the
+   desktop happen to be implemented in metacity, such as changing your
+   window border theme, or changing your window navigation shorcuts,
+   but the user doesn't need to know this.
+
+ - Includes only the window manager; does not try to be a desktop
+   environment. The pager, configuration, etc. are all separate and
+   modular. The "libwnck" library (which I also wrote) is available
+   for writing metacity extensions, pagers, and so on. (But libwnck
+   isn't metacity specific, or GNOME-dependent; it requires only GTK,
+   and should work with KWin, fvwm2, and other EWMH-compliant WMs.)
+
  - Has a simple theme system and a couple of extra themes come with it.
-   Change themes via gconf-editor or gconftool:
+   Change themes via gconf-editor or gconftool or GNOME themes control
+   panel:
      gconftool-2 --type=string --set /apps/metacity/general/theme Crux
      gconftool-2 --type=string --set /apps/metacity/general/theme Gorilla
      gconftool-2 --type=string --set /apps/metacity/general/theme Atlanta
@@ -56,7 +109,7 @@ METACITY FEATURES
      gconftool-2 --type=string --set /apps/metacity/general/focus_mode sloppy
      gconftool-2 --type=string --set /apps/metacity/general/focus_mode click
 
- - Global keybinding defaults:   
+ - Global keybinding defaults include:   
 
     Alt-Tab                forward cycle window focus
     Alt-Shift-Tab          backward cycle focus
@@ -71,7 +124,10 @@ METACITY FEATURES
 
      unst gconftool-2 --type=string --set /apps/metacity/global_keybindings/switch_to_workspace_1 '<Alt>F1'
    
-   See metacity.schemas for available bindings.
+   Also try the GNOME keyboard shortcuts control panel, or
+   gconf-editor.
+
+   See metacity.schemas for all available bindings.
 
  - Window keybindings:
 
@@ -88,8 +144,9 @@ METACITY FEATURES
     Choose Resize from menu, and nothing happens yet, but 
       eventually I might implement something.
 
-    Keybindings for things like maximize window, etc. can be bound, 
-    but don't exist by default. See metacity.schemas.
+    Keybindings for things like maximize window, vertical maximize,
+    etc. can be bound, but may not all exist by default. See
+    metacity.schemas.
 
  - Window mouse bindings:
 
@@ -104,6 +161,9 @@ METACITY FEATURES
     If you click and drag the titlebar with button 1 it moves the 
      window.
 
+    If you click anywhere on the frame with button 2 it lowers the 
+     window.
+
     If you click anywhere on the frame with button 3 it shows the 
      window menu.
 
@@ -125,9 +185,10 @@ METACITY FEATURES
      for session-aware applications.
 
  - Metacity implements much of the new window manager spec from
-   freedesktop.org, and much of the ICCCM. But then there are 
-   parts of each that it doesn't implement, just because I haven't
-   yet.
+   freedesktop.org
+   (http://www.freedesktop.org/standards/wm-spec.html), and much of
+   the ICCCM. But then there are parts of each that it doesn't
+   implement, just because I haven't yet.
 
  - Uses Pango to render text, so has cool i18n capabilities. 
    Supports UTF-8 window titles and such.
@@ -150,80 +211,69 @@ METACITY FEATURES
 
  - does basic colormap handling
 
+ - and much more! well, maybe not a lot more.
+
 METACITY BUGS, NON-FEATURES, AND CAVEATS
 ===
 
- - You need an EWMH-spec compliant pager/tasklist to be able 
-   to navigate graphically; this does NOT include GNOME 1.x, 
-   but should include GNOME 2 and KDE 3.
-
- - doesn't do WM_COLORMAPS from the ICCCM, may matter on some really
-   old obscure hardware with some really obscure apps.
-
- - There are probably other ICCCM-compliance issues.
-
- - The first-fit algorithm for placement isn't very clever.
-
- - Should Metacity support flipping in right-to-left locales?
-   I don't know what window managers look like in a right-to-left
-   locale. I assume the window titles should be right-justified;
-   should the window controls also be flipped?
+See bugzilla: http://bugzilla.gnome.org/query.cgi
 
 FAQ
 ===
 
 Q: Will you add my feature?
 
-A: If it makes sense to turn on unconditionally,
-   or is genuinely a harmless preference that I would not 
-   be embarrassed to put in a simple, uncluttered, user-friendly
-   configuration dialog.
+A: If it makes sense to turn on unconditionally, or is genuinely a
+   harmless preference that I would not be embarrassed to put in a
+   simple, uncluttered, user-friendly configuration dialog.
 
    If the only rationale for your feature is that other window
-   managers have it, or that you are personally used to it, or something
-   like that, then I will not be impressed. Metacity is firmly in the
-   "choose good defaults" camp rather than the "offer 6 equally broken
-   ways to do it, and let the user pick one" camp.
+   managers have it, or that you are personally used to it, or
+   something like that, then I will not be impressed. Metacity is
+   firmly in the "choose good defaults" camp rather than the "offer 6
+   equally broken ways to do it, and let the user pick one" camp.
 
    This is part of a "no crackrock" policy, despite some exceptions
    I'm mildly embarrassed about. For example, multiple workspaces
-   probably constitute crackrock, they confuse most users
-   and really are not that useful if you have a decent tasklist and 
-   so on. But I am too used to them to turn them off.
-   Or alternatively iconification/tasklist is crack, and workspaces/pager
-   are good. But having both is certainly a bit wrong.
-   Sloppy focus is probably crackrock too.
+   probably constitute crackrock, they confuse most users and really
+   are not that useful if you have a decent tasklist and so on. But I
+   am too used to them to turn them off.  Or alternatively
+   iconification/tasklist is crack, and workspaces/pager are good. But
+   having both is certainly a bit wrong.  Sloppy focus is probably
+   crackrock too.
 
    But don't think unlimited crack is OK just because I slipped up a
-   little. No slippery slope here.   
+   little. No slippery slope here.
 
    Don't let this discourage patches and fixes - I love those. ;-)
-   Just be prepared to hear the above objections if your patch
-   adds some crack-ridden configuration option.
+   Just be prepared to hear the above objections if your patch adds
+   some crack-ridden configuration option.
 
    http://pobox.com/~hp/free-software-ui.html
+   http://pobox.com/~hp/features.html   
 
 Q: Will Metacity be part of GNOME?
 
-A: Many people are now asking for this, though it was not the original 
-   plan - Metacity started out as sort of an experiment. 
-
-   A decision hasn't really been made but the issue will probably 
-   be raised shortly after the GNOME 2 release.
+A: It is officially part of GNOME as of GNOME 2.2. Prior to that, 
+   it was unofficially shipped as the default GNOME WM by several 
+   OS vendors.
 
 Q: Is Metacity a Red Hat project?
 
-A: Metacity is in no way funded, endorsed, or encouraged by Red Hat,
-   Inc. - I'm guessing Red Hat would not consider "insufficient number
-   of window managers for Linux" an urgent problem. Just a wild guess
-   though.
+A: Metacity's original creation was in no way funded, endorsed, or
+   encouraged by Red Hat, Inc. - I'm guessing Red Hat would not
+   consider "insufficient number of window managers for Linux" an
+   urgent problem. Just a wild guess though.
+
+   Now that metacity is the default WM however, Red Hat supports some
+   bugfixing and other work.
  
 Q: Why does Metacity remember the workspace/position of some apps 
-   but not others?
+   but not others across logout/login?
 
-A: Metacity only stores sizes/positions for apps that are session 
-   managed. As far as I can determine, there is no way to attempt 
-   to remember workspace/position for non-session-aware apps without
+A: Metacity only stores sizes/positions for apps that are session
+   managed. As far as I can determine, there is no way to attempt to
+   remember workspace/position for non-session-aware apps without
    causing a lot of weird effects.
 
    The reason is that you don't know which non-SM-aware apps were
@@ -276,6 +326,120 @@ A: I could conceivably be convinced to use viewports _instead_ of
    features traditionally associated with either kind if those
    features make sense.
 
+Q: Why is the panel always on top?
+
+A: Because it's a better user interface, and until we made this not
+   configurable a bunch of apps were not getting fixed (the app
+   authors were just saying "put your panel on the bottom" instead of
+   properly supporting fullscreen mode, and such).
+
+   rationales.txt has the bugzilla URL for some flamefesting on this,
+   if you want to go back and relive the glory.
+   Read these and the bugzilla stuff before asking/commenting:
+     http://pobox.com/~hp/free-software-ui.html
+     http://pobox.com/~hp/features.html   
+
+Q: Why is there no edge flipping?
+
+A: This one is also in rationales.txt. Because "ouija board" UI, where
+   you just move the mouse around and the computer guesses what you
+   mean, has a lot of issues. This includes mouse focus, shade-hover
+   mode, edge flipping, autoraise, etc. Metacity has mouse focus and
+   autoraise as a compromise, but these features are all confusing for
+   many users, and cause problems with accessibility, fitt's law, and
+   so on.
+
+   Read these and the bugzilla stuff before asking/commenting:
+     http://pobox.com/~hp/free-software-ui.html
+     http://pobox.com/~hp/features.html   
+
+Q: Why no wireframe move/resize?
+
+A: Also in rationales.txt. Because it has low usability, and is a pain
+   to implement, and there's no reason opaque move/resize should be a
+   problem on any setup that can run a modern desktop worth a darn to
+   begin with.
+
+   Read these and the bugzilla stuff before asking/commenting:
+     http://pobox.com/~hp/free-software-ui.html
+     http://pobox.com/~hp/features.html   
+
+Q: Why no XYZ?
+
+A: You are probably getting the idea by now - check rationales.txt,
+   query/search bugzilla, and read http://pobox.com/~hp/features.html
+   and http://pobox.com/~hp/free-software-ui.html
+
+   Then sit down and answer the question for yourself.  Is the feature
+   good? What's the rationale for it? Answer "why" not just "why not."
+   Justify in terms of users as a whole, not just users like
+   yourself. How else can you solve the same problem? etc. If that
+   leads you to a strong opinion, then please, post the rationale for
+   discussion to an appropriate bugzilla bug, or to
+   usability@gnome.org.
+
+   Please don't just "me too!" on bugzilla bugs, please don't think
+   flames will get you anywhere, and please don't repeat rationale
+   that's already been offered.
+
+Q: Your dumb web pages you made me read talk about solving problems in
+   fundamental ways instead of adding preferences or workarounds.
+   What are some examples where metacity has done this?
+
+A: There are quite a few, though many opportunities remain.  Sometimes
+   the real fix involves application changes. The metacity approach is
+   that it's OK to require apps to change, though there are also
+   plenty of workarounds in metacity for battles considered too hard
+   to fight.
+
+   Here are some examples:
+
+   - fullscreen mode was introduced to allow position constraints,
+     panel-on-top, and other such things to apply to normal windows
+     while still allowing video players etc. to "just work"
+
+   - "whether to include minimized windows in Alt+Tab" was solved 
+     by putting minimized windows at the *end* of the tab order. 
+
+   - Whether to pop up a feedback display during Alt+Tab was solved by
+     having both Alt+Tab and Alt+Esc
+
+   - Whether to have a "kill" feature was solved by automatically
+     detecting and offering to kill stuck apps. Better, metacity
+     actually does "kill -9" on the process, it doesn't just
+     disconnect the process from the X server. You'll appreciate this
+     if you ever did a "kill" on Netscape 4, and watched it keep
+     eating 100% CPU even though the X server had booted it.
+
+   - The workspaces vs. viewports mess was avoided by adding
+     directional navigation and such to workspaces, see discussion
+     earlier in this file.
+
+   - Instead of configurable placement algorithms, there's just one 
+     that works fairly well most of the time.
+
+   - To avoid excess CPU use during opaque move/resize, we rate limit
+     the updates to the application window's size.
+
+   - Instead of configurable "show size of window while resizing,"
+     it's only shown for windows where it matters, such as terminals.
+     (Only use-case given for all windows is for web designers
+     choosing their web browser size, but there are web sites and
+     desktop backgrounds that do this for you.)
+
+   - Using startup notification, applications open on the workspace
+     where you launched them, not the active workspace when their
+     window is opened.
+
+   - and much more.
+
+Q: I think metacity sucks.
+
+A: Feel free to use any WM you like. The reason metacity follows the
+   ICCCM and EWMH specifications is that it makes metacity a modular,
+   interchangeable part in the desktop. libwnck-based apps such as the
+   GNOME window list will work just fine with any EWMH-compliant WM.
+
 Q: Did you spend a lot of time on this?
 
 A: Originally the answer was no. Sadly the answer is now yes.
@@ -284,5 +448,3 @@ Q: How can you claim that you are anti-crack, while still
    writing a window manager?
 
 A: I have no comment on that.
-
-