How to start messing around with creating a rootless mode...

[Jehan]

Harold Hunt wrote:
> Now that we have the -nodecoration parameter we can start messing around
> with making the some initial moves towards a rootless mode, just like
> XDarwin.  Here are some initial steps to take that would help you learn a
> little about creating a rootless mode:
[...]
> If you do all that you'd have put Cygwin/XFree86 on the road to having a
> rootless mode.

Since I don't know anything about X nor how the X server interacts with 
XWin, it may be not useful but what about creating "holes" around X 
windows? 
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/gdi/clipping_21d3.asp

The XWin window start empty (a big excluded region). Each time we add a 
X window, we fill the region with the shape of the X window to make it 
non transparent.
The biggest issue may be performance when managing non rectangular 
window and moving windows arround.
This could be pretty easy to do.


But on the overall, I don't think it's really the way to go. Again, I 
don't known much about X so it may not be reasonable but what about 
creating a Windows window for each X window? This would allow each X App 
  to appear in the taskbar like any Windows application. And if someone 
writes a specific window manager, we could then easily use the Windows 
window manager to also manage X windows.
Rereading the "To-Do" list, it's basically the first point ("Seamless 
integration with Windows") :p