REPOST: -multiwindow so very close to what's really needed....

[Harold L Hunt II]

Early,

Early Ehlinger wrote:
> Sorry for the repost - It's been a few days and I haven't seen my original
> post show up on the newsserver, so....
> 
> OK,
> 
> Just installed latest cygwin+Xfree86.  With the -multiwindow option in place
> it's *extremely* close to what I really want, which is an X server that
> really feels like it's a part of Windows.  Right now it still betrays the
> fact that it sits on top of cygwin, which is a shame, IMHO.
> 
> Here are the two things that I think keep it from being exactly dead-on:
> 
> 1. Root Window is still there.
> 
> Ideally, when -multiwindow is used, no root window would be visible at all.
> No icon in the taskbar, nothing.  I suppose a tray icon would be acceptible,
> but would certainly not be preferable.  My reasoning for this is that
> Windows already has a root window (the desktop) and to be fully integrated,
> X programs should behave like Windows programs and use it.  Or at least,
> they should *appear* to use it.  Bottom line, get rid of/hide the root
> window in -multiwindow mode and you've made a *huge* step forward.
> 

Ideally, you will be spending a few hours looking at hiding the root 
window.  :)  Search the mailing list archives for information on why it 
is not hidden yet.  Also note that MultiWindow mode is still 
experimental.  That is, it is not complete.

> Another consequence of this issue is that Cygwin/XFree86 shows up in the
> alt+tab list even though you don't do anything with it directly.
> 
> 2. Applications have the wrong icons
> 
> Sure, now I've got my apps all running on the honest-to-goodness Windows
> desktop, but they all have the X icon rather than the icons that they would
> have on an actual X desktop (e.g., the one in Linux).  This is more of a
> cosmetic issue than a functional one, so I'd say that it should get less
> priority than the first issue above.
> 

This wouldn't be too tough to implement, but I haven't got time for it.

> If somebody wants to point me to the general location in XWin's source, I
> wouldn't mind taking a crack at implementing a fix for both of these issues.
> 

First, check the Contributor's Guide, which tells you how to get the 
source, the architecture of the server (doesn't talk about MultiWindow 
mode), and how to build the source:

http://xfree86.cygwin.com/docs/cg/


Perhaps you are using Cygwin/XFree86 for commercial purposes... if that 
is the case then I know that either myself, Kensuke Matsuzaki (the 
developer of MultiWindow mode), or others may be interested in working 
on these features for a fee.  Let us know if you are interested, 
otherwise we will assume that you are not interested.

Harold

> Thanks in advance
> 
> --
> -- Early Ehlinger CEO, ResPower Inc - Toll-Free : 866-737-7697
> -- www.respower.com -- 500+ GHz Supercomputer Starting At USD$0.50/GHz*Hour
> 
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