Desktop Entry Specification - ExecuteAs proposition

[PCMan]

On Fri, Mar 5, 2010 at 8:07 PM, Vincent Untz <vuntz at gnome.org> wrote:
> Le vendredi 05 mars 2010, à 12:26 +0100, Pierre Wieser a écrit :
>> Hi
>>
>> Work currently done on a shared specification about file manager actions
>> extensions (a definitive name is always to be found) has led us to define
>> an 'ExecuteAs' key.
>
> I admit I didn't catch up with this thread. What is the rationale
> explaining the need for this key?
Sometimes you still need to run specific programs with root.
Not every program can support policykit and we should not force every
people to use policykit. For a really simple program, such as some
system config tools written with zenity, it's overkill to use
poilicykit. Run it with sudo works perfectly well.
The rationale is, many people still need this, but currently it is
solved with Exec=gksu something, which is very ugly.

The rationale is choice and concinience. Sometimes users just want
something that simple and effective. They should have their chice to
use sudo when they want.
>> Goal of this key is to let the action creator specify with which user/uid
>> the command must be ran.
>
> I believe it's been discussed in the past, but I think some people
> didn't like the idea and would prefer to avoid any kind of su/sudo usage
> on the desktop. This is where PolicyKit steps in.
Many people still like the idea, but they are not on the list.
Grep 'gksu' in your /usr/share/applications to see how many people
like this idea.
In the contrary, many users don't like policykit and want to get rid
of it, especially for some low spec system focusing on simplicity.
> But David Z. might want to comment there (I think he's on this list).
PolicyKit of course is a good system, but don't you think if you just
want to run the following program with root, policykit is over-kill?
----------------------------- set_xxx.sh--------------------------
#!/bin/sh
if zenity --entry --text="Enter your blalblah:"; then
    echo $? > /etc/some_config_file
fi
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Not everyone on this earth want to use policykit, and not all of the
systems have policykit.
If people want to use policykit, they will use it. However, if they
don't want to use it in some simple cases, they should have the choice
not to use it. This is clearly the rationale of ExecuteAs key.
If no people need it, this issue should have never been raised on this list.
Then, why this issue is raised again and again. Because many people
still need it.

For example, here are already two people who feel it quite needed. At
lease Pierre Wieser from Nautilus actions and I, from LXDE need it.

Please consider adding this to desktop entry spec.
When people find policykit the right solution, they'll use it. But at
the same time other solutions shouldn't be prohibited if other people
need them.

> Vincent
>
> --
> Les gens heureux ne sont pas pressés.
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