Window stacking

[Michal Suchanek]

On 14 September 2011 13:43, cat <zixon65 at gmail.com> wrote:
> this might be a question more for these programs than for this list,
> but how can one of these programs handle the full desktop realestate?
> wouldn't that itself force the same condition that you have with the
> rogram being a single window?

Well, if there are server side decorations it won't have to draw them.

It can also rely on the windowmanager to initially place the windows
on-screen and place new document windows into free space not occupied
by tool windows and then remember window positions but that would work
poorly with multiple screens of different size and multiple document
windows.

Technically the program can give hints as to which windows are tool
windows not to be covered by document windows and which windows are
document windows but I don't think there are such hints in any current
window management protocol.

So in the end it has to manage the windows by itself somehow, and it
can do that with multiple toplevel windows or one toplevel window
about as good.

Doing your own window management is not nice, though. It forces the
user to manage the windows of that particular application in a
different way because many window management functions are performed
by the window manager using key or button shortcuts, the decorations,
etc. With each logical window having a toplevel window the application
can use these desktop-wide methods of invoking the window management
functions for its windows even if it reacts specially in some cases.

Of course, if Wyaland finally grows a separate windowmanager and
provides it as a module for applications to use for managing their own
windows then it can be done either way.

Thanks

Michal