Request for clarification on menu/file spec

[Waldo Bastian]

On Tuesday 07 February 2006 10:59, Aaron J. Seigo wrote:
> On Tuesday 07 February 2006 11:17, Kevin Krammer wrote:
> > Maybe freedeskop.org should specify a file where the variables have to be
> > defined, something like /etc/xdg.conf
> >
> > Something like
> > "if environment variable XDG_DATA_DIRS is set, use the directories listed
> > there to look for file. If not set check /etc/xdg.conf. If not present
> > there either, assume defaults"
> >
> > That would allow to override normal settings by setting XDG_DATA_DIRS,
> > allow a central location for additions of the base environment and have
> > the fallback used as now.

In the above scenario adding paths to /etc/xdg.conf would not have any effect 
if XDG_DATA_DIRS was set. That would make things rather unpredictable. I 
think the paths in /etc/xdg.conf would need to be combined with the ones in 
XDG_DATA_DIRS.

> this is what i've been asking for since 3.4 and the beginning of the flood
> of XDG_DATA_DIRS-not-set-correctly related bugs on bugs.kde.org. i'd really
> like to see this happen because both ISVs and users struggle with the
> environment variable approach. since so many people struggle with it, i'd
> suggest that's empirical evidence that it sucks ;)

Watch out what you ask for, you may get it. With such scheme it means that 
after installing 6 applications your search path for a number of resources 
also becomes 6 path's longer. It also means that applications (in KDE's case 
kded) will need to be modified to watch /etc/xdg.conf in order to pick up new 
applications. Apart from that there will be a transition period in which only 
recent applications/distributions will support /etc/xdg.conf.

If there is concensus that that is the right long term direction and that the 
benefits outweigh the disadvantages then I guess we should go that way. I 
would like to hear some more cheers of support for that direction first 
though.

Cheers,
Waldo
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