locale specific for .desktop

[Patryk Zawadzki]

2007/10/18, Takao Fujiwara - Tokyo S/W Center <Takao.Fujiwara at sun.com>:
> Thiago Macieira wrote:
> > Em Thursday 18 October 2007 14:11:38 você escreveu:
> >>Please note users can launch the application directly with the command line
> >>if they need.
> > Not acceptable. If using the command line is acceptable for you, then you
> > don't need to install the menu .desktop at all. And then we don't have this
> > issue to discuss.
> The menu items need to be installed because the users need to use menus. I think it's a different topic to whether the users are given the command line or not.

So what is the point of hiding an application from people using
different locale? If it's called "Chinese dictionary" I can't imagine
people complaining about it not being Korean.

My point is - if people complain then the name is wrong, not the
desktop specification. Change the menu entry title instead of hiding
it. Good names are self-explaining names and lead to no errors.

> > Imagine now that there are two applications that I need to use (for whatever
> > reason). One only shows in the Brazilian Portuguese locale that I use and the
> > other in Japanese.
> >
> > Can you give me a good reason why I should have to *choose* one of those to
> > show up in the menu? Why can't I have both?
> You can show both to edit the .desktop files but the menu has the default settings which are required by the users.

If you expect people to edit desktop entries before they appear then I
think you don't need a desktop for your users, vim or emacs + bash
will do ^_^

> > And if I can have both, why not simply show them for all locales?
> The situation is, whether the configuraters like it or not, the settings are needed under a contract and the application is expected to use on a locale.
> A service can provide the simple settings to show them for all locales.

The configurator could easily right-click the menu, select edit and
hide the entry for the rest of users. Or even use Sabayon (or any KDE
counterpart) and do a global deployment.

> > Also think of the "principle of least surprise". Imagine that I have an
> > application in my menu, but then I change my locale. It'll be a surprise to
> > find out that the application has disappeared. How will I start it?
> It's not surpise because the user is explained.
> The first recommendation is to change the locale and if the change is not good under a condition, the system configuraters will provide the options.
> As the design, adding language in the .desktop can show the menu item.

The user is not "explained" - average Jane in the street install
software, enters menu and there is no sign of it. Her first thought is
not "oh, my locale is not in the file, better start vim" but "shit,
it's broken."

-- 
Patryk Zawadzki
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