Re: [dev] dmenu patch to return all matching items (for a new dmenu-powered music player interface)

On Thu, Nov 11, 2010 at 9:37 AM, Connor Lane Smith <cls_AT_lubutu.com> wrote:

> On 11 November 2010 16:00, Michael Farnbach <noble.oblige_AT_gmail.com>
> wrote:
> > Hey, this brings up a question.
> > I've noticed that suckless's apps push as many configuration items into
> the
> > compile time as they can (just a high-level observation, I'm not saying
> it
> > is actually a rule of thumb.)
>
> This is certainly true for dwm, but no longer for dmenu tip: all
> configuration is done at execution time. dwm needs a config.h so you
> can add tags and layouts and such without having to patch the main
> source file, whereas dmenu has no such need.
>

Still coming across as a bit arbitrary to me, not as an accusation but
perhaps I'm not seeing it.

Would you say that dwm, being a much longer more persistent environment
manager, benefits from the stability of being only one configuration for the
duration of that session? Conversely, dmenu, is more instantaneous and has
application that may be within many environments?

That is just where my head is at right now, I'm just wrapping my arms around
it. Thanks for your patience.

> > So would the choice between a dmenu filter and a dmenu, well menu, be
> made
> > at compile time? There is no more clear place to understand what mode you
> > are in then typing in 'dfilter' instead of 'dmenu'.
>
> I think this is a messy solution. If you want something like this, you
> can just name the flag, eg, '-filter', and/or set up an alias.
>
>
I also know that works both ways. Also, they are all only arguments, whether
as a switch or the name of the program itself. I see no difference, but I'm
open that there is a difference I'm not seeing. And my goal is simply to
wrap my head around this better to see it more clearly for my own efforts.

I use dmenu in a few situations, one curious example being selecting the
right account name in my ledger while editing it with vi where ^P which
doesn't understand that these account names span colons and spaces. I know
that if I wasn't expecting the feature, I would be very frustrated if it
sent me many results rather than just one in that or many other times. And I
could see accidentally tripping it in that case with a key stroke, (at least
the one mentioned above).

> > In fact, if one were to start from scratch, wouldn't they make a dfilter
> in
> > a cleaner, simpler way?
>
> Definitely no, we tried something like this for dmenu / dinput, and it
> just made everything a bit fail.
>
> Oh? Do tell....

Thanks!

--Michael
Received on Thu Nov 11 2010 - 19:36:10 CET