Re: [dev] [dwm] Optional status bar

From: Bjartur Thorlacius <svartman95_AT_gmail.com>
Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2012 14:22:09 -0000

On Sat, 28 Jan 2012 12:51:46 -0000, Tom Vincent <ml_AT_tlvince.com> wrote:
> (NB, is there
> an equivalent to xmonad's [runOrRaise][1] action in dwm?).
>
No. Dwm has a rudimentary built-in application launcher (spawn(), IIRC),
but advanced launching is handled externally by dmenu_run, which opens an
override-redirect window (as docks are not handled properly by dwm).

> It would seem there might be opportunity here to reduce the dwm
> codebase by handing off responsibility of the status bar to something
> else, similar to how xmonad does it. dwm could provide an interface
> that outputs "desktop" and urgency hints rather than implementing the
> status bar itself.
>
> I've searched gmane for previous discussion on this and there may be
> an argument that conforming to a ewmh style interface will be
> overcomplicating things.
>
Yes, freedesktop has standardized on workspaces (a la MonsterWM) rather
than tags. The number of workspaces dwm would have to present to a
standard pager would grow exponentially with the number of tags, and the
relationship between workspaces (the tags) would be lost, and thereby the
core feature of dwm. Dwm is a window tagger first, window tiler second.

When I think of it, I can't but wonder if we could write a program that
does tagging and tagging only, and a selection of separate layout managers
that automatically tile or maximize mapped windows. Interoperability with
(other) no-wm tools would be an ultimate win.

You could delete the window title stuff from dwm.c and place the status
bar in the slave row only, if you feel the status bar is mostly a waste of
space. If you do, please post the patch here and on the hg wiki repo.

-- 
-,Bjartur
Received on Sat Jan 28 2012 - 15:22:09 CET

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