Re: [dev] [dwm] Why should (or shouldn't) dwm have a spawn function?

From: lincoln auster <lincolnauster_AT_gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 28 Jun 2021 22:18:55 -0600

Hi,

> The existence of the spawn function in dwm surprises me. Wouldn't it be
> more consistent with Suckless' values (simplicity, minimalism,
> modularity) if the job of spawning commands were relegated to a hotkey
> daemon, such as xbindkeys or sxhkd?

The way it is now, the job of handling keypresses is done solely within dwm:
remember, dwm also captures and handles keychords wrt window management. I think
using that pre-existing infrastructure to also spawn commands is a smaller
solution, as it's just one less program (a dedicated keychord daemon that you
don't need) and 9/10/whatever SLOC.

One could, of course, go the bspwm/berry/etc route and have window management
occur via IPC, and then have a more capable keychord daemon deal with
everything. I think there's an argument to be made for that approach, but on the
whole I think the simple nature of dwm's keychord listening discourages any
setup that's too complex, which I personally like.

> ... dwm takes pride in "keeping its userbase small
> and elitist, without novices asking stupid questions".

And as a side note: stupid questions are important. Being elitist is just
irritating. I'm a novice, I ask stupid questions, and simple source code
happily answers them. I don't think we should actively let "being elitist"
influence design: we should allow and encourage an understanding of software
through simple and open design.

Thanks,

Lincoln Auster
They/Them
Received on Tue Jun 29 2021 - 06:18:55 CEST