Comment 63 for bug 150690

Revision history for this message
Paul Beardsell (paul-beardsell) wrote : Re: [Bug 150690] Re: Can't drag a window to another workspace

In my opinion the whole workspace thing is a hack implemented against the
way X is supposed to work. Each workspace is not traditionally addressable.
 E.g. I cannot choose which workspace/pane my windowed application opens in
- it's always the current one. E.g both

xterm -display :0 &
xterm -display :0.0 &

open a window in the current workspace but

xterm -display :0.1 &

fails with an error. In my opinion

xterm -display :0 &

should best open in the first (or, better, current) workspace on the current
X server

xterm -display :0.0 &

should open in the 1st workspace and

xterm -display :0.1 &

should open in the 2nd etc

Even if you "fix" the current problem the original hack remains. Workspaces
should have been implemented differently. Having said that I am very much
in favour of a fix to the hack rather than the current situation.

Paul Beardsell
(another Paul)

On 23 May 2010 02:21, Ryan Beard <email address hidden> wrote:

> Paul - I had a similar prognosis. My initial plan is to develop a
> universal workspace switcher - one that will query (and monitor) the
> window manager to determine the compositing engine, and then play along.
> I'm reading up on some of the compiz APIs now. I'd really like to
> incorporate some additional GUI mechanisms while I'm at it. For
> example, I think it would greatly enhance the functionality to have OS X
> Dock-like 'zoom-on-mouse-over' to allow for easier and more accurate
> selection/placement of windows within the applet. I probably won't get
> started coding until Monday, but hopefully I can have something to play
> with next week. This will be a bit of a learning experience for me, but
> I figure this is a good place to get introduced to linux development.
>
> -ryan
>
> On Sat, 2010-05-22 at 19:41 +0000, PaulReiber wrote:
> > Ryan - here's my understanding of this issue. I believe, at the heart
> > of the issue is that Compiz handles virtual desktops quite differently
> > than Metacity.
> >
> > Because of this, it "fakes" any apps using the Metacity virtual
> > desktop API into thinking there's only one virtual desktop. I'm not
> > sure of the details of how it does this; review the thread on this bug
> > for some leads (hopefully).
> >
> > I haven't reviewed any of the patches that've been identified, because
> > they slipped my attention; I wasn't aware any coding work had been
> > done by anyone to attempt to address this. I believe the key to doing
> > this right is to have the applet be compiz-aware, and use the proper
> > API if it's running; it'll be interesting to see what the patches do.
> >
> > Looking forward to collaborating with you on a solution.
> >
> > Kind regards,
> > -Paul Reiber
> > Phone: (210)854-8253
> > Email: <email address hidden>
> > Web: http://bit.ly/reiber
> >
> >
> >
> > On Sat, May 22, 2010 at 9:32 AM, Ryan Beard <email address hidden>
> wrote:
> > > Thanks Paul. I've downloaded the Grub development kit, and I'll be
> > > setting up conary today. I'll let you how things go.
> > >
> > > -ryan
> > >
> > > On Fri, 2010-05-21 at 22:36 +0000, PaulReiber wrote:
> > >> Ryan,
> > >>
> > >> If you're willing to dig/investigate, code, debug, and submit, I'm
> > >> certainly willing to help.
> > >>
> > >> I've been programming/administering UNIX for ~30 years, Linux for ~15.
> > >> My strengths are... well, pretty wide-reaching, but not so much in the
> > >> GUI/Gnome/Window-manager/Virtual-Desktop coding details, or I would
> > >> have fixed this myself a long time ago.
> > >>
> > >> Let me know if/when you get stuck and I'll do my best to get you
> > >> un-stuck. Contact me off-list at <email address hidden> any time.
> > >>
> > >> Kind regards,
> > >> -Paul Reiber
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> On Fri, May 21, 2010 at 2:48 PM, Ryan Beard <email address hidden>
> wrote:
> > >> > Paul -
> > >> >
> > >> > I'm actually referring to the patch attached to this bug (posted in
> > >> > comment #34: betterpatch.diff). It appears to target pager.c, but I
> > >> > can't find that file in 10.04.
> > >> >
> > >> > I haven't researched the Fedora patch yet, but I will look into
> that.
> > >> >
> > >> > I'm new to Gnome, and linux in general (been an
> > >> > OpenSuse/Kubuntu/LinuxMint user for the past year), but I actually
> > >> > noticed this bug within the first 30 minutes after installation.
> I'd
> > >> > like to help if at all possible (I was a heavy .net programmer, but
> I've
> > >> > been living in Qt Creator for the last 6 months), but I figured I
> should
> > >> > start with whatever work has already been accomplished - this patch,
> and
> > >> > the alleged Fedora patch - and build from there.
> > >> >
> > >> > Thanks for the help.
> > >> >
> > >> > --
> > >> > Can't drag a window to another workspace
> > >> > https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/150690
> > >> > You received this bug notification because you are a direct
> subscriber
> > >> > of a duplicate bug.
> > >> >
> > >>
> > >
> > > --
> > > Can't drag a window to another workspace
> > > https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/150690
> > > You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> > > of a duplicate bug.
> > >
> >
>
> --
> Can't drag a window to another workspace
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/150690
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of the bug.
>