Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!ncar!boulder!stan!stan!toml From: toml@ninja.Solbourne.COM (Tom LaStrange) Newsgroups: comp.windows.x Subject: Re: advantages of virtual roots Message-ID: Date: 24 Dec 90 16:33:57 GMT References: <9012160738.AA20211@lightning.McRCIM.McGill.EDU> Sender: news@Solbourne.COM Organization: Solbourne Computer, Inc. Lines: 30 In-Reply-To: janssen@parc.xerox.com's message of 20 Dec 90 03:15:44 GMT In article janssen@parc.xerox.com (Bill Janssen) writes: Dave makes a good point: 1) Virtual roots remove complexity from the operation of moving groups of windows. Of course, this could be done in the client library as well. 2) Virtual roots allow the server to optimize batches of moves/unmaps/etc. Perhaps we could also do this by defining the semantics of a window group more precisely... Yes, Yes, Yes! In fact, the early versions of swm had to do no work at all when panning the desktop. I did not even send a synthetic ConfigureNotify event to each client when the desktop panned because the client windows did not move with respect to their "root" window (my interpretation of the ICCCM). But alas, I caved in to public pressure and now send synthetic ConfigureNotify events to all clients so that clients built with toolkits that assume the "root" window means the "actual, X server, root" window continue to work properly. I think multiple, moveable, resizeable, iconifiable (is that a word?) virtual roots would be very interesting.... -- Tom LaStrange Solbourne Computer Inc. ARPA: toml@Solbourne.COM 1900 Pike Rd. UUCP: ...!{boulder,sun}!stan!toml Longmont, CO 80501