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From: mouse@lightning.mcrcim.mcgill.EDU (der Mouse)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re: X.V11R4 resource inheritance hassles
Message-ID: <9106210733.AA06821@lightning.McRCIM.McGill.EDU>
Date: 21 Jun 91 07:33:26 GMT
Sender: daemon@athena.mit.edu (Mr Background)
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 53

> From: casey@gauss.llnl.gov (Casey Leedom)

> [...color specs in app-defaults file...]
> [P]eople who have color displays are pissed off at color definitions
> in applications default files.  They have their buttons, borders,
> etc. all set up the way they like.  When an application defines its
> own color scheme they have to copy all the color definitions out of
> the applications default file and change them back to what they want.

How does this differ from an application that uses black-and-white by
default?  In each case it needs customization...what am I missing?

> This comment also applies to font definitions.

> From: michael@berlioz.nsc.com (Michael Wagnitz)

> What fonts would you have me default to (none?!?) if I don't specify
> something in the app-file?  Fixed!?!  (Yuch. %^)

How about the server default font?  If a user really cares so little
about fonts as to have no specification anywhere else, using the server
default seems eminently reasonable to me.

> I made the change [...].  This has already generated four mail
> requests for assistance from readers on the net who had not taken the
> time to a) read the documentation, or b) install the application
> defaults file,

I have little pity for users who don't read documentation before
calling for help.  As for not installing the app-defaults file, that
depends.  If the documentation says such installation is necessary, the
again I have little pity for the person.  If not, the documentation is
what's at fault, not the user.

[back to quoting Casey, I think -dM]

> The problem is that an application should inherit preference
> specifications whenever possible.  These include color, font, button
> styles, border widths, etc.  It's extremely annoying to set up a
> series of preferences and than have an application totally override
> them all forcing you to include special resource overrides for each
> such application.

To my mind, an application should always look for resources first in
the screen's resource database, and fall back on its internal defaults
(the app-defaults file, the compiled-in defaults, whatever) only if it
can't find what it wants in the resource database.  Anything else is a
bug, that simple.  No?

					der Mouse

			old: mcgill-vision!mouse
			new: mouse@larry.mcrcim.mcgill.edu