More Information On The KDE Dynamic Window Decoration Plans

[KellyClowers]

If you'd read the article, you would have know that this is a server-sided alternative for CSD. This gives applications opportunity to access elements they wouldn't have been able to otherwise, but it's still up to the WM to draw everything. This way everything will render using strict boundaries, thus resulting in a consistent desktop experience.

Except it gives the apps a voice in what they want to draw. I don't want them to affect the window decorations for any reason. Tabs in the title bar and the like can die in a fire.

[smitty3268]

I asked this on the last thread...

How does Windows 7/8 do this? Obviously they do something right? It allows for some pretty complex/advanced stuff (Firefox/Chrome?) but also makes most applications look like they "fit in".
I couldn't give a shit about any media players or file managers, all I want out of CSD/DWD is Firefox/Chrome _native_ tabs in the titlebar. Chrome does it, but it hacks it's way to that.

Windows has always used CSD, just like linux should be. They have some basic level of apps fitting in by building code into the toolkit, just like putting it in GTK or Qt would do on linux, but lots and lots of apps really don't fit in very well with each other at all. And really nobody cares. The people who care about this will yell about it until they are blue in their faces, but they are a very, very small minority of actual users.

[smitty3268]

Except it gives the apps a voice in what they want to draw. I don't want them to affect the window decorations for any reason. Tabs in the title bar and the like can die in a fire.

The entire point of DWD is that the window manager can override the custom stuff and force everything to be the old standard SSD style decorations. So they'll obviously include a user setting to do that, if they go forward and actually implement DWD.

Personally, I don't really see the point. They should either stick with SSD or go full CSD, this kind of halfway implementation won't really satisfy anyone.

[You-]

Personally, I don't really see the point. They should either stick with SSD or go full CSD, this kind of halfway implementation won't really satisfy anyone.

It has its uses for enabling remote control type apps - the DWD info doesnt only have to be used for SSD/CSD, it can be sent elsewhere.

Other than that, yes AFAIK most of the drawbacks of CSD are already thought of in eg gnome-shell - the decorations are client side, but AFAIK the server is sent hints for where the window controls are and if the program freezes, those regions can remain active and working.

[Pseus]

Oh jeah. That godawful gtk3 decorations that look nothing like the rest of the system. Thanks Gnome.

Actually, as more apps get ported to the new UI guidelines, it is other apps that are beginning to look out of place, not gtk3 based ones.

[dcc24]

all I want out of CSD/DWD is Firefox/Chrome _native_ tabs in the titlebar. Chrome does it, but it hacks it's way to that.

Chrome doesn't do it natively (in the Gtk sense) either. It has its own graphics stack called Aura (shared between win/mac/linux) and it talks directly to the X server and draw its own windows. They kinda look native, because it tries to extract some limited color information from Gtk.

[TheBlackCat]

Personally, I don't really see the point. They should either stick with SSD or go full CSD, this kind of halfway implementation won't really satisfy anyone.

This does far more than CSD. The advantage is that applications can export the information, but it isn't limited to just being used by the window decoration. It can be used, for example, in the task manager thumbnails to provide media player controls, or even on your phone (using something like KDE Connect). You can't do that with CSD, you would need protocol pretty much like this anyway.

And those other features are not tied to the window manager, they would also work with CSD, or with SSD with this stuff turned off. So you could turn off the title bar stuff but still have it on your phone, for example. Or vice versus.

I have actually been hoping someone would implement something like this for a long time. I am surprised it took until now.

[niner]

Actually, as more apps get ported to the new UI guidelines, it is other apps that are beginning to look out of place, not gtk3 based ones.

It does not matter how many Gnome applications get ported to GTK3. They will always look out of place on other desktops.