Re: State of the X clipboard, and perhaps a solution

[Jerry Haltom <wasabi larvalstage net>]

> So if the copying program doesn't support a mime type that the pasting
> program supports, then the data doesn't move?

Correct. The only way this works (as it does not) is if programmers are
good enough to make different areas of there programs work with all
possible data types.

> Is there a requirement that the clipboard mechanism must be compatible
> with current applicaitons?  If so, then you end up tying your hands to
> the point of not being able to successfully get to where you want to go.

Of course not. But the IDEA of the existing system anyways is ideal
IMHO. I don't know enough/anything about the actual implementation
however. The publish/pull process is very simple. KISS.

> If not, then what if what one does in the clipboard publish/copy process
> is provide to the clipboard daemon an object which provides methods to obtain
> the data in whatever manner the developer wishes (persistent database,
> flat file, internally to the object) as well as the conversion methods
> for the formats that are supported.  The clipboard daemon then passes
> requests from other apps, and if methods for the data types required are
> not types provided by the object, then the paste request fails.  The clipboard
> daemon is basically an object broker/warehouse manager.  In this
> way, the code to generate the data is available, but the application process
> need not be present.

Ahh! I did consider this. The problem this presents though is how do you
get enough logic into the clipboard daemon to handle all possible types
for all possible programs? You would have to have Gnumeric for example
insert the logic to convert a spreadsheet into text, xml, html, binary
spreadsheet, OpenOffice spreadsheet format, etc. That sounds fairly
hard, and really not all that useful.

One way brought up was to have the publishing program inform a clipd of
a command line that could be run on a dataset to convert it into any
format. This however breaks remote clients, as the clipd and the program
are not always on the same system.

-- 
Jerry Haltom <wasabi larvalstage net>

Please avoid sending me Word or PowerPoint attachments.
See http://www.fsf.org/philosophy/no-word-attachments.html