Re: Suggestion on how to resolve the 'logout problem' (Was Re: Why 'the logout problem' is a GNOME problem, not a WM problem)

["Jesse D . Sightler" <jsight mindspring com>]

On Sun, 18 Apr 1999 14:41:09 James Ramsey wrote:
> The 'logout problem' that I've harped upon is this:
> 
> If one attempts to log out using the root menu of the window manager,
> it only exits the window manager. If one subsequently logs out of GNOME
> using the panel (perhaps under the mistaken presumption that the Logout
> root menu item didn't 'do anything') and then later logs back in, GNOME
> will start--with no window manager. A rather disorienting experience,
> especially if one doesn't know why it happened.
> 
> I have a suggested solution. It's not ideal, and it's somewhat of a
> compromise.
> 
> 1) Change the GNOME compliance spec so that a compliant window manager
> uses the session manager in logging out rather than simply terminating.
> That should allow GNOME to logout properly even if the user uses the
> root menu to logout, provided a compliant window manager is used.
> 
> [Note: I do not know precisely how the window manager would use the
> session manager to terminate itself. I am more or less echoing Mr. de
> Icaza's response to my bug report about the 'logout problem'. (I
> thought it was a bug when I first encountered it.)]

This is already there, AFAIK.  The fact that some window managers that are
supposed to be Gnome-compliant don't do it, is a different issue.  If Enlightenment
is one of those, then you should certainly file a bug report against Enlightenment. :)

> 2) Modify gnome-session so that if invoked something like this,
> 
> gnome-session --use-non-GNOME-compliant-WM='FooWM \ --some-args blah
> blah blah'
> 
> then GNOME will execute a shell script something like this:
> 
> #!/bin/sh
> 
> some-command-to-disable-wm-properties-capplet &
> 
> panel --no-logout &
> 
> FooWM --some-args blah blah blah

Er, don't you realize how convoluted this is?  Don't you think that if the user
were bright enough to do all of this, that he probably could figure it out the way
it is now?  This seems much more complex, in my opinion.

---------------
Jesse D. Sightler
http://www3.pair.com/jsight/

"An honest answer can get you into a lot of trouble." 
         - Anonymous