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@@ -0,0 +1,473 @@ +Marco is not a meta-City as in an urban center, but rather +Meta-ness as in the state of being meta. i.e. marco : meta as +opacity : opaque. Also it may have something to do with the Meta key +on UNIX keyboards. + +The first release of Marco was version 2.3. Marco has no need for +your petty hangups about version numbers. + +The stable releases so far are 2.4.x, 2.6.x, 2.8.[01], 2.8.1.x, 2.8.5-, +2.10.x, 2.12.x, 2.14.x, 2.16.x. + +Unstable branches are 2.3.x, 2.5.x, 2.8.2-4, 2.9.x, 2.11.x, 2.13.x, +2.15.x, 2.17.x. + +COMPILING MARCO +=== + +You need GTK+ 2.2. For startup notification to work you need +libstartup-notification at +http://www.freedesktop.org/software/startup-notification/ or on the +MATE ftp site. You also need MateConf 1.2 (unless building a funky +extra-small embedded marco with --disable-mateconf, see below). + +REPORTING BUGS AND SUBMITTING PATCHES +=== + +Report new bugs on http://bugzilla.gnome.org. Please check for +duplicates, *especially* if you are reporting a feature request. + +Please do *not* add "me too!" or "yes I really want this!" comments to +feature requests in bugzilla. Please read +http://pobox.com/~hp/features.html prior to adding any kind of flame +about missing features or misfeatures. + +Feel free to send patches too; Marco is relatively small and +simple, so if you find a bug or want to add a feature it should be +pretty easy. Send me mail, or put the patch in bugzilla. + +See the HACKING file for some notes on hacking Marco. + +SHRINKING MARCO +=== + +Not that marco is huge, but a substantial amount of code is in +preferences handling, in static strings that aren't essential, and in +the theme engine. + +You can strip about 70K from the marco binary by compiling with +options such as: + + --disable-mateconf + --disable-sm + --disable-verbose-mode + --disable-startup-notification + +However the result is no good for desktop use, all prefs have to be +hardcoded in the binary, for example. If you wanted to make a really +small marco, here's some additional stuff you might consider +implementing: + + - add --disable-themes, which would replace theme.c and theme-parser.c + with a hardcoded implementation of the interface in theme.h, + should save about 80K. This should be fairly easy. + + - add --disable-gtk, which would implement the interface in ui.h + without using GTK. This one is easier than you think because the + main part of the window manager doesn't use GTK directly, but is + still fairly hard to do. You would probably have to give up some + of the features, such as window menus, as menus are pretty complex + to implement well. So time may be better spent adding a GTK + configure script feature to build GTK with only a small core set of + functionality. + +MARCO FEATURES +=== + + - Boring window manager for the adult in you. Many window managers + are like Marshmallow Froot Loops; Marco is like Cheerios. + + - Uses GTK+ 2.0 for drawing window frames. This means colors, fonts, + etc. come from GTK+ theme. + + - Does not expose the concept of "window manager" to the user. Some + of the features in the MATE control panel and other parts of the + desktop happen to be implemented in marco, such as changing your + window border theme, or changing your window navigation shortcuts, + but the user doesn't need to know this. + + - Includes only the window manager; does not try to be a desktop + environment. The pager, configuration, etc. are all separate and + modular. The "libwnck" library (which I also wrote) is available + for writing marco extensions, pagers, and so on. (But libwnck + isn't marco specific, or MATE-dependent; it requires only GTK, + and should work with KWin, fvwm2, and other EWMH-compliant WMs.) + + - Has a simple theme system and a couple of extra themes come with it. + Change themes via mateconf-editor or mateconftool or MATE themes control + panel: + mateconftool-2 --type=string --set /apps/marco/general/theme Crux + mateconftool-2 --type=string --set /apps/marco/general/theme Gorilla + mateconftool-2 --type=string --set /apps/marco/general/theme Atlanta + mateconftool-2 --type=string --set /apps/marco/general/theme Bright + + See theme-format.txt for docs on the theme format. Use + marco-theme-viewer to preview themes. + + - Change number of workspaces via mateconf-editor or mateconftool: + mateconftool-2 --type=int --set /apps/marco/general/num_workspaces 5 + + Can also change workspaces from MATE 2 pager. + + - Change focus mode: + mateconftool-2 --type=string --set /apps/marco/general/focus_mode mouse + mateconftool-2 --type=string --set /apps/marco/general/focus_mode sloppy + mateconftool-2 --type=string --set /apps/marco/general/focus_mode click + + - Global keybinding defaults include: + + Alt-Tab forward cycle window focus + Alt-Shift-Tab backward cycle focus + Alt-Ctrl-Tab forward cycle focus among panels + Alt-Ctrl-Shift-Tab backward cycle focus among panels + Alt-Escape cycle window focus without a popup thingy + Ctrl-Alt-Left Arrow previous workspace + Ctrl-Alt-Right Arrow next workspace + Ctrl-Alt-D minimize/unminimize all, to show desktop + + Change keybindings for example: + + unst mateconftool-2 --type=string --set /apps/marco/global_keybindings/switch_to_workspace_1 '<Alt>F1' + + Also try the MATE keyboard shortcuts control panel, or + mateconf-editor. + + See marco.schemas for all available bindings. + + - Window keybindings: + + Alt-space window menu + + Mnemonics work in the menu. That is, Alt-space then underlined + letter in the menu item works. + + Choose Move from menu, and arrow keys to move the window. + + While moving, hold down Control to move slower, and + Shift to snap to edges. + + Choose Resize from menu, and nothing happens yet, but + eventually I might implement something. + + Keybindings for things like maximize window, vertical maximize, + etc. can be bound, but may not all exist by default. See + marco.schemas. + + - Window mouse bindings: + + Clicking anywhere on frame with button 1 will raise/focus window + + If you click a window control, such as the close button, then the + control will activate on button release if you are still over it + on release (as with most GUI toolkits) + + If you click and drag borders with button 1 it resizes the window + + If you click and drag the titlebar with button 1 it moves the + window. + + If you click anywhere on the frame with button 2 it lowers the + window. + + If you click anywhere on the frame with button 3 it shows the + window menu. + + If you hold down Super (windows key) and click inside a window, it + will move the window (buttons 1 and 2) or show menu (button 3). + Or you can configure a different modifier for this. + + If you pick up a window with button 1 and then switch workspaces + the window will come with you to the new workspace, this is + a feature copied from Enlightenment. + + If you hold down Shift while moving a window, the window snaps + to edges of other windows and the screen. + + - Session management: + + Marco connects to the session manager and will set itself up to + be respawned. It theoretically restores sizes/positions/workspace + for session-aware applications. + + - Marco implements much of the EWMH window manager specification + from freedesktop.org, as well as the older ICCCM. Please refer to + the COMPLIANCE file for information on marco compliance with + these standards. + + - Uses Pango to render text, so has cool i18n capabilities. + Supports UTF-8 window titles and such. + + - There are simple animations for actions such as minimization, + to help users see what is happening. Should probably + have a few more of these and make them nicer. + + - if you have the proper X setup, set the GDK_USE_XFT=1 + environment variable to get antialiased window titles. + + - considers the panel when placing windows and maximizing + them. + + - handles the window manager selection from the ICCCM. Will exit if + another WM claims it, and can claim it from another WM if you pass + the --replace argument. So if you're running another + ICCCM-compliant WM, you can run "marco --replace" to replace it + with Marco. + + - does basic colormap handling + + - and much more! well, maybe not a lot more. + +HOW TO ADD EXTERNAL FEATURES +=== + +You can write a marco "plugin" such as a pager, window list, icon +box, task menu, or even things like "window matching" using the +Extended Window Manager Hints. See http://www.freedesktop.org for the +EWMH specification. An easy-to-use library called "libwnck" is +available that uses the EWMH and is specifically designed for writing +WM accessories. + +You might be interested in existing accessories such as "Devil's Pie" +by Ross Burton, which add features to Marco (or other +EWMH-compliant WMs). + +MARCO BUGS, NON-FEATURES, AND CAVEATS +=== + +See bugzilla: http://bugzilla.gnome.org/query.cgi + +FAQ +=== + +Q: Will you add my feature? + +A: If it makes sense to turn on unconditionally, or is genuinely a + harmless preference that I would not be embarrassed to put in a + simple, uncluttered, user-friendly configuration dialog. + + If the only rationale for your feature is that other window + managers have it, or that you are personally used to it, or + something like that, then I will not be impressed. Marco is + firmly in the "choose good defaults" camp rather than the "offer 6 + equally broken ways to do it, and let the user pick one" camp. + + This is part of a "no crackrock" policy, despite some exceptions + I'm mildly embarrassed about. For example, multiple workspaces + probably constitute crackrock, they confuse most users and really + are not that useful if you have a decent tasklist and so on. But I + am too used to them to turn them off. Or alternatively + iconification/tasklist is crack, and workspaces/pager are good. But + having both is certainly a bit wrong. Sloppy focus is probably + crackrock too. + + But don't think unlimited crack is OK just because I slipped up a + little. No slippery slope here. + + Don't let this discourage patches and fixes - I love those. ;-) + Just be prepared to hear the above objections if your patch adds + some crack-ridden configuration option. + + http://pobox.com/~hp/free-software-ui.html + http://pobox.com/~hp/features.html + +Q: Will Marco be part of MATE? + +A: It is officially part of MATE as of MATE 2.2. Prior to that, + it was unofficially shipped as the default MATE WM by several + OS vendors. + +Q: Is Marco a Red Hat project? + +A: Marco's original creation was in no way funded, endorsed, or + encouraged by Red Hat, Inc. - I'm guessing Red Hat would not + consider "insufficient number of window managers for Linux" an + urgent problem. Just a wild guess though. + + Now that marco is the default WM however, Red Hat supports some + bugfixing and other work. + +Q: Why does Marco remember the workspace/position of some apps + but not others across logout/login? + +A: Marco only stores sizes/positions for apps that are session + managed. As far as I can determine, there is no way to attempt to + remember workspace/position for non-session-aware apps without + causing a lot of weird effects. + + The reason is that you don't know which non-SM-aware apps were + launched by the session. When you initially log in, Marco sees a + bunch of new windows appear. But it can't distinguish between + windows that were stored in your session, or windows you just + launched after logging in. If Marco tried to guess that a window + was from the session, it could e.g. end up maximizing a dialog, or + put a window you just launched on another desktop or in a weird + place. And in fact I see a lot of bugs like this in window managers + that try to handle non-session-aware apps. + + However, for session-aware apps, Marco can tell that the + application instance is from the session and thus restore it + reliably, assuming the app properly restores the windows it had + open on session save. + + So the correct way to fix the situation is to make apps + session-aware. libSM has come with X for years, it's very + standardized, it's shared by MATE and KDE - even twm is + session-aware. So anyone who won't take a patch to add SM is more + archaic than twm - and you should flame them. ;-) + + Docs on session management: + http://www.fifi.org/doc/xspecs/xsmp.txt.gz + http://www.fifi.org/doc/xspecs/SMlib.txt.gz + + See also the ICCCM section on SM. For MATE apps, use the + MateClient object. For a simple example of using libSM directly, + twm/session.c in the twm source code is pretty easy to understand. + +Q: How about adding viewports in addition to workspaces? + +A: I could conceivably be convinced to use viewports _instead_ of + workspaces, though currently I'm not thinking that. But I don't + think it makes any sense to have both; it's just confusing. They + are functionally equivalent. + + You may think this means that you won't have certain keybindings, + or something like that. This is a misconception. The only + _fundamental_ difference between viewports and workspaces is that + with viewports, windows can "overlap" and appear partially on + one and partially on another. All other differences that + traditionally exist in other window managers are accidental - + the features commonly associated with viewports can be implemented + for workspaces, and vice versa. + + So I don't want to have two kinds of + workspace/desktop/viewport/whatever, but I'm willing to add + features traditionally associated with either kind if those + features make sense. + +Q: Why is the panel always on top? + +A: Because it's a better user interface, and until we made this not + configurable a bunch of apps were not getting fixed (the app + authors were just saying "put your panel on the bottom" instead of + properly supporting fullscreen mode, and such). + + rationales.txt has the bugzilla URL for some flamefesting on this, + if you want to go back and relive the glory. + Read these and the bugzilla stuff before asking/commenting: + http://pobox.com/~hp/free-software-ui.html + http://pobox.com/~hp/features.html + +Q: Why is there no edge flipping? + +A: This one is also in rationales.txt. Because "ouija board" UI, where + you just move the mouse around and the computer guesses what you + mean, has a lot of issues. This includes mouse focus, shade-hover + mode, edge flipping, autoraise, etc. Marco has mouse focus and + autoraise as a compromise, but these features are all confusing for + many users, and cause problems with accessibility, fitt's law, and + so on. + + Read these and the bugzilla stuff before asking/commenting: + http://pobox.com/~hp/free-software-ui.html + http://pobox.com/~hp/features.html + +Q: Why does wireframe move/resize suck? + +A: You can turn it on with the reduced_resources setting. + + But: it has low usability, and is a pain + to implement, and there's no reason opaque move/resize should be a + problem on any setup that can run a modern desktop worth a darn to + begin with. + + Read these and the bugzilla stuff before asking/commenting: + http://pobox.com/~hp/free-software-ui.html + http://pobox.com/~hp/features.html + + The reason we had to add wireframe anyway was broken + proprietary apps that can't handle lots of resize events. + +Q: Why no XYZ? + +A: You are probably getting the idea by now - check rationales.txt, + query/search bugzilla, and read http://pobox.com/~hp/features.html + and http://pobox.com/~hp/free-software-ui.html + + Then sit down and answer the question for yourself. Is the feature + good? What's the rationale for it? Answer "why" not just "why not." + Justify in terms of users as a whole, not just users like + yourself. How else can you solve the same problem? etc. If that + leads you to a strong opinion, then please, post the rationale for + discussion to an appropriate bugzilla bug, or to + + Please don't just "me too!" on bugzilla bugs, please don't think + flames will get you anywhere, and please don't repeat rationale + that's already been offered. + +Q: Your dumb web pages you made me read talk about solving problems in + fundamental ways instead of adding preferences or workarounds. + What are some examples where marco has done this? + +A: There are quite a few, though many opportunities remain. Sometimes + the real fix involves application changes. The marco approach is + that it's OK to require apps to change, though there are also + plenty of workarounds in marco for battles considered too hard + to fight. + + Here are some examples: + + - fullscreen mode was introduced to allow position constraints, + panel-on-top, and other such things to apply to normal windows + while still allowing video players etc. to "just work" + + - "whether to include minimized windows in Alt+Tab" was solved + by putting minimized windows at the *end* of the tab order. + + - Whether to pop up a feedback display during Alt+Tab was solved by + having both Alt+Tab and Alt+Esc + + - Whether to have a "kill" feature was solved by automatically + detecting and offering to kill stuck apps. Better, marco + actually does "kill -9" on the process, it doesn't just + disconnect the process from the X server. You'll appreciate this + if you ever did a "kill" on Netscape 4, and watched it keep + eating 100% CPU even though the X server had booted it. + + - The workspaces vs. viewports mess was avoided by adding + directional navigation and such to workspaces, see discussion + earlier in this file. + + - Instead of configurable placement algorithms, there's just one + that works fairly well most of the time. + + - To avoid excess CPU use during opaque move/resize, we rate limit + the updates to the application window's size. + + - Instead of configurable "show size of window while resizing," + it's only shown for windows where it matters, such as terminals. + (Only use-case given for all windows is for web designers + choosing their web browser size, but there are web sites and + desktop backgrounds that do this for you.) + + - Using startup notification, applications open on the workspace + where you launched them, not the active workspace when their + window is opened. + + - and much more. + +Q: I think marco sucks. + +A: Feel free to use any WM you like. The reason marco follows the + ICCCM and EWMH specifications is that it makes marco a modular, + interchangeable part in the desktop. libwnck-based apps such as the + MATE window list will work just fine with any EWMH-compliant WM. + +Q: Did you spend a lot of time on this? + +A: Originally the answer was no. Sadly the answer is now yes. + +Q: How can you claim that you are anti-crack, while still + writing a window manager? + +A: I have no comment on that. |