2012/2/6 martin rudalics <rudalics@gmx.at>

> > 1. at initialization it starts a grep and looks for something in
> background
>
> How do you communicate to the tab what the "something" is?



execute 'grep -i foo *' in background , example




> > 2. The 'show event should commute to the buffer *grep*
>
> This is the standard buffer switching functionality.
>
>
I know how to commute a buffer. In this case of tab, I want the show event
to commute to a given buffer.


>
> > 3. when grep finds something, and the tab is hidden , the tab widget to
> > change the color
>
> What sense does it make to have a hidden tab change color?  And what
> kind of event is this in your nomenclature?
>
>
Tabs should register a callback for an event , for example, when i/o
arrives in  the given process...


>
> > 4. The 'close event should kill the *grep* buffer, and the process , if
> it
> > had not finished yet
>
> >  Could you do this using buttons in toolbar or menubar, as you insist ?
>
> So far I'd only insist that saving and restoring window configurations
> should be done with the menubar rather than with a tab.  I never ever
> use toolbars but I think that mail handling routines using the toolbar
> (could) do such things routinely (inform of new mail, kill a buffer and
> remove the associated button when mail has been sent , ...).
>
>
Why do you change the subject of discussion ? saving and restoring window
configurations concerns other type of tab, not this one I am talking here.



Quite so, you can do this functionality using only M-x and calling lisp
functions. Or menu entries. But I am sure most people would be happy to be
able to define a tab that shows a 'grep process.