Re: Mergeability of xwidget patch?

[joakim@verona.se]

Daniel Hackney <dan@haxney.org> writes:

> <joakim@verona.se> wrote:
>> Stefan Monnier <monnier@iro.umontreal.ca> writes:
>>> Depending on details of the xwidget code (if it is sufficiently
>>> modular), it might make it into 24.2, but otherwise it'd have to wait
>>> for 25.1.
>>> If the code isnot modular enough, maybe we could install some
>>> refactoring right now, so that the remaining patch is sufficiently
>>> modular for 24.2.
>>
>> xwidgets walk all over the display code. OTOH its pretty modular in
>> the sense that if you dont insert xwidgets the new painting code isn't
>> touched. So, 24.2 doesn't seem unreasonable, but I think the project
>> needs more hands if its going to move forward.
>>
>> I can offer to keep the branch more alive but I probably need someone
>> with a large stick to keep me going :)
>
> I'm certainly willing to wield the large stick and be the taskmaster,
> though I'd also like to help out some too.
>
> This may be better discussed off-list, but where do you think I should
> start? Any particular resources you'd suggest for getting up to speed on
> the relevant parts of the Emacs display code or Xlib (or XCB)?

I've started rewriting the code for a MVC aproach. Its going better than
expected (except I'll be sleepy during meetings tomorrow).

I think the mvc aproach will be saner and easier to understand and thus
contribute to than the insane phantoming scheme I used before.

Another thing that would help is if you can find out if webkit and uzbl
supports multiple document views. I plan to use such a function to
achieve split emacs windows showing the same xembedded application.

If thats not possible only one view will be active for the xemmbed case
for the foreseeable future, because the composition code that is
otherwise needed was to infuriating to write. (it would help if someone
could look at that too. the aproach I tried was blitting using
cairo. the attempt is in xwidget-attic.c)

> Also, I had an idea for keyboard propagation. It's ugly, but much better
> than the way I'd been testing in Ezbl (forking an Xdotool [1] instance
> on each keypress): using libxdo [2] to forward keypresses to the
> embedded process.

I had xwidget-send-keyboard-event but I dont remember if it actually
worked. If we cant get that to work libxdo could be an option.
>
> Anyway, I'm happy to help, even if it's just whipping you into shape
> ;).

You did already because I got a guilty conscience and started hacking!

> Ultimately, I'd like to be able to take one more application off of my
> current commonly-used list (which right now is Emacs, gnome-terminal,
> and Firefox).

Hey, you should be able to remove gnome-terminal as-is!
(ok, it's a pretty large subject)

> [1] http://www.semicomplete.com/projects/xdotool/
>
> [2] http://www.semicomplete.com/files/xdotool/docs/html/
>
> --
> Daniel M. Hackney

-- 
Joakim Verona