tml@hemuli.tik.vtt.fi (Tor Lillqvist) (01/09/90)
Am I correct in assuming that you are supposed to achieve site-wide defaults by loading resources from some file via xinit or xdm, not by editing files in /usr/lib/X11/app-defaults? I.e. the app-defaults files are to be considered part of the corresponding program's source code, and shouldn't be edited to provide site-wide settings.
kit@EXPO.LCS.MIT.EDU (Chris D. Peterson) (01/10/90)
> Am I correct in assuming that you are supposed to achieve site-wide > defaults by loading resources from some file via xinit or xdm, not by > editing files in /usr/lib/X11/app-defaults? There is no reason not to modify the app-defaults file for site configurations, that is what is was originally intended for. Although, You may want to put in a comment so that people know what you have done locally. > I.e. the app-defaults > files are to be considered part of the corresponding program's source > code, and shouldn't be edited to provide site-wide settings. The app-defaults file is certainly as important to many programs as the source files, but many applications also have a ``config.h'' file that is also part of the source... Chris D. Peterson MIT X Consortium Net: kit@expo.lcs.mit.edu Phone: (617) 253 - 9608 Address: MIT - Room NE43-213
swick@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Ralph R. Swick) (01/10/90)
> [query] > the app-defaults > files are to be considered part of the corresponding program's source > code, and shouldn't be edited to provide site-wide settings. Chris gave a good answer (that app-defaults were intended for site customization), but I'd like to expand on it just a little since this is certainly a grey area. Commercial application developers are going to want to declare portions of the resource database 'off-limits' to modification. While they certainly can accomplish this with code, I think a gentlepersons agreement on respecting comments in app-defaults (of the form "!** do not modify **") will make life generally more pleasant. Discussions on what those conventions should be are welcome on this list. My first suggestion is that site mods to supplied app-defaults files be made at the bottom (no need to remove earlier specs; Xrm will very conveniently take care of this), with a comment of the form !**** Athena site mods start here **** -Ralph
asente@decwrl.dec.com (Paul Asente) (01/10/90)
In article <4468@hemuli.tik.vtt.fi> tml@hemuli.tik.vtt.fi (Tor Lillqvist) writes: >Am I correct in assuming that you are supposed to achieve site-wide >defaults by loading resources from some file via xinit or xdm, not by >editing files in /usr/lib/X11/app-defaults? Nope. One of the principal motivations for the app-defaults files was to allow site-wide customizations without having to modify the source code. -paul asente asente@decwrl.dec.com decwrl!asente
dce@smsc.sony.com (David Elliott) (01/10/90)
In article <2417@bacchus.dec.com> asente@decwrl.dec.com (Paul Asente) writes: >In article <4468@hemuli.tik.vtt.fi> tml@hemuli.tik.vtt.fi (Tor Lillqvist) writes: >>Am I correct in assuming that you are supposed to achieve site-wide >>defaults by loading resources from some file via xinit or xdm, not by >>editing files in /usr/lib/X11/app-defaults? > >Nope. One of the principal motivations for the app-defaults files was to >allow site-wide customizations without having to modify the source code. Maybe I've done too much overall systems development, but this seems to me to be a mechanism that is less than optimal. When you have a file that is to be overwritten by installation, customers are given the burden of remembering to save their changes so that they can be made again. It's easy to forget to save off a directory, especially when its almost invisible to you from a user standpoint. Because of this, it seems to me that it would be better to have applications look for a file that isn't part of the standard distribution, and thus won't be overwritten by a new installation. For example, the directory /usr/local/lib/X11/app-defaults could be used for localized app-defaults files. I realize that this adds complexity to the release, and I'm not sure it's the "right thing to do". Maybe the best thing to do is to warn people to remember to save copies of their changed app-defaults files somewhere. -- David Elliott dce@smsc.sony.com | ...!{uunet,mips}!sonyusa!dce (408)944-4073 "Baziotes! Baziotes! Getcha red hot Baziotes here!"