Re: [gcmd-dev] Fw: midnight commander

[A. Gordon]

My two cents about some of the issues raised by Pavel:
> Begin forwarded message:
> Subject: Re: midnight commander
>
> Just a few impressions from version 1.1.7.
> <...>
> It's actually a good idea to use C++ - it's better suited for GUI than
> plain C.
While Qt/KDE are natively written in C++, GTK and Gnome are natively written in 
C.

There are C++ libraries for GTK/Gnome, but moving Gnome-Commander to C++ 
is more-or-less rewriting it from scratch.
IMHO C++ is not "better suited" (and neither "less suited") for GUI - it 
is just a different language.
GTK (and to some lesser extent, gnome-commander) is very 
object-oriented, even if it isn't written in C++.

> Do you need libtool?  Wouldn't it be better to use convenience
> non-installable libraries?  Every installable library means having an
> API, and this can be an impediment for GUI developers.
>   
I don't see the problem of installable libraries... who are the "GUI 
developers" that are impeded by these libraries ?
If anything - libraries are good - they promote code reuse (for example: 
the internal viewer library can be used by other projects, and the API 
is easy to use, with both examples and documentation in the 
gnome-commander tarball).
> Obviously you don't have an embedded terminal.  I think it's a must for
> a file manager.  
I speak only for myself here, but I believe that a program needs to one 
thing, and do it well.
A File manager is not a terminal program.
There is command line entry box, and you can open a terminal window by 
pressing SHIFT+ENTER (instead of ENTER).
Embedding a full terminal window (like in Krusader) is not a top 
priority in my opinion.
> "Quick Search" without a shortcut is a joke.  It will never be "quick"
> is it involves menu navigation.
>   
"Quick Search" works by pressing CTRL+ALT+LETTER.
I'm currently working on a version with ALT+LETTER as a quick search 
trigger.

> F3 should do something more useful on directories.
>
>   
Agreed.
Midnight Commander treats F3 (view) as "enter" on directories.
Krusader simply ignores "view" command on directories.
Suggestions are welcomed.
> There are random crashes when trying to use SMB.  Please use Valgrind to
> fix memory problems.
>   

If you've found bugs, please help us by submitting bug reports on 
bugzilla (http://bugzilla.gnome.org/browse.cgi?product=gnome-commander).

Thanks for your input!

Assaf.