Re: [linux-audio-dev] libcui - design-question

On Thu, Sep 15, 2005 at 07:12:14PM +0200, Esben Stien wrote:

> All apps should really use this style. I'm much more comfortable
> giving direct commands to programs, even when 3d modelling, editing
> sound files or pictures, whatever I can think of, really.

Couldn't agree more. One good example is Linuxsampler, even if the
command language syntax is very specific. I allways use it without
the separate GUI application.

> > Another reason is that the popular toolsets do not encourage this
> > style of writing, and actually can make it more difficult than it
> > should be.
>
> Very sad.

There's another factor here: most toolsets provide more than just
the GUI, e.g. support for configuration, session management, i18n,
etc. When their app suddenly has to work without all this support,
most writers would find they have to start from scratch.

The worst are toolsets that are specific to one destop, e.g. KDE.
I recently used K3B to burn some CDs. Apart from installing a lot
of processes that either remained active after K3B had finished, or
segfaulted themselves out of existence, it also, without asking,
started a sound daemon that later blocked access to my HW, and
installed KDE configuration files in my home dir.
It also played some unexpected 'desktop sounds' that just failed
to blow up my speakers - my system is set up to listen to or work
on classical music recordings where the average level is something
like -30 dB, and these sounds were heavily compressed synthesised
things at maximum level.

I wrote to the author to ask if it was possible to start K3B with
some options so it would only do its core business - burn a CD -
and nothing else. Turned out this was impossible, 'since it's a
KDE app'. Sigh. I since then learned to use cdrdao with just a
text script - as easy and no problems.

So don't hold you breath waiting for any 'textified' KDE app.

-- 
FA