How to write Window Maker dockapps

[Riza Dindir]

Hello All,

Is there documentation on how to write dockapps? What must the application satisfy to be a dockapp?

Was considering writing a dockapp using python/tkinter. Would this be a good solution? Is it better to use C/Xlib, or maybe GTK might also be a choice.

Regards

Riza

[Christophe]

----- Riza Dindir <riza....@gmail.com> a écrit :

> Hello All,
>
> Is there documentation on how to write dockapps? What must the application
> satisfy to be a dockapp?

I have not found a documentation so far, but the theory is quite simple so I'll explain below.

> Was considering writing a dockapp using python/tkinter. Would this be a
> good solution? Is it better to use C/Xlib, or maybe GTK might also be a
> choice.

Therese is no best choice, if it allows you to do the needed job. If you plan to do a simple dockapp, maybe C/Xlib is better, but from the moment your dockapp needs to open a window you'd prefer to use a toolkit anyway.


*** DockApps, the Theory ***

Basically, a dockapp is an application whose main window is always iconified. Then the goal is to use a window for its icon, and that's where you do the display/interactions.

So, basically:
main_win = XCreateSimpleWindow(...)

the_dockapp_win = XCreateWindow(... parent=main_win ...)
The width=height=48 because that is the standard size, there is no clean official mechanism to ask WMaker the size AFAIK.

You will want to set a "Class" to your window because WMaker will use it to recognize your app:
XSetClassHint(...)

You probably want to use "XSetCommand()" also to let WMaker know how to run the app at startup.

You'll have to use XSetWMHints on the main window:
- to set initial_state = WithdrawnState (That means we don't want the window visible)
- to set icon_window to your the_dockapp_win

The last trick to know, is that you want WMaker's tile visible in the back of your dockapp, so you'll have to use the "XShape" extension for that.

Christophe.

[Riza Dindir]

Thank you very much Christophe.

[Roman Dobosz]

If you interested in writing some dockap in Python instead, I
revived[1] an old lib, which can help with writing dockapps. An
example[2] of such thing is the one which I wrote at the beginning of
this year and using on daily basis, no issues whatsoever.

[1] https://github.com/gryf/wmdocklib
[2] https://github.com/gryf/pywmtemp

--
-^- _ enjoying the silence
_ /O)_\//
(_(|__(_(_) grf.

[Riza Dindir]

Thanks for the links. Will be reading the code.

Riza

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