Re: Open URL in NSWorkspace

[Yen-Ju Chen]

On 8/3/07, Vaisburd, Haim <HVaisbur@advent.com> wrote:
> Fred Kiefer wrote:
>
> > But why should we open up URLs with a web browser?
> > An URL just specifies how to get to a specific set of data,
> > the data itself should then be treated just like any other
> > file of that type.
>
> Yes, agreed here.
>
> > If it is HTML then it should be passed on to a web browser,
> > but if it is anything else the proper application for this type should
> be started.
>
>
> But here is a point: why just a browser for HTML?
> What if I want to edit it?
>
> I think I saw a concept of an "instrument" or "tool" somewhere in Etoile
> documentation. I'm not sure what did Etoile people meant by it exactly,
> but in my own mind (I might have chosen another word for it then) an
> instrument
> is the following thing:
>
> 1. An instrument can show and modify a certain aspect of a document.
> 2. A document content determines the set of relevant instruments.
> 3. Within this set user can choose what instrument he wants to use.
> 4. And by the way, I want these instruments to be separate executables.
>
> An obvious example of this is a picture editing activity.
>
> It makes sence to have a "most natural" instrument, but I think
> there should be a choice.
>
> Now, the requirement to launch something for URL fits into the task of
> writing
> a desktop environment, why to push it into the GNUstep that is supposed
> to be
> a policy-neutral library?

  So I guess the best solution would be:

  1. GNUstep provides a GSURLHandler in user defaults
      and pass url to it if GSURLHandler is specified by users.
      Or it can just use GSWorkspaceApplication for that.
  2. If GSURLHandler/GSWorkspaceApplication is empty,
      it can do some default behaviors.
  3. Finally, if it cannot handle it, it use 'xdg-open'
      and hope 'xdg-open' will pick up one application for that url.

  (1) and (3) are easy because it is out-sourcing. :)

  My point for this discussion is that GNUstep has to open a door
  for other applications to handle situation when GNUstep cannot.
  Otherwise, we have to use user bundles to override the default behavior,
  which I would say is close to a hack.
  I think it is a good thing that such communication between GNUstep
  and a deskop environment can be slowly established.

  Yen-Ju


>
> --Tima
>
>
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