Re: [Groff] gxditview

[Werner LEMBERG]

> Running `diff -u GXditview.ad /etc/X11/app-defaults/GXditview' in the
> actual Debian stable results in
>
> +GXditview*fontMap: \
> ...
> +M      -misc-fixed-medium-r-normal--*-100-*-*-*-*-jisx0208.1983-0\n\
> +G      -misc-fixed-medium-r-normal--*-100-*-*-*-*-jisx0208.1983-0

These last two lines are due to Debian's groff extension for Japanese.

> This shows that the default font map is not mentioned in
> GXditview.ad.  We could add this.

Yes, we could :-)

> Moreover, the Debian configuration file includes the additional
> fonts M and G.  These two lines could be added at the end of the
> definition of `static char default_font_map[]' in `Dvi.c':
>
> M      -misc-fixed-medium-r-normal--*-100-*-*-*-*-jisx0208.1983-0\n\
> G      -misc-fixed-medium-r-normal--*-100-*-*-*-*-jisx0208.1983-0\n\

Definitely not, see above.

> Finally, we should think about making gxditview a normal part of
> groff.

Are you volunteering?  Here the steps:

. Move the common code for gxditview and xtotroff into a library,
  say, src/libs/libxditview.

. Create a new directory src/utils/xtotroff and move the
  corresponding stuff to it.

. Add proper Makefile.sub files, update the top-level Makefiles, and
  remove the Imakefile stuff.  It may be necessary to add some
  autoconf tests to properly handle X11.

> For installing it in /usr/bin/X11/gxditview will overwrite the
> system default, so the normal installation in /usr/local/bin will be
> better.

You are hitting a weak point of X.  While it is easy to have multiple
locations for binaries, there is just one central directory for
application resources (usually X11/lib/X11/app-defaults) -- no support
for local trees a la TeX's kpathsea, only some environment variables
(see the documentation of XFILESEARCHPATH, XUSERFILESEARCHPATH, and
XAPPLRESDIR in the X(7) man page).  While it is possible (to a certain
degree) to have a local X tree for resources, I doubt that many users
have set up X in this way (and Linux distributions also don't do this
AFAIK).

IMHO it makes no sense to have the binary in /usr/local and the
resource in /usr.

Comments welcome, especially who this problem can be solved.


    Werner