Re: EXWM

[André A . Gomes]

Ricardo Wurmus <rekado@elephly.net> writes:

> Hi André,
>
>> I packaged EXWM (the right way) for myself a long time ago.  If I'm
>> putting effort into this, it's because I think the community is
>> missing
>> an opportunity to improve.  I won't get anything from any of this.
>> You,
>> on the other hand, seem to be interested in your selfish agenda.
>
> it’s frustrating to get the feeling to be misunderstood.  But please
> take a step back before judging others.  “selfish agenda” sounds a lot
> harsher than is warranted in this context.

I apologise for the choice of words.

> Some background: Guix implements a philosophy that could be described
> as “magic with escape hatches”.  We usually offer neat features and
> automation by *default*, but we also provide escape hatches for those
> who don’t want the magic or have different requirements.

I do understand that, and that's why I like Guix.

I started a thread before sending a patch, since I antecipated that it
would be a sensitive topic.  On top of that, I was concerned about
backwards compatibility since, at this point, lots of users are perhaps
used to the .exwm file.

> The expectation to have EXWM start right up after selecting it as a
>window manager is justified, in my opinion.  Do we offer a sufficient
>escape hatch here?

No.  My point is that the "magic" that Guix provides in this case is a
double-edged sword.

Guix forces the execution of (exwm-config-default), unless the user has
a .exwm file.  That forces a default config on EXWM users, which is
unpleasant for those (like me) that have been using it for a long time.
Notice that those users have their EXWM configuration where it belongs,
i.e. in their Emacs' init file.

The .exwm file is non-standard, and it's not documented in any EXWM
project resource.  This would be somehow alleviated if (exwm-enable)
would run, instead of (exwm-config-default).

But we can do better.

I've advocated to the fact that "choosing EXWM as a window manager" is a
meaningless statement.  The meaningful statement is "choosing Emacs as
the window manager".  The user's Emacs init file dictates how EXWM is to
be initiated and operated.  In short, the EXWM bin wrapper should simply
start Emacs.

The approach I describe is the "standard" and documented way of using
and "starting EXWM".  See C-h P exwm RET for more info.

Thank you.


--
André A. Gomes
"Free Thought, Free World"