Subject: Re: FVWM: fvwm2rc question

From: [email-masked] (George Ross)
Date: Thu, 11 Sep 1997 09:23:02 GMT

Martin Cartwright <[email-masked]> writes:
> 
> On Wed, 10 Sep 1997, Stephen Carville wrote:
> 
> ->Is there any way to define a variable in the .fvwm2rc file that can be
> ->expanded at run time?  Something like the #define directive in C? [...]
>
> You should investigate the preprocessing modules FvwmCpp and FvwmM4.

Indeed.  Just about the only thing that doesn't behave quite as you might
expect is adding things to the Init and Restart functions.

> But I don't see that this saves you much effortexcept in changing to a
> better icon than mini-x.xpm for a group of programs. For a single
> program it's much the same having to write START_ICON each time.

In this particular example perhaps, though even for the individual user it
still makes sense to use "symbolic constants" for all the usual good reasons.

Where having a preprocessor available is invaluable, though, is in
constructing a customisable configuration for a large heterogeneous body of
users.  (I'm trying to do it at the moment.)  Some of them will use any old
thing that you give them.  Some groups need particular facilities turned on or
off by default.  Some of them like to fiddle with anything they're given.  And
some of them just want to do their own thing.

-- 
Dr George D M Ross, Department of Computer Science, University of Edinburgh
       Kings Buildings, Mayfield Road, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH9 3JZ
Mail: [email-masked]   Voice: +44 131 650 5147   Fax: +44 131 667 7209
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