Themes :: gtk1 themes for repository
I recently downloaded a small pile of non-pixmap gtk1 themes that work in DSL, and I'm looking for some feedback on what the most useful method of packaging would be. They will be packaged as gtk1-themename.tar.gz and install into /home/dsl/.themes so they can be automatically found by switch.dsl and be edited by the user.
The fact that they'll install into ramdisk (and the fact that I tend to want no more files than necessary installed at any given time) makes me want to package them individually.
The thing I haven't decided on yet is how to handle the engines. Some themes require particular theme engines. Having the engine included with every theme that requires it is wasteful, so there are a few options on my mind:
Option 1: Include the engine with the theme that was originally released with the engine. This will require each additional theme that needs an engine to have its module_path point to the original theme's directory. This is the method I'm currently using on my system. It's quite portable, and is pretty close to the way the original theme packages are set up. The module_path for each engine-dependent theme also includes /usr/lib/gtk/themes/engines so the theme can be used if you already have switch.dsl installed (and if the required engine is actually included in switch.dsl).
Option 2: Release the engines as a separate package or packages, installed into /home/dsl/.themes or as a uci. Each engine-dependent theme will have the same module_path regardless of what engine it uses. If the engines are released as a uci, it will need to remain mounted for as long as gtk apps are being used. This method was the first thing I tried, but personally I think it's a little messy.
Option 3: Release theme packs, with each pack including all themes that require a particular engine. This method is my least favorite, although I know many people like packs.
Option 4: Release everything as one package. This would be convenient as a uci, but as I said before it would need to remain mounted permanently and I tend to prefer not installing things I have no plan to use. This also means the themes are read-only.
Option 5: Release both a theme pack and individual themes. This would be a combo of two of the above options.
Any feedback on the pros/cons of these options, additional options, or any other ideas are welcome.
Thanks for reading.
How many different engines are there?
I have 13, but I'm sure I don't have all of them. So far I've tested 30 themes that work in DSL, only a few of them do not rely on an engine.
There are still a handful of themes I haven't tested yet, and probably more I will want to download.
The .themes directory including the engines is currently 279k compressed as a single tar.gz file. That's not bad at all, but I still am leaning toward a separate package for each theme.
The way I have it set up for now would state in the info file whether the desired theme requires that another theme is needed, pretty much the same way it's done at freshmeat.
For example, if you want to use XenoThin (774 bytes compressed) the way it was intended to look, you would also need Xenophilia (45k).
Keep in mind that most of these engines are also available in switch.dsl, so if you already have that you will not need to download Xenophilia separately. I just don't like switch very much, so all of the themes supplied with that package will also be available as individual packages.
Man, that's a lotta engines.
Personally I think that keeping everything separate is a good thing as far as keeping things damn small. Especially when there's that many things you may not want. Though I've never much cared for extensions that have other extensions as dependencies, as I've had problems with that before, just not noticing there was a dependency.
Would it be possible to include an if statement in a wrapper script to test for the presence of the engine before attempting to load the theme? So that if it's not present it could wget it or at least let you know that it's needed?
gtk themes are handled entirely by gtk...nothing more i can do beyond including an appropriate module_path in each theme file. If you're talking about a check during the download or installation process, that is also not a possibility. The MyDSL system is very minimal...it downloads and installs the desired package, and that's it.
As far as gtk goes in dealing with missing theme engines, it sticks with the default gtk widgets but still uses the theme's colors and fonts. A missing engine doesn't mean the theme will not work....it just won't look entirely as intended.
In any case, the info file will clearly state which engine is needed, if any, and I will be sure to submit only themes using engines that are already available through myDSL.
I'm also hoping to find more themes that use only the default gtk widgets.
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