[mythtv] Why window manager is required for fullscreen mode?

Alexey Midenkov midenok at bk.ru
Tue Sep 22 08:08:42 UTC 2009


On Thursday 17 September 2009 21:58:39 Michael T. Dean wrote:
> On 09/17/2009 10:43 AM, Paul Bender wrote:
> > Alexey Midenkov wrote:
> >> I know that currently window manager solves focus issues. What
> >> other functionality is required from window manager? It would be
> >> better to get this functionality directly in MythTV if it's not
> >> too complex. Thanks!
> >
> > What problem are you trying to solve by getting rid of the window
> > manager?
> >
> > X applications expect a window manager. Even were myth to be able
> > to work without one, applications that it launches could still
> > have problems without one.
> >
> > Windows managers can be small. After all, we are talking about a
> > window manager not a desktop environment. I maintain MiniMyth,
> > which attempts to be a compact distribution. In it, I use
> > ratpoison as the window manager, which is 101548 bytes in size
> > (even less in the compressed image). There are many other things
> > to go after besides the window manager that would reduce the size
> > by much more than that.
>
> And even the amount of RAM used by a (properly chosen) window
> manager is small:
> http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Frequently_Asked_Questions#Do_I_really_n
>eed_a_window_manager_for_a_frontend_only_box.3F
>
> Remember, also, that even if you're running MythTV at only 720x480
> pixels, the background used by your theme (ignoring all other
> graphical elements) takes more RAM than those window managers.
>
> Choosing to use a desktop environment, though, will be much more
> heavyweight, so use a lightweight window manager.
>
> Mike

Thank you for intelligible replies. The main reason for why window 
manager is unwanted is additional efforts in choosing it and tuning. 
I think, everyone who first got acknowledged with MythTV gets into 
topic of what window manager is lighter and how to proper start and 
tune it. It have taken time for me and will so for everyone. Apart 
from that any additional component is a stability loss. Each program 
may have memory and cpu leaks and be the source of system quirks.


More information about the mythtv-dev mailing list