What are the objectives for Xfce 4.4?

[Biju Chacko]

Hi all,

For some reason, I seem to think that contributing a minuscule amount of 
code a very long time ago entitles me to pontificate about xfce. I 
probably have less right to talk than many others here, but xfce is a 
project that I care deeply about so I'll bore all of you with some of my 
ideas. Please bear with me. :-)

IMHO, one of the reasons that we have such a long release schedule is 
because we don't have clear criteria for declaring that a release is ready.

Basically, every now and then we start feeling that it's been a long 
time since we did a release. So then we feature freeze whatever is in 
CVS, stabilize it and then release.

I don't think that it the right way to go.

I think some of you may agree with me.

Basically, we need to set some clear objectives. These objectives need 
to be achievable, and there should be a rough idea of how much work it's 
gonna take. We should decide which objectives should be delivered with 
which release.

Once the all the objectives of the 4.4 release have been met, we should 
release.

I also feel that we should have unstable releases more often.

So we should start deciding on objectives. Each maintainer would 
probably have a good idea of what he wants to focus on, but I'll kick 
off the discussion with a few ideas for 4.4, feel free to shoot down 
whichever ones don't appeal to you:

* The panel, taskbar and iconbox should be replaced by a single tool 
that would do all three jobs. It must be possible to run multiple 
instances of this tool.

* We need to get rid of the concept that one module == one package. The 
current plethora of packages is a pain and detracts from our image of 
being lightweight. Ideally, we ought to have just xfce-core, 
xfce-applications and xfce-devel. If we do this correctly, it should 
still be possible for people who only want a single module (most 
probably xfwm4) to get only it.

* We should have a "first run" application to configure whether you want 
to run various parts of the environment. It should probably offer sample 
configs (these are just ideas):
	* Xfce (our preferred default setup)
	* Light (only xfwm4 and xfdesktop)
	* Ultra-light (only xfwm4 & xfrun4)
	* CDE-ish
	* Windows/GNOME/KDE-ish (they all look the same to me)
	* Kiosk

* System Menu should be widgetized and should be fully fd.o compliant.

* xffm to be replaced by a smaller, simpler, more basic file manager.

* Improve lockdown capabilities.

* Panel Auto-Drawers that correspond to fd.o menu categories.

* Move xfcalendar, xfterminal, xfmedia, mousepad into a separate project 
called 'xfce applications'. Add all new utilities to this project. Core 
probably already has all the modules that need to be there.

* Move to a dbus-based settings system.

* Any other ideas....

What do you think?

-- botsie