Dependencies on external dead projects

[Alexander E. Patrakov]

Brian J. Tarricone wrote:
> Alexander E. Patrakov wrote:
>> Hello,
>>
>> I want to know if anything will be done with these old bugs in the 4.6 version 
>> of Xfce:
>>
>> http://bugzilla.xfce.org/show_bug.cgi?id=783 (xfprint relies on a2ps which 
>> doesn't work at all for UTF-8 and will never be fixed)
>>
>> http://bugzilla.xfce.org/show_bug.cgi?id=2871 (xfce4-tips uses the "fortune" 
>> program that depends on the dead librecode library that has critical bugs that 
>> will never get fixed)
>>
>> IMHO, the optimal solution would be to drop xfce4-tips and xfprint (and disable 
>> printing in Mousepad - removing a non-working menu option is never a regression).
> 
> What would you suggest to replace the functionality that would be 
> dropped?  How is losing functionality that works (for some people, even 
> if not all) "optimal"?

Printing text works only for Americans or for users of ancient distros that 
didn't switch to UTF-8 yet. Anyway, as Nick Schermer wrote in his mail, this is 
solved for Mousepad by using a GTK-based print backend (but, as I understand, it 
requires a new-ish version of GTK).

So here is what remains:

1) functionality of xfprint to print text files and highlight C syntax via a2ps. 
Suggested replacement: printing text files with mousepad and printing C files 
with either Vim or lpr (using syntax-highlighting code from CUPS).

2) functionality of xfprint to print PostScript and PDF files: all PS/PDF 
viewers are already able to print them, and there is lpr.

3) functionality of xfce4-tips to display tips: while this is easy to rewrite to 
work without fortune, another solution is to move the tips to the manual.

4) functionality of xfce4-tips to display fortunes: victim of 
http://bugzilla.xfce.org/show_bug.cgi?id=2020

> I'm sure there are solutions out there, but someone has to commit to 
> write the code.  Our resources are pretty limited, especially lately. 

That's why I suggested removal.

> Are you going to do it?

Maybe after the semiconductor conference.

-- 
Alexander E. Patrakov