Ayatana-like notifications for Plasma

[Aurélien Gâteau]

Sebastian Kügler wrote:

> My proposal would be to just add / remove the Ayatana applet and switch off / on the 
> native notifications. This way it could be done completely at run-time, and doesn't 
> require separate packaging -- this would make testing the Ayatana version a lot 
> easier, and make packager's lives less painful.

For users, I don't think it would make it easier than toggling a single 
checkbox as it is right now.

For packagers, it would mean packaging another plasmoid instead of 
applying a patch set, I don't really know which one is easier.

For me, it means more code duplication as I would have to duplicate part 
of the systemtray plasmoid code.

> Note that the applet doesn't need to 
> be visible at all (make it 1x1 px transparant if you wish), or plugged into the 
> systray (which is supported since KDE 4.3).

This sounds a bit hackish. I imagine the user dragging the plasmoid from 
the plasmoid browser and wondering where it is gone after releasing the 
mouse button. And plugging into the systray is a KDE4.4 feature.

>>>> Looking at the code, I see that you're basically not using the
>>>> (QGraphicsView) canvas-based system Plasma uses.
>>> True. I reused some of the code I demonstrated at UDS. Since the
>>> PassiveNotificationWidget is a standalone widget which appears over the
>>> other windows, what would using QGraphicsView bring?
> 
> Deeper integration with other plasma elements, for example the slide animation in 
> Plasma::Dialog. Not sure if that's what you want, but I though I'd mention it anyway.a

I don't think I would need this. It's just fading in and out.

>> More on the subject of using QGraphicsView and Plasma::Animator: I just
>> had a look at the tooltip code, since Ayatana notifications aim at
>> looking similar to tooltips, I think it make sense to get some
>> inspiration from the code.
> 
> or share it ... :)

It's unfortunately not possible because Plasma::ToolTip is private.

> Yes, I think the general point here is that the Ayatana notifications have been 
> developed with GNOME in mind, which is in many ways more limited than Plasma. This 
> also means that the scope of the spec, when applied to KDE, changes. IMO, it cannot 
> be copied 1:1.

I agree. It is already less limited as it follows Plasma theme 
(something quite a few notify-osd users have been requesting for quite 
some time, and which they won't get in Karmic)

Aurelien