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From: mike@faline.bellcore.com (Mike A. Caplinger)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Mac-style window managers in X?
Message-ID: <684@faline.bellcore.com>
Date: Mon, 13-Jul-87 14:50:54 EDT
Article-I.D.: faline.684
Posted: Mon Jul 13 14:50:54 1987
Date-Received: Fri, 17-Jul-87 05:16:44 EDT
Lines: 20

Is there some accepted way to write a Mac-style window manager in X?
That is, each window would be surrounded by a border containing controls
to move, resize, delete, and iconify that particular window.  I've studied
the X11 protocol, but still don't see any way to do this short of:

1) forcing each application to link against a standard interface package,
which blows the whole notion of separate window managers out of the
water, or

2) possibly keeping track of all subwindow moves and resizes and manipulating
the window hierarchy so as to imbed a newly created window inside a window-
manager window providing the border controls.

Neither of these options seems attractive.  Am I missing something obvious,
or is this kind of interface just hard to implement in X?  Certainly
I know of no current window manager that behaves that way, and I can't
say I'm happy with the current window managers.

	Mike Caplinger
	mike@bellcore.com