[PyWM-talk] Is pywm suitable for running a single application?

[Frank M. <fr...@ch...>]

Hi all

I tried to install Pywm, but I got a runtime error.

Before I describe the error, I would like to explain *why* I tried to
install Pywm. I know very little about window managers, but I have a
particular requirement, and I hoped that Pywm might provide a solution.
However it might also be a complete sidetrack, so perhaps someone can
advise.

I am writing an accounting/business application using Python and wxPython. I
am experimenting with setting up a diskless workstation, using FC5, to make
deployment of clients easier. So far it looks good. The WS boots up and
shows an FC5 login screen. After login it shows a normal Gnome desktop. This
is fine for users that require a full desktop.

I also want to run the workstation as a 'terminal', that on boot-up goes
straight into my application. I have found out that FC5 uses Metacity as its
window manager. I can do an auto-login, and I can launch my app
automatically, but I cannot figure out how to run it without the desktop.
Therefore I have been experimenting with different window managers, but I
have not found one that behaves the way I want.

This is my ideal scenario.

The WS boots up, displays a background image of my choice, and launches my
app.

Each window must have a normal title bar, which behaves the same as an MSW
or Gnome one - i.e. an icon on the left with a menu with maximise, minimise,
Alt+F4 to exit, etc, and on the right a minimise, maximise, and close
button. wxPython allows you to specify which buttons must appear on the
title bar, so it must respect this.

Once in my app, the user can have several windows open at the same time.
Therefore the user must be able to press Alt+Tab to cycle between the
windows, and there must be a taskbar at the bottom with a button for each of
the currently open windows to allow direct selection. It would be nice to
put a clock and other goodies on the task bar as well.

There may be other things I need (you only find out when you start to run
the app) but that is enough to be going on with.

Would I be able to do this with Pywm? Any advice will be much appreciated.

This is the error I got after installing Pywm. It appeared to install ok. I
cannot run pywm-run.py as I do not have TkInter installed. However, from
reading the program, it appeared that I should be able to simply type
./example1.py. I tried that, and got the following traceback (shortened) -

import flwm_
ImportError: .../flwm.so: undefined symbol: XDestroyRegion

I probably did something wrong during the installation. Perhaps someone can
point me in the right direction.

I am using pywm-0.1-1-a4-1, Pyrex-0.9.4.1, and fltk-1.1.x-r5385, on FC5.

TIA

Frank Millman