4 ms·

If we are talking about desktop Linux, a lack of config files is not a problem. If you expect people to edit files to get their desktops to work properly, you h

If we are talking about desktop Linux, a lack of config files is not a problem. If you expect people to edit files to get their desktops to work properly, you have already lost. The same config pane where I adjust my pointer speed should let me adjust my scroll speed.

smoldesu 4y ago
To add in the fancy slider you want so much, there needs to be a corresponding tunable in Wayland. MacOS does this with plists, it's not some radical or hated design pattern.
- twblalock 4y ago
  If you think that is a "fancy slider" you lack perspective. It is a basic, expected feature that is supported by Windows and macOS for laptop users. And I'm pretty sure it used to work on Linux too, before Wayland.
  - smoldesu 4y ago
    It indeed used to be supported before Wayland. I don't develop Wayland though, and if I did then it would look very different from how it exists now.
bee_rider 4y ago
Generally those config panels write to files for you (how else would their changes be persisted?)
- twblalock 4y ago
  The storage mechanism is not the interaction mechanism, and Linux config files are not user friendly. All other desktop operating systems have a control pane for this stuff.
  - bee_rider 4y ago
    Configuration files are a developer-friendly and user-friendly way of supporting customization. It allows more conventional Linux users to do their customization using their favorite text editor, in the familiar interface that they already like. And, if somebody decides they want to write a GUI for configuration (maybe to chase users who are more familiar with consumer OSes), all the GUI has to do is write to a file (an easy task in most languages).
    - dividedbyzero 4y ago
      I'm a user and I don't find being made to directly edit config files user-friendly at all. Why on earth would I want to use a text editor to configure my printer? I don't use Powerpoint to edit photos either, even though in theory I probably could, but what a hassle. That sort of paradigm is fine for applications intended for professional use to be deployed to servers etc., but config management systems exist for those uses and the people managing these applications tend to be paid quite well, which is no coincidence. Targeting ordinary users? If there is no (decent) config UI, then it may be developer-friendly, but it's definitely not user-friendly. Yes, that can be a valid trade-off for resource-strapped hobby projects, and yes, it's fine if there is a config file in the back, but that shouldn't be the only way to configure an application. No other platform tolerates this sort of thing, and with good reason, given that most people find configuring software to be both intimidating and annoying even under the best of circumstances. I think devs actually believing that all users are just like themselves for decidedly non-dev applications plays a sizable part in why desktop Linux fails to break out of its tiny hardcore technical people and sometimes their parents niche year after year. Most people's favorite (i.e. only) text editor likely will be Microsoft Word, and I'm not sure how many of those people would say they like it.
      - bee_rider 4y ago
        It is user-friendly to typical Linux users. It is a community-developed project, so it only really needs to appeal to developers. What motivation is there to attract non-technical users? Particularly ones who require lots of effort doing uninteresting polishing related tasks to keep them happy. Other platforms do this sort of thing because their entire reason for existing is to satisfy customers.
xani_ 4y ago
Config files are far preferable to some random database dug somewhere in registry of DE blob of stuff. Because you can make a simple program that just "does the right thing" for user then include it in distro

smoldesu 4y ago

To add in the fancy slider you want so much, there needs to be a corresponding tunable in Wayland. MacOS does this with plists, it's not some radical or hated design pattern.

twblalock 4y ago
If you think that is a "fancy slider" you lack perspective. It is a basic, expected feature that is supported by Windows and macOS for laptop users. And I'm pretty sure it used to work on Linux too, before Wayland.
- smoldesu 4y ago
  It indeed used to be supported before Wayland. I don't develop Wayland though, and if I did then it would look very different from how it exists now.

bee_rider 4y ago

Generally those config panels write to files for you (how else would their changes be persisted?)

twblalock 4y ago
The storage mechanism is not the interaction mechanism, and Linux config files are not user friendly. All other desktop operating systems have a control pane for this stuff.
- bee_rider 4y ago
  Configuration files are a developer-friendly and user-friendly way of supporting customization. It allows more conventional Linux users to do their customization using their favorite text editor, in the familiar interface that they already like. And, if somebody decides they want to write a GUI for configuration (maybe to chase users who are more familiar with consumer OSes), all the GUI has to do is write to a file (an easy task in most languages).
  - dividedbyzero 4y ago
    I'm a user and I don't find being made to directly edit config files user-friendly at all. Why on earth would I want to use a text editor to configure my printer? I don't use Powerpoint to edit photos either, even though in theory I probably could, but what a hassle. That sort of paradigm is fine for applications intended for professional use to be deployed to servers etc., but config management systems exist for those uses and the people managing these applications tend to be paid quite well, which is no coincidence. Targeting ordinary users? If there is no (decent) config UI, then it may be developer-friendly, but it's definitely not user-friendly. Yes, that can be a valid trade-off for resource-strapped hobby projects, and yes, it's fine if there is a config file in the back, but that shouldn't be the only way to configure an application. No other platform tolerates this sort of thing, and with good reason, given that most people find configuring software to be both intimidating and annoying even under the best of circumstances. I think devs actually believing that all users are just like themselves for decidedly non-dev applications plays a sizable part in why desktop Linux fails to break out of its tiny hardcore technical people and sometimes their parents niche year after year. Most people's favorite (i.e. only) text editor likely will be Microsoft Word, and I'm not sure how many of those people would say they like it.
    - bee_rider 4y ago
      It is user-friendly to typical Linux users. It is a community-developed project, so it only really needs to appeal to developers. What motivation is there to attract non-technical users? Particularly ones who require lots of effort doing uninteresting polishing related tasks to keep them happy. Other platforms do this sort of thing because their entire reason for existing is to satisfy customers.

xani_ 4y ago

Config files are far preferable to some random database dug somewhere in registry of DE blob of stuff. Because you can make a simple program that just "does the right thing" for user then include it in distro