Bug 149470 - StartupNotify seems to have a third (undocumented) state besides true/false
Summary: StartupNotify seems to have a third (undocumented) state besides true/false
Status: RESOLVED INTENTIONAL
Alias: None
Product: kde
Classification: I don't know
Component: general (other bugs)
Version First Reported In: unspecified
Platform: Debian testing Linux
: NOR normal
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: Stephan Kulow
URL:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2007-09-02 13:05 UTC by Ronny Standtke
Modified: 2020-09-28 23:06 UTC (History)
2 users (show)

See Also:
Latest Commit:
Version Fixed/Implemented In:
Sentry Crash Report:


Attachments

Note You need to log in before you can comment on or make changes to this bug.
Description Ronny Standtke 2007-09-02 13:05:55 UTC
Version:            (using KDE KDE 3.5.7)
Installed from:    Debian testing/unstable Packages

I am the author of Edutainment Knoppix (http://campus.ph.fhnw.ch/ICT/LinuxInDerSchule) and use KDE for that distribution. Because application startup takes quite a while from CD/DVD I tend to add "StartupNotify=true" to some desktop files where appropriate.

The strange thing I noticed is that there seems to be a third state for StartupNotify besides "true" and "false" -> "missing". Consider the desktop file for TORCS (http://torcs.sourceforge.net):
------------
[Desktop Entry]
Version=1.0
Encoding=UTF-8
Type=Application
Name=TORCS
GenericName=TORCS
Comment=3D racing cars simulator game
Comment[es]=Juego de simulación 3D de carrera de autos
Icon=torcs.xpm
FilePattern=torcs
Exec=torcs
Terminal=false
StartupNotify=false
Categories=Application;Game;Simulation;3DGraphics;
------------

"StartupNotify=false" is bad because startup takes so long that the kids think that something is broken and either start TORCS a second time or move on to another application.
"StartupNotify=true" is also bad because the jumping mouse cursor does not disappear after startup of TORCS and the kids wait half a minute thinking that something is still loading when in fact it is not.

If I remove the StartupNotify line from the desktop file everything works like expected: The mouse cursor is only jumping as long as TORCS is loading. This is the third "undocumented" state I am referring to.

Is this a bug or an undocumented feature?
Comment 1 Ronny Standtke 2009-11-01 01:02:33 UTC
After upgrading to KDE-4.3.2 (on Kubuntu-9.10) and removing the StartupNotify line from the desktop file the startup notification defaults to true.
Too bad, this way I can not configure the "everything works like expected" state.
Comment 2 Jekyll Wu 2012-06-18 05:54:12 UTC
According to the FDO specification[1] :

    "If true, it is KNOWN that the application will send a "remove" message when started with the DESKTOP_STARTUP_ID environment variable set. If false, it is KNOWN that the application does not work with startup notification at all (does not shown any window, breaks even when using StartupWMClass, etc.). If absent, a reasonable handling is up to implementations (assuming false, using StartupWMClass, etc.). (See the Startup Notification Protocol Specification for more details)."

So the observed third state (when StartupNotify is absent) is valid according to the FDO specification.

[1] http://standards.freedesktop.org/desktop-entry-spec/latest/ar01s05.html
Comment 3 Andrew Crouthamel 2018-11-09 01:09:30 UTC
Dear Bug Submitter,

This bug has been stagnant for a long time. Could you help us out and re-test if the bug is valid in the latest version? I am setting the status to NEEDSINFO pending your response, please change the Status back to REPORTED when you respond.

Thank you for helping us make KDE software even better for everyone!
Comment 4 Andrew Crouthamel 2018-11-20 03:56:41 UTC
Dear Bug Submitter,

This is a reminder that this bug has been stagnant for a long time. Could you help us out and re-test if the bug is valid in the latest version? This bug will be moved back to REPORTED Status for manual review later, which may take a while. If you are able to, please lend us a hand.

Thank you for helping us make KDE software even better for everyone!
Comment 5 Nate Graham 2020-09-28 23:06:38 UTC
Apparently this is as designed according to the spec, according to Jekyll.