1.1 --- a/README.txt Sun Jun 07 17:28:16 2009 +0200
1.2 +++ b/README.txt Sun Jun 21 22:47:11 2009 +0200
1.3 @@ -1,12 +1,29 @@
1.4 Introduction
1.5 ------------
1.6
1.7 -The desktop module provides desktop environment detection and resource opening
1.8 -support for a selection of common and standardised desktop environments. See
1.9 -the module docstring for a more extensive introduction. See also the following
1.10 -patch registered in the Python SourceForge project:
1.11 +The desktop package provides desktop environment detection and resource
1.12 +opening support for a selection of common and standardised desktop
1.13 +environments.
1.14
1.15 -http://www.python.org/sf?id=1301512
1.16 +Currently, in Python's standard library, there is apparently no coherent,
1.17 +cross-platform way of getting the user's environment to "open" files or
1.18 +resources (showing such files in browsers or editors, for example) when
1.19 +requested by a Python program. There is an os.startfile function which works
1.20 +for Windows, but no equivalent function for other desktop environments - the
1.21 +webbrowser module seems to employ alternative mechanisms in choosing and
1.22 +running external programs and presumably does not seek to provide general
1.23 +support for non-URL resources anyway.
1.24 +
1.25 +Since desktop environments like KDE and GNOME provide mechanisms for running
1.26 +browsers and editors according to the identified type of a file or resource,
1.27 +just as Windows "runs" files or resources, it is appropriate to have a module
1.28 +which accesses these mechanisms. It is this kind of functionality that the
1.29 +desktop package aims to support. Note that this approach is arguably better
1.30 +than that employed by the webbrowser module since most desktop environments
1.31 +already provide mechanisms for configuring and choosing the user's preferred
1.32 +programs for various activities, whereas the webbrowser module makes
1.33 +relatively uninformed guesses (for example, opening Firefox on a KDE desktop
1.34 +configured to use Konqueror as the default browser).
1.35
1.36 Some ideas for desktop detection (XFCE) and URL opening (XFCE, X11) were
1.37 obtained from the xdg-utils project which seeks to implement programs
1.38 @@ -27,7 +44,7 @@
1.39 paul@boddie.org.uk
1.40
1.41 Copyright and licence information can be found in the docs directory - see
1.42 -docs/COPYING.txt and docs/LICENCE.txt for more information.
1.43 +docs/COPYING.txt, docs/lgpl-3.0.txt and docs/gpl-3.0.txt for more information.
1.44
1.45 Notes
1.46 -----
1.47 @@ -45,11 +62,12 @@
1.48 ROX-Filer Supports file opening using "rox <filename>" but not URL
1.49 opening.
1.50
1.51 -New in desktop 0.3.1 (Changes since desktop 0.3)
1.52 -------------------------------------------------
1.53 +New in desktop 0.4 (Changes since desktop 0.3)
1.54 +----------------------------------------------
1.55
1.56 * Improved docstrings.
1.57 * Fixed support for examining the root window.
1.58 + * Changed the licence to the LGPL version 3 (or later).
1.59
1.60 New in desktop 0.3 (Changes since desktop 0.2.4)
1.61 ------------------------------------------------
1.62 @@ -109,6 +127,8 @@
1.63 Debian tools happy:
1.64
1.65 ln -s packages/ubuntu-hoary/python2.4-desktop/debian/
1.66 + ln -s packages/ubuntu-feisty/python-desktop/debian/
1.67 + ln -s packages/ubuntu-hardy/python-desktop/debian/
1.68
1.69 3. Run the package builder:
1.70