Window management and the power of scripting
In the last edition of Linux.Ars, I wrote a review of GNOME 2.14 in which I criticized the Metacity window manager and expressed dissatisfaction with its lack of functionality. In response to my arguments, I received e-mail from several readers with comments about window management. While some are frustrated with the lack of functionality, others approve of Metacity's minimalist philosophy. Since there seems to be a great deal of interest in the subject, I decided to discuss it in more depth in this edition of Linux.Ars. For the sake of balance and fairness, I invited the advocates of Metacity minimalism to write short segments for Linux.Ars explaining why they like Metacity. Unfortunately, none of the Metacity advocates were able to contribute this week. I am now opening this invitation to all readers, not just the ones that e-mailed me with comments. If you wish to write a short segment explaining why you use your window manager of choice, we may publish it in the next edition. Please don't hesitate to send me an e-mail. Of course, if you aren't interested in writing for Linux.Ars, I still encourage you to share your views in the Ars Technica Linux IRC channel and in the discussion thread.
The Metacity developers have worked hard to minimize the complexity of their window manager, but in doing so, they have severely limited its usefulness and inflicted tremendous frustration on an increasingly dissatisfied group of marginalized power users. Finding the most effective balance between power and simplicity is not an easy task, and in many cases the GNOME development community has chosen to lean towards simplicity with very positive results. Despite the fact that ease of use has become a defining attribute of the GNOME project, the developers have still managed to find ways to accommodate those that need power and flexibility in many contexts. Unfortunately, the window manager is not one of those contexts. Metacity is significantly less useful than just about every other mainstream window manager in existence, and the developers are highly resistant to adding features that will only be used by a small portion of the user population. Such resistance is understandable, because in practice, adding new features to a window manager can often lead to controversy, feature bloat, and excessively confusing options. So how can Metacity provide much needed additional flexibility without having to inundate users with obfuscated configuration dialogs? The answer, of course, is scripting.
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