FWIS3

As a programming exercise, I decided to resurrect and modernize a dead X11 window manager (and maybe bloat it up with features at some point).

Step 1: make it actually compile. (Done.)

Step 2: turn on -Werror and fix all the warnings. (Still working on that...)

Step 3: start adding the features I want. Make sure it compiles without errors or warnings. Make sure it actually runs, and does what I want. Rinse and repeat...

Unfortunately that second part is is a bit like wrestling with a boa constrictor, if you know what I mean.

Case in point, the very first one:

Code: Select all

  char **missing, *def = "-";
  int nmissing;

  // load the fontset                                                           
  fs = XCreateFontSet(_display.XDisplay(), fontsetname.c_str(),
                      &missing, &nmissing, &def);

That first line generates a warning in C++. def is initialized from a constant string literal, but is itself mutable, which may not be what you expect; and it gets modified by XCreateFontSet(), whose documentation doesn't actually specify the length of the string it will stuff into that buffer. def is probably going to be initialized to 2 bytes ('-' and the null terminator). XCreateFontSet might then try to force, I dunno, 16 bytes into it. Oops. Not sure how I'll deal with that.

(Also this is the first time I've seen a pointer to a pointer to a pointer... Anywhere, I think. Not sure if that's just because I'm a newbie.)

Anyway I guess I'll sleep on it.

My favorite thing about the new update (as in, that sarcastic least favorite sort of way) is they got rid of underlines and made them spaces, so this_file.py now shows up as this file.py.

No idea why the crap you would do that!

Wha... What software? Spaces in filenames can be a hazard on almost every platform.

Yeah, what update, on WHAT software?

Okay, re the OP, XCreateFontSet apparently makes a copy of the buffer... That's why it's passed as a pointer to a pointer, not just a pointer. Or something. I'm confused.

Edit: okay, it makes a copy of the buffer, and doesn't change the original at all. So why the hell does it specifically require a mutable buffer, when it never actually puts anything in it? *tears hair out*

Yeah okay this is just libX11 being total shit. RAARGH.

Apparently the deal is that const declarations were only added to C in 1999, and X for the most part has not started making use of them in the past ~15 years.

I never needed to see the code of X11 to determine it was crap...........

Update: the program now compiles with -Werror -Wall, and runs without any issues.

Boo ya.

Now to actually do something useful with it.