FS#22423 - [wicd] shouldn't put .desktop file in /etc/xdg/autostart

Attached to Project: Arch Linux
Opened by Peter Lewis (petelewis) - Friday, 14 January 2011, 09:30 GMT
Last edited by Isenmann Daniel (ise) - Sunday, 20 March 2011, 17:19 GMT
Task Type Bug Report
Category Packages: Extra
Status Closed
Assigned To Isenmann Daniel (ise)
Architecture All
Severity Low
Priority Normal
Reported Version
Due in Version Undecided
Due Date Undecided
Percent Complete 100%
Votes 1
Private No

Details

Description: The wicd package places a .desktop file for its GTK client in /etc/xdg/autostart, which I don't think should be there. This means that the GTK client will automatically be started for all users on the machine using an XDG compliant desktop.

They should be given the choice about using this client or another, in the usual way - having the option to include the .desktop file in their own XDG autostart file.

Please remove the .desktop file from /etc/xdg/autostart.

Additional info:
* package version(s): 1.7.0-6

Thanks.
This task depends upon

Closed by  Isenmann Daniel (ise)
Sunday, 20 March 2011, 17:19 GMT
Reason for closing:  Fixed
Additional comments about closing:  Package was splitted into two seperated packages like mentioned in last comment.
Comment by Greg (dolby) - Friday, 14 January 2011, 09:49 GMT
Removing the file is not a solution. What about people who do want it to start? (as its meant to cause just like you they installed it)
Heres an easy way to disable it:
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/slackware-14/wicd-client-gtk-how-to-get-rid-of-it-843979/#post4157514

Although IMO a better solution is splitting the wicd package into non GTK and GTK parts.
Comment by Peter Lewis (petelewis) - Friday, 14 January 2011, 10:22 GMT
Thanks for the link, but I disagree. Just because a tray application (or any desktop software for that matter) is installed, this doesn't entitle it to be automatically started for every desktop user. Users can easily ensure that the client is autostarted anyway, by copying the .desktop file from /usr/share/applications/wicd.desktop to their own ~/.config/autostart directory. This is, as far as I'm aware, the way it's done for virtually all other software. Why is wicd different?

FWIW, I'd quite like to have the client installed in case I need to use it, but the majority of the time I don't want it running. Splitting the GTK part out wouldn't solve this use case.
Comment by Ionut Biru (wonder) - Friday, 14 January 2011, 10:43 GMT
let me put this in another way.

all software that i know and are suppose to run at login have by default a file in /etc/xdg/autostart. From a DE perspective its perfectly normal because users don't have to know what "services" have to start, but i can disable them from autostart by unchecking them from Startup Applications. All XDG compliant DEs have such thing.

The number of users who expect to work out of the box is greater than the number of users who don't want it. You want to have wicd installed but you don't want the client to autostart. I have the same configuration but with networkmanager.

The applet simply doesn't appear when networkmanager daemon is not started and i used netcfg as default network manager. Maybe you should try this and open a feature request upstream if doesn't do the same.
Comment by Federico Chiacchiaretta (baghera) - Friday, 14 January 2011, 11:38 GMT
What about splitting wicd pkg? Then wicd-gtk will contain gtk interface and .desktop file, but if I don't want the gtk interface I can just install, I say, wicd-common (or wicd-whatsthebestforyou).
Comment by Peter Lewis (petelewis) - Friday, 14 January 2011, 13:16 GMT
I understand your argument Ionut but what you're saying is a different approach from other things in Arch. For example, just because I install the dovecot package, dovecot is not added to my DAEMONS array automatically - that's up to me. With wicd, a system admin can put a .desktop file in /etc/xdg/autostart if he wants this to be the default behaviour for his users, but as things stand, he can't delete it without it being replaced every time wicd is upgraded. This doesn't seem like a simple approach.

Also, the wicd service is started anyway if it's in DAEMONS, and will connect to the network regardless of whether or not a client is running (that's one of the benefits of wicd). The client is only required if you want to change the settings.

As an aside, I couldn't find an entry for wicd in the KDE services configuration dialog to let me disable it being started at login, as you suggested. I'd have to follow what Greg's link suggests. This all seems overkill.
Comment by Isenmann Daniel (ise) - Friday, 18 March 2011, 08:43 GMT
According to " FS#22550  - [wicd] Split package into wicd and wicd-gtk" I will try to split the wicd package into wicd and wicd-gtk. wicd will have all the stuff you need that the core application and ncurses interface is running. The whole GTK stuff will be in the wicd-gtk package including the autostart file.

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