[Pkg-electronics-devel] Bug#567773: The desktop file for kicad and its KDE menu location

[Peter TB Brett]

On Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:51:17 +0100, Petter Reinholdtsen <pere at hungry.com>
wrote:

>> We SHOULD NOT add bogus categories to .desktop files.
> 
> Yes.  And we should make sure no package show up in the Lost+found
> toplevel menu section, even when extra-xdg-menus is not installed.  (I
> suspect we have different definitions of bogus categories. :)

So the problem has several aspects, it seems to me:

Firstly, the XDG menu spec [1] is retarded.  There's no way that advanced
ASIC design software (for example) belongs in an "Education" Main Category,
but the XDG menu spec specifically says, "Note that at least one Main
Category must be included in the desktop entry's list of categories."  It
appears the XDG menu spec maintainers are labouring under the delusion that
computers are only used by programmers, secretaries, and children.

Secondly, distro maintainers refuse to use their initiative.  Including a
superset of the XDG menu spec's core Main Categories, by promoting
"Science" (for example) from an Additional Category to a Main Category,
would be completely in compliance with the menu spec.  Unfortunately, the
prevalent attitude (especially in Debian) seems to be that the spec *must*
be adhered to *precisely* with no deviations tolerated, no matter how
obvious its failings!

Thirdly, having read the bug report again, the "bug" is that two "extra"
menus are "cluttering" the KDE menu on Debian Edu.  Let's have a look at
Debian Edu's stated goals here (from its wiki page): [2]

* Provide a complete software solution using free software and ... tailored
for the needs and use-cases in educational scenarios.
* Classify and package all free software related to education.

Surely, to be of most use in an educational scenario, having packages
organised into *appropriate* menu categories is a *huge* benefit?  How can
you possibly justify your apparent attitude that shoving apps willy-nilly
into the "Education" category is a reasonable approach?  Indeed, correct
classification and categorisation of apps appears to be one of Debian Edu's
*core goals.*

I'm frustrated about this situation wearing *both* my hats:

* As an upstream of a specialised technical application, I want my
application to appear in an appropriate place in the menu.
* As an end-user, I am fed up of fishing through "Education" for
barely-educational apps.

Let's not "solve" this in the way that you have suggested (which, frankly,
appears to be to stick your fingers in your ears and yell, "Laaa laaa I
can't hear you!" when we try and explain the problem).  How about we work
together to try and solve the more general problem -- and request promotion
of "Science" to a Main Category in Debian's implementation of the XDG menu
spec (or some similar such approach)?

[1] http://standards.freedesktop.org/menu-spec/menu-spec-1.0.html
[2] http://wiki.debian.org/DebianEdu#Goals

-- 
Peter Brett <peter at peter-b.co.uk>
Remote Sensing Research Group
Surrey Space Centre