Bug#763383: Add transparency option to gnome-terminal

[Christian Persch]

Hi !

I think Debian should consider carefully the implications of adding
this patch.

Zerothly, there is no need for a patch; gnome-terminal supports
transparency just fine. See the instructions in the FAQ at [1]. These
instructions in fact can be adapted to any window of any programme
the user wants to make transparent, not just gnome-terminal.

Firstly, this patch will *never* be accepted upstream; therefore
adding it will impose on Debian the maintenance burden to keep it
working when the upstream code changes.

Secondly, it relies on an undocumented feature of vte to enable the
transparency. In the event that a future vte release removes this
feature, this will mean that Debian will also need to carry and
maintain a patch to vte.

Thirdly, the actual patch presented here has several defects, chiefly
the problem that it always forces an ARGB visual even when no
transparency is in use. This may negatively impact performance and
memory use.

Fourthly, the patch adds user-visible strings, but does not contain
their translation in any of the languages that gnome-terminal ships
translations for. So they  will need to be translated by Debian l10n
teams, adding to the maintenance burden.

Finally, there are many other terminal emulators that do support
transparency (e.g., KDE's konsole); so if they want transparency, the
user can simply choose to use one of them instead of gnome-terminal. 

In conclusion, it is my opinion that Debian should *not* add this patch
to its gnome-terminal package.

Regards,
	Christian

	[upstream gnome-terminal maintainer]


[1]
https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Terminal/FAQ#How_can_I_make_the_terminal_transparent.3F