[sugar] inconsistent identification regarding full-screen "sessions"

Mikus Grinbergs mikus
Mon Jul 28 18:49:37 EDT 2008


FYI - I am not writing a ticket at this time (until I can reproduce 
consistent misbehavior).  G1G1.  Joyride manually updated to 2216.

My biggest confusion arises because I __cannot visually tell__ which 
icon in the Frame top bar is associated with which running task.

--------

I did not want to tie up a whole Terminal session to a job which can 
peacefully run in the background -- so I normally start such a job 
(from Terminal) by appending '&' to the command.  Afterwards, I can 
enter other (foreground) commands using that same Terminal session.

Happened to call up Frame.  Noticed in the top bar a NUMBER of small 
dark circle icons.  Turned out that when I clicked on one of these 
small dark icons, the "frame top bar highlight" shifted to that icon 
(and a drop-down palette was shown, offering 'Resume' and 'Stop' -- 
but not identifying what session/task that icon was for).

Not wanting to have these small dark circle icons in my Frame top 
bar, I clicked on 'Stop' in the palette in several of them.  Did NOT 
see any of the small dark circle icons go away.  [But afterwards, I 
found out that my background job had received a signal 11.]

mikus


--------

Speculation:  After I have started the background job, I start a 
full-screen (ported Linux) application from that same Terminal 
session.  If I now enter a sequence of alt-tab presses, sometimes I 
see just the full-screen application (in its proper place in the 
sequence of session screens being shown), but sometimes I see 
__BOTH__ the full-screen application and (on a SEPARATE screen in 
the sequence of screens) the Terminal session from which I launched 
the full-screen application.  I think it likely that when two 
screens get thus shown for what was just a single Terminal session, 
the "extra" screen (is it the 'full-screen'?  I don't know) gets 
represented in the Frame top bar as a small dark circle icon.

If my speculation happens to be true, then I see 3 inconsistencies:

  -  If the full-screen application sometimes shows up as an "extra"
     screen, and as an "extra" icon within the Frame top bar, it
     should *always* show up that way.

  -  If running a full-screen application can cause an "extra" icon
     on the Frame top bar, then when the full-screen application is
     exited (goes away), its "extra" icon in the Frame top bar should
     'go away" as well.  [Today my Frame top bar had a considerable
     number of small dark circle icons, presumably created on earlier
     occasions when I started (and stopped) that full-screen
     application.  Yet at any one time I had run only a single
     instance of the full-screen application, plus the one background
     job.]

  -  If running a full-screen application can cause an "extra" icon
     on the Frame top bar, then that icon should be *labeled* with
     the name of the command that started that application.  [Also,
     I normally have two Terminal sessions active -- but I have
     filled in the "label" in the Application top bar to distinguish
     between them.  Yet when I hover over the icons in the Frame top
     bar, both say 'Terminal Activity' instead of using my labels.




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