README
======
Twm4Nx is a port of twm, Tab Window Manager (or Tom's Window Manager)
version 1.0.10 to NuttX NX windows server. No, a port is not the right
word. It is a re-design of TWM from the inside out to work with the NuttX
NX server. The name Twm4Nx reflects this legacy. But Twm4Nx is more a
homage to TWM than a port of TWM.
The original TWM was based on X11 which provides a rich set of features.
TWM provided titlebars, shaped windows, several forms of icon management,
user-defined macro functions, click-to-type and pointer-driven keyboard
focus, graphic contexts, and user-specified key and pointer button bindings,
etc.
Twm4Nx, on the other hand is based on the NuttX NX server which provides
comparatively minimal support. Additional drawing support comes from
the NuttX NxWidgets library (which necessitated the change to C++).
Twm4Nx is greatly stripped down and targeted on small embedded systems
with minimal resources. For example, no assumption is made about the
availability of a file system; no .twmrc file is used. Bitmaps are not
used (other than for fonts).
The TWM license is, I believe compatible with the BSD license used by NuttX.
The origin TWM license required notice of copyrights within each file and
a full copy of the original license which you can find in the COPYING file.
within this directory.
STATUS
======
Progress:
2019-04-28: This port was brutal. Much TWM logic was removed because it
depended on X11 features (or just because I could not understand how to
use it). The replacement logic is only mostly in place but more
needs to be done to have a complete system (hence, it is marked
EXPERIMENTAL). The kinds of things that need to done are:
1. Right click should bring up a window list (like the icon manager???)
2. For TWM-like behavior, a window frame and toolbar should be highlighted
when the window has focus.
3. A right click on the toolbar should bring up a window-specific menu.
2019-05-02: Some testing progress. The system comes up, connects to and
initializes the VNC window. For some reason, the VNC client breaks the
connection. The server is no longer connected so Twm4Nx constipates and
and eventually hangs.
2019-05-08: I abandoned the VNC interface and found that things are much
better using a direct, hardware framebuffer. The background comes up
properly and the Icon Manager appears properly in the upper right hand
corner. The Icon Manager Window can be iconified or de-iconified.
The Icon Manager window can be grabbed by the toolbar title and moved
about on the window (the movement is not very smooth on the particular
hardware that I am working with).
2019-05-10: A left click on the background brings up the main menu. At
present there are only two options: "Desktop" which will iconify all
windows and "Twm4Nx Icon Manager" which will de-iconify and/or raise
the Icon Manager window to the top of the hierarchy. That latter option
is only meaningful when the desktop is very crowded.
2019-05-13: Added the NxTerm application. If enabled via
CONFIG_TWM4XN_NXTERM, there will now be a "NuttShell" entry in the Main
Menu. When pressed, this will bring up an NSH session in a Twm4Nx
window.
2019-05-14: We can now move an icon on the desktop. Includes logic to
avoid collisions with other icons and with the background image. That
later is an issue. The background image image widget needs to be
removed; it can occlude a desktop icon. We need to paint the image
directly on the background without the use of a widget.
2019-05-15: Resizing now seems to work correctly in Twm4Nx.
How To:
Icon Manager
- At start up, only the Icon Manager window is shown. The Icon Manager
is a TWM alternative to more common desktop icons. Currently Twm4Nx
supports both desktop icons and the Icon Manager.
Whenever a new application is started from the Main Menu, its name
shows up in the Icon Manager. Selecting the name will either de-
iconify the window, or just raise it to the top of the display.
Main Menu:
- A touch/click at any open location on the background (except the
image at the center or on another icon) will bring up the Main Menu.
Options:
o Desktop. Iconify all windows and show the desktop
o Twm4Nx Icom Manager. De-iconify and/or raise the Icon Manager to
the top of the display
o NuttShell. Start and instance of NSH running in an NxTerm.
Window Toolbar
- Most windows have a toolbar at the top. It is optional but used
in most windows.
- The toolbar contains window title and from zero to 4 buttons:
o Right side: A menu button may be presented. The menu button
is not used by anything in the current implementation and is
always suppressed
o Left side: The far left is (1)the terminate button (if present).
If present, it will close window when selected. Not all windows can
be closed. You can't close the Icon Manager or menu windows, for
example. Then (2) a resize button. If presented and is selected,
then the resize sequence described below it started. This may
the be preceded by a minimize button that iconifies the window.
Moving a Window:
- Grab the title in the toolbar and move the window to the desired
position.
Resizing a Window:
- A window must have the green resize button with the square or it
cannot be resized.
- Press resize button. A small window should pop-up in the upper
left hand corner showing the current window size.
- Touch anywhere in window (not the toolbar) and slide your finger.
The resize window will show the new size but there will be no other
update to the display. It is thought that continuous size updates
would overwhelm lower end MCUs. Movements support include:
o Move toward the right increases the width of the window
o Move toward the left decreases the width of the window
o Move toward the bottom increases the height of the window
o Move toward the top decreases the height of the Window
o Other moves will affect both the height and width of the window.
Issues:
2019-05-16:
Twm4Nx is in a very complete state but only at perhaps "alpha" in its
maturity. You should expect to see some undocumented problems. If
you see such problems and can describe a sequence to actions to
reproduce the problem, let me know and I will try to resolve the
problems.
Here are all known issues and features that are missing:
TWM Compatibilities Issues:
1. Resizing works a little differently in Twm4Nx.
2. Right click should bring up a window list
3. For TWM-like behavior, a window frame and toolbar should be highlighted
when the window has focus.
4. A right click on the toolbar should bring up a window-specific menu.
Other issues/bugs
5. There is no calibration screen for touchscreen calibration. I have
been working with a system where the touchscreen naturally matches
up with the display and no calibration is required. But the general
case requires calibration.
6. Icon drag movement includes logic to avoid collisions with other
icons and with the background image. That later is an issue. The
background image image widget needs to be removed; it can occlude a
dektop icon. We need to paint the image directly on the background
without the use of a widget.
7. More issues with the background image: It absorbs touchscreen
presses without doing anything. It should bring-up the main menu
menu just as any other region of the background. This would be easy
to fix, but just replacing the background image widget is the better
solution.
8. The Icon Manager currently used the default window width. That is
set half of the display width which is okay for the display I am using,
but it really needs to set a width that is appropriate for the number
of columns and the size of a generic name string.
Enhancement Ideas:
10. How about a full-screen mode? This would just be a shortcut for
the existing resize logic.
