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[SOLVED] Bspwm on Debian
Re: [SOLVED] Bspwm on Debian
I think the problem here is that bspwm is [now] a Debian package. Anyone can quickly install it via apt-get and that is that. Being such an easy install, there's an expectation that it will also be "easy to run." On the package's page, there's no documentation to even hint that bspwm isn't functional "out of the box." When you do a web search for setting up bspwm, you get a lot of pages dedicated to downloading sources, building, and performing a manual install. This is very off-putting for anyone - regardless of Linux experience - who expected the WM to be a simple "atp install" and go ... like i3.
That said, the aforementioned "bspwm for dummies" is ... informative ... but lacking any guidance for the installed-by-package user. I, too, installed bspwm via apt-get and likewise got a "blank screen" on startup. That led to a web search frenzy. Eventually I found this thread which led me to the "... dummie" page. What's a panel? Why am I being told to download a lot of stuff with git - xdo, sutils, xtitle, bar ... ? Three of those are also Debian packages no longer requiring download/build/install. The article also tells me to copy RC files from example directories without any explanation. A quick peek inside bspwm/examples/bspwmrc shows things like Gimp, Chromium, mplayer2, Kupfer.py ... what's that all about? (Yes; I know what these things are; I don't have them installed. My point is, I'm being told to install someone else's config without the slightest explanation.)
So now I find myself struggling to piece together a working bspwm setup with bits o' information culled from "... dummies" as well as https://github.com/baskerville/bspwm where the latter's most insightful note was "It only responds to X events ..." and "... bspwm doesn't handle any keyboard or pointer inputs ... sxhkd ... is needed ..."
So while I greatly appreciate Joseph George's efforts with "... dummies," there are a lot of assumptions made in the document with details that are confusing - nay, pointless - for a person who installed bspwm as a package.
I understand the OP's frustration.
That said, the aforementioned "bspwm for dummies" is ... informative ... but lacking any guidance for the installed-by-package user. I, too, installed bspwm via apt-get and likewise got a "blank screen" on startup. That led to a web search frenzy. Eventually I found this thread which led me to the "... dummie" page. What's a panel? Why am I being told to download a lot of stuff with git - xdo, sutils, xtitle, bar ... ? Three of those are also Debian packages no longer requiring download/build/install. The article also tells me to copy RC files from example directories without any explanation. A quick peek inside bspwm/examples/bspwmrc shows things like Gimp, Chromium, mplayer2, Kupfer.py ... what's that all about? (Yes; I know what these things are; I don't have them installed. My point is, I'm being told to install someone else's config without the slightest explanation.)
So now I find myself struggling to piece together a working bspwm setup with bits o' information culled from "... dummies" as well as https://github.com/baskerville/bspwm where the latter's most insightful note was "It only responds to X events ..." and "... bspwm doesn't handle any keyboard or pointer inputs ... sxhkd ... is needed ..."
So while I greatly appreciate Joseph George's efforts with "... dummies," there are a lot of assumptions made in the document with details that are confusing - nay, pointless - for a person who installed bspwm as a package.
I understand the OP's frustration.
Re: [SOLVED] Bspwm on Debian
^ well said, and welcome to fdn!
yes, a window manager does very little by definition - it manages windows, nothing else.
the fact that many window managers take on other tasks as well can be misleading (e.g. thinking that the keyboard/mouse actions are somehow part of the window managing).
yes, a window manager does very little by definition - it manages windows, nothing else.
the fact that many window managers take on other tasks as well can be misleading (e.g. thinking that the keyboard/mouse actions are somehow part of the window managing).