Project tasks and goals

Goal

The main goal of NEXTSPACE project is to create usable desktop for everyday usage with look and feel of NeXT’s OPENSTEP desktop enviroment.

Goal achievement is composed of several blocks of tasks:

1. User applications.
2. GNUstep framework ehnacement at some points to create application experience of distinct type.
3. CentOS integration: keyboard, mouse, sound, networking, display, media, power management functions of desktop reactions and user-side configurations.

Below is a description functionality defined for release 1.0.

Applications

Login

Done	Functionality	Project task
	start as systemd service
	initialize and start Xorg on application start
	setup display layout and place itself on display with mouse cursor
	setup mouse cursor and desktop background
	user authentication
	set environment for authenticated user
	wait for user session to finish
	show Login panel when user session was finished
	poweroff and restart computer
	save display layout upon exit/poweroff/restart
	handle display connect/disconnect and resolution change events
	implement Preferneces module

Workspace

Done	Functionality	Project task
	Smooth start of Workspace application after logon (without focus flicker between applications)
	Browsing filesystem with “Browser” viewer
	Browsing filesystem with “Icon” viewer
	Shelf and Path view implementation
	File/directories operations with drag and drop (copy, move, link, destroy, duplicate)
	Implement “Compress” operation on files/directories
	Open applications, files by assosiated applications with visual feedback
	Media management: automount, eject, mount (Check for Disks)
	Applications/processes management: register (show in Processes->Applications), kill, activate
	Display background processes in Processes->Background
	Recycler: locked icon in Dock, display number of items, restore to original location
	Save/restore session: opened apps and window with state (minimized, maximized, shaded)
	Window management: maximize with Alternate+Click on Miniaturize titlebar button
	Window management: kill with Alternate+Click on Close titlebar button
	Window management: show active virtual desktop number on Workspace application icon
	Window management: adopt screen resolution changes without restart
	Style: make style(tile, font) of appicons and miniwindows identical for GNUstep and X11 applications
	Style: make miniaturize and close titlebar buttons visual feedback identical to close buttons on GNUstepp apps tear-off menus
	Tools->Console: shows messages from applications started during user session
	Tools->Inspector: Attributes, Contents, Tools, Permissions
	Dock: show/hide with keyboard shortcut, autostart docked applications (with configuration in Workspace->Info->Preferences)
	Icon Yard: show/hide with keyboard shortcut
	Tools->Finder: search files by name and contents
	Tools->Launcher: run command and applications with history and completion

Preferences

Terminal

Done	Functionality	Project task
	rewrite preferences
	Shell
	Startup file
	Sessions (save to file, load via File>Open…)

CentOS integration

Done	Functionality	Task Context
	Create Plymouth boot screen
	UDisks integratation for media management	NXSystem, Workspace
	XRandR integration for display and screen management	NXSystem, Workspace, Preferences
	Xorg mouse and keyboard configuration	NXSystem, Preferences
	Sound subsystem(ALSA, PulseAudio) integration	NXSystem, Preferences
	Network management (NetworkManager) subsystem integration	NXSystem, Preferences
	Power management subsystem (UPower) integration	NXSystem, Preferences

GNUstep enhancements