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XDG application desktop launcher & configuration cleanup #247

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merged 1 commit into from
Apr 15, 2020

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@arcticicestudio arcticicestudio commented Apr 15, 2020

Resolves #246
Related to #248

There were `.desktop` files for applications that are not used anymore
for some time now as well as applications that don't require a
user-level launcher file anymore.

>> Desktop Launchers

- `atom.desktop` - Atom [1] was not used anymore since at least February
  23 2019 and was replaced by Visual Studio Code [2] in GH-179.
- `evolution.desktop` - The usage of Evolution [3] was only temporary
  and for test purposes regarding the compatibility with different
  protocols that could be used through opt-in extensions,
  but it was never the plan to replace the fantasic Thunderbird [4] as
  main mail application.
- `gpick.desktop` - The main reason for a user-level launcher was the
  missing `MimeType` entry for `application/x-gpick-palette` which has
  already been patched in the upstream [5]. Anyway, Gpick is also not
  used anymore since most design related applications include tools to
  pick colors, like e.g. Firefox's Eyedropper [6] or of course GIMP [7].
- `gtkhash.desktop` - GTKHash [8] is also not used anymore,
  the user-level launcher was introduced back then to add more keywords
  for supported hash algorithms.
- `jetbrains-ide.desktop` - The user-level launcher was introduced
  because the used icon name `intellij-idea-ultimate-edition` was not
  provided by the used icon the ("Numix Circle") so it was changed to
  the available `idea` icon. Anyway, a symlink was added a long time ago
  in the icon theme upstream and therefore the custom launcher is not
  required anymore.
- `org.gnome.gedit.desktop` - The user-level launcher was introduced to
  add more _MIME_ types that should be handled by Gedit [9], this was
  then resolved shortly afterwards using the correct way through XDG
  MIME type handling [10].
- `shotwell-viewer.desktop` - The user-level launcher was introduced in
  order to hide the `shotwell-viewer` application, that is not intended
  to be called as standalone application, using the `NoDisplay`
  attribute. Anyway, the launcher is now hidden by default in the
  upstream [11] and therefore doesn't require a custom launcher anymore.

>> XDG Autostart

- `dropbox.desktop` - Dropbox [12] was only used for testing purposes
  and has been replaced by the fantastic and advanced Syncthing [13] and
  Seafile [14] projects.

>> XDG Configurations

The `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/gtk-*/bookmarks` file was never really useful
since it only support absolute file/directory paths using the `file://`
protocol but doesn't resolve environment variables.
It also takes less than a minute to manually create the bookmarks using
either Nautilus UI or any other GTK application that support the
`GtkPlacesSidebar` API [15]. This also allows to dynamically add or
remove bookmarks based on the current requirements.
Therefore the file has been removed at all.

[1]: https://atom.io
[2]: https://code.visualstudio.com
[3]: https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Evolution
[4]: https://www.thunderbird.net
[5]: https://github.com/thezbyg/gpick/blob/6adcd1337416e11959a7bc64829ac63459086416/share/applications/gpick.desktop#L10
[6]: https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Tools/Eyedropper
[7]: https://www.gimp.org
[8]: https://github.com/tristanheaven/gtkhash
[9]: https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Gedit
[10]: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/XDG_MIME_Applications
[11]: https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/shotwell/-/blob/ca03ce2f8e70670d43be00e9f381f9cd22afbceb/data/org.gnome.Shotwell-Viewer.desktop.in#L9
[12]: https://www.dropbox.com
[13]: https://syncthing.net
[14]: https://www.seafile.com
[15]: https://developer.gnome.org/gtk3/stable/GtkPlacesSidebar.html

GH-246
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XDG application desktop launcher & configuration cleanup
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