v1.0.1: Binary Source

Fixed an infinite loop when displaying a picture’s file name that occurred when the width was too small for even 1 character to be displayed.

Added interrupt signal handling, even though it doesn’t work too well in Windows :-\.

Releasing first (and probably only) version of my old Convert Bases project (v1.0, source, binary). I’m not sure when I did this project exactly, but I’m going to guess it was around 1999. I didn’t really worry about fixing up the source code, as it’s not a project that really deserves the attention, and the algorithms are slow and clunky as it is, but I did fix up the GUI slightly.

This will probably be my final update (v1.5.1, binary, source) on this project for a while unless other bugs are found, or enough interest is generated on a specific request by enough people.

The problem with window raising/lowering in KDE is now fixed. GTK/GDK was not acting how it was supposed to in regards to focusing and changing window Z-order (gdk_window_lower/gdk_window_raise/gdk_window_focus/gtk_window_present) and I had to add a very hack-ey solution to get it working in both Gnome and KDE. It’s not a pretty or elegant solution, but it works. It also still won’t give focus to the Buddy List window when it is raised in KDE, but I feel the end result is close enough for government work.

I’m going to go ahead and announce it today by adding it to the Pidgin plugin wiki :-). I’m finally interfacing with the rest of the open source world, yay! XD

Oh yes, I forgot to add something on my last update post. I originally had planned to also add an option so that double clicking the taskbar/docklet icon would always open the Buddy List instead of toggling visibility. This was unfortunately not possible due to how Pidgin is programmed. I found exactly where the problem was, and know how to fix it by modifying the Pidgin source (probably by generating a signal for an event), but I am not really interested in trying to get a patch pushed through for that on Pidgin, so alas.

I’ve updated the project (v1.5, binary, source) to where it’s not even recognizable from its last version :-). A configuration dialog has been added so that everything can now be set dynamically. It’s very configurable to let people work with Pidgin quickly through global shortcut keys however they want to. Any status change or showing/hiding the buddy list can be done without using the mouse, which is how I personally like to work with computers, as it is much faster ;-).

This update ended up taking a lot more hours (and many many many more lines of code [~1500]) than I planned on because I had to learn how to work with multiple libraries from scratch (GTK, Pidgin, GLib, X11). I learned a lot though, and that, and seeing how different people set up their APIs/libraries, is always fun.

I’ll probably be adding this to the Pidgin 3rd party plugins Wiki in the next few days. I might want to fix a few bugs first though (KDE might be messing some things up).

I just found this Web Browser Information script I did well over a year ago on my harddrive. It was already completed and in the current state that it’s in... and I have no idea why I hadn’t already posted it >.<; . I did a quick look over of the code and it all looks OK... so.. yeah, no idea. Anywho, here it is (v1.0 source).

Description: Outputs all the information the browser can gather from the user via JavaScript and the HTTP Headers.

I started this Pidgin plugin yesterday and had just finished it right before going to sleep, so I finally now have the time to post it ^_^ (v1.0, binary, source). The goal of this project was to fill in some gaps in Pidgin that were features I had in Trillian.

This plugin allows the user, using global shortcut keys, to set their status state and message, show the buddy list, and toggle the buddy list visibility on the taskbar.

It currently only works in Windows, as that was my primary concern and I need to get a Linux test environment set up to finish it. I had to use Window’s specific APIs for the taskbar visibility and HotKey functionality, as “gdk_window_add_filter” (for the HotKeys) and “gtk_window_set_skip_taskbar_hint” (for the TaskBar visibility) do not seem to work in Windows.

It is also only configurable through the source itself, at the moment, but I should hopefully soon be adding a configuration dialog with the following abilities:

• The ability to set multiple [away] status states with messages (or leave the message alone)
• Choose whether to start the Buddy List as visible or not on the taskbar
• Configure as many events as you want against hot keys, which don’t have to use ctrl+shift, and may be able to be just triggered locally when the buddy list has focus (which also need to check for conflicts)

• All of the functionality can be accessed through: Pidgin Menu > Tools > Status Hot Keys

• Global Shortcut Keys
  Away	Ctrl+Shift+A
  Back [Available]	Ctrl+Shift+B
  Disconnect [Offline]	Ctrl+Shift+D
  Show Pidgin Buddy List	Ctrl+Shift+P
  Toggle Buddy List in Tashbar	Ctrl+Shift+T

License: I am unsure if Pidgin plugins need to also be licensed under the GPL, as I am not using any of their files beyond linking to the headers. I am including their copy of the GPL from the main directory of the Pidgin source code in the file “COPYING”, just in case. I am considering this to be under the Dakusan License though until I found out if it definitely needs to be GPLed.