AfterStep Themes Discussion

The whole terminology of themes/skins is full of misunderstandings, so everthing needs to be clearly defined, feel free to correct anything...

Definition

• a theme is a subject of composition and/or a distinct, recurring, and unifying quality or idea
• a skin (Look in afterstep terminology) is a way to decorate elements a user has set up to be on his desktop, as such a skin is a subset of a theme

Entities involved with theming

-user (what he wants and doesnt want to be changed)
-theme (what themer wants so theme is an experience rather then simple cosmetic changes)
-theme engine (helps integrate user whishes and themer whishes)

Theme objectives

       -it defines where stuff lies on the desktop (as such any personal config is initself a theme)
       -how it reacts/interacts
       -it defines how stuff is decorated
       -other toolkits/apps to be themed

Atomic Elements that cannot be further reduced

       -IconSet
       -Window Decor
       -Module Decor
       -Background
       -Feel (break down more)
       -size and orientation of windowbox (problem here: how to make that look independant)
       -Menu
       -Mouse (although this is something i cannot imagine _any_ user wanting to be touched)
       -Animation settings