Linux desktop systems +have +standardized how programs present themselves to the desktop +system. If a package include a .desktop file in +/usr/share/applications/, Gnome, KDE, LXDE, Xfce and the other desktop +environments will pick up the file and use its content to generate the +menu of available programs in the system. A lesser known fact is that +a package can also explain to the desktop system how to recognize the +files created by the program in question, and use it to open these +files on request, for example via a GUI file browser.
+ +A while back I ran into a package that did not tell the desktop +system how to recognize its files and was not used to open its files +in the file browser and fixed it. In the process I wrote a simple +debian/tests/ script to ensure the setup keep working. It might be +useful for other packages too, to ensure any future version of the +package keep handling its own files.
+ +For this to work the file format need a useful MIME type that can +be used to identify the format. If the file format do not yet have a +MIME type, it should define one and preferably also +register +it with IANA to ensure the MIME type string is reserved.
+ +The script uses the xdg-mime program from xdg-utils to +query the database of standardized package information and ensure it +return sensible values. It also need the location of an example file +for xdg-mime to guess the format of.
+ ++#!/bin/sh +# +# Author: Petter Reinholdtsen +# License: GPL v2 or later at your choice. +# +# Validate the MIME setup, making sure motor types have +# application/vnd.openmotor+yaml associated with them and is connected +# to the openmotor desktop file. + +retval=0 + +mimetype="application/vnd.openmotor+yaml" +testfile="test/data/real/o3100/motor.ric" +mydesktopfile="openmotor.desktop" + +filemime="$(xdg-mime query filetype "$testfile")" + +if [ "$mimetype" != "$filemime" ] ; then + retval=1 + echo "error: xdg-mime claim motor file MIME type is $filemine, not $mimetype" +else + echo "success: xdg-mime report correct mime type $mimetype for motor file" +fi + +desktop=$(xdg-mime query default "$mimetype") + +if [ "$mydesktopfile" != "$desktop" ]; then + retval=1 + echo "error: xdg-mime claim motor file should be handled by $desktop, not $mydesktopfile" +else + echo "success: xdg-mime agree motor file should be handled by $mydesktopfile" +fi + +exit $retval ++ +
It is a simple way to ensure your users are not very surprised when +they try to open one of your file formats in their file browser.
+ +As usual, if you use Bitcoin and want to show your support of my +activities, please send Bitcoin donations to my address +15oWEoG9dUPovwmUL9KWAnYRtNJEkP1u1b.
+ +