14.04 libmessaging-menu lacks an example of how to use the features that used to be provided by python-indicate in 12.04

[Jochen Fahrner]

Install python-indicate and libindicate-doc. Run:

python /usr/share/doc/libindicate/examples/im-client.py

An entry should appear in message indicator, but does not. That worked in 12.04 but is broken in 14.04.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 14.04
Package: python-indicate 12.10.1-0ubuntu3
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.13.0-24.46-generic 3.13.9
Uname: Linux 3.13.0-24-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.14.1-0ubuntu3
Architecture: amd64
CurrentDesktop: Unity
Date: Fri May 2 15:22:27 2014
InstallationDate: Installed on 2014-05-01 (1 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 14.04 LTS "Trusty Tahr" - Release amd64 (20140417)
SourcePackage: libindicate
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)

[Noseong Park (behack)]

This is true. I also have the same problem. Please correct this.

[Jochen Fahrner (jofa)]

Noseong, please mark this bug that it affects you (at the left top), so it gets confirmed.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

[Lukas (lukas-ribisch)]

I was able to reproduce the bug both using the mentioned demo (im-client.py) and by using the Gajim libnotify plugin - neither works.

[Noseong Park (behack)]

Because of this bug, gm-notify indicator is not shown.

[Lars Karlitski (larsu)]

libindicate has been deprecated in favor of libmessaging-menu in Quantal (12.10), becasue we couldn't use libindicate on the phone. Porting to libmessaging-menu is fairly simple. Let me know if you need any pointers.

Note that this might change again when we switch to Unity8, which will most likely have a Qt/QML API as part of the SDK. Sorry about that.

[Jochen Fahrner (jofa)]

Lars, do you have some pointer how libmessaging-menu is used in python? I will try to port the Gajim plugin "Ubuntu Ayatana Integration" to libmessaging-menu.

[Noseong Park (behack)]

Please teach me. I will port gm-notify to libmessaging-menu.

[Noseong Park (behack)]

There is no python binding yet for libmessaging-menu.

[Jochen Fahrner (jofa)]

Noseong, here is a demo in python:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/indicator-messages/+bug/1040259/comments/17

But I need more documentation about that.

[Jochen Fahrner (jofa)]

The link above does not show the attachment. See here at comment #17
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/indicator-messages/+bug/1040259

[Noseong Park (behack)]

I could make the gm-notify work well after creating a python wrapper library of libmessaging-menu. Please see https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gm-notify/+bug/1310490

[Lars Karlitski (larsu)]

libmessaging-menu already comes with python bindings through gobject-introspection. Unfortunately the online documentation seems to have been taken down. The libmessaging-menu-dev package contains the C documentation (viewable with devhelp), which maps 1:1 to the python API.

Here's a simple example:

from gi.repository import GLib, Gio, MessagingMenu

mmapp = MessagingMenu.App(desktop_id='my-app.desktop')

# make the application appear in the messaging menu. The name and icon are taken from the desktop file above
mmapp.register()

def source_activated(mmapp, source_id):
  print('source {} activated'.format(source_id))

# do something when the user clicks on a source. The source will be removed automatically
mmapp.connect('activate-source', source_activated)

# add a 'source' (a menu item below the application's name) with the name 'Inbox' and a count of 7
icon = Gio.ThemedIcon.new_with_default_fallbacks('my-source-icon')
mmapp.append_source_with_count('inbox', icon, 'Inbox', 7)

# this is not necessary for gtk applications, which start a mainloop in gtk_main()
GLib.MainLoop().run()

[Jochen Fahrner (jofa)]

Lars, when I run that code standalone it works. But when I do the import MessagingMenu from within a Gajim plugin, I get an ImportError exception. Any ideas what's wrong there?

[Lars Karlitski (larsu)]

Jochen: that's strange. Do you import it like other gobject-introspection modules?

  from gi.repository import MessagingMenu

Feel free to ping me about this on freenode (larsu in #ubuntu-desktop).

[Jochen Fahrner (jofa)]

Yes, I did it the same way. I asked that question to Gajim developers and they answered, it could be because Gajim uses GTK2, while Unity is using GTK3.

Is there some documentation how messaging menu can be used in GTK2? Or is this not possible?

BTW: if python-indicate is no longer working in Trusty, you should remove the package.

[Lars Karlitski (larsu)]

libmessaging-menu doesn't depend on gtk. It shouldn't matter which gtk version you use as long as glib is up to date.

I agree that the package should be removed.

[Charles Kerr (charlesk)]

Reassigning to python-indicate since this isn't a bug in libindicate.

[Charles Kerr (charlesk)]

Ah, for some reason I thought that python-indicate was coming from outside of that repo.

So instead I'm marking as wontfix since libindicate is dead. :)

Possibly Lars' example in comment:14 should be added to a README or examples file in indicator-messages...

[Jochen Fahrner (jofa)]

Charles, if libindicate ist dead, please remove this package and all dependent packages. It makes no sense to keep non working packages! It confuses everybody.

Canonical should make it clear that libindicate does not longer exist.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

This bug was fixed in the package indicator-messages - 13.10.1+14.10.20140611-0ubuntu1

---------------
indicator-messages (13.10.1+14.10.20140611-0ubuntu1) utopic; urgency=low

  [ Charles Kerr ]
  * Add example of using libmessaging-menu from a python client (LP:
    #1315384)
 -- Ubuntu daily release <email address hidden> Wed, 11 Jun 2014 17:23:06 +0000