Integrate the mail status window into the Notification popups

[the ringmaster]

I believe it would be better for the mail status window to be merged into the Tracker status window. The mail client for haiku already uses tracker to display emails anyway. This would also give us the ability to pause the download of mail and stop it altogether.

[anevilyak]

Replying to the ringmaster:

This would also give us the ability to pause the download of mail and stop it altogether.

I don't particularly like this proposal. 1) It would not give you the ability to "pause" download of mail since neither POP nor IMAP support such a concept. 2) Since Tracker isn't in any way the one doing the mail downloads, I don't really feel the mail status should be going into that window, it'd be a complete hack and wouldn't really integrate well (let alone that it currently isn't architected to be accessible by third party apps whatsoever). Furthermore, 3) IMAP allows one to only download the headers of the messages instead of the entire message, which are tiny (~1-2KB per header), and generally reduces the need to be able to cancel since it's not downloading giant attachments, etc. until you actually go to view the message.

[the ringmaster]

well it was a thought at least. this can be closed as invalid if no one has any ideas.

[humdinger]

A question we may want to think about is having the notification server handle the mail fetching/receiving status. How about Tracker status? Could both fall back to their individual status windows if the notification server isn't running? Or is the notification server considered a given in a standard Haiku desktop installation? Also, can Tracker's pause/stop buttons work in a notification panel?

[stippi]

Replying to humdinger:

A question we may want to think about is having the notification server handle the mail fetching/receiving status. How about Tracker status?

Yes, the notification server could and should be utilized.

Could both fall back to their individual status windows if the notification server isn't running? Or is the notification server considered a given in a standard Haiku desktop installation?

It's supposed to run. I don't know if the registrar automatically restarts vital system services already, and if so, which ones. But it should be made to always run.

Also, can Tracker's pause/stop buttons work in a notification panel?

Everything is possible in principle. The question is just whether the BNotification API is good enough and if not it should be made so.

[axeld]

I think when putting stuff like this to the notification API, we need to greatly improve its user interface to make this worthwhile; when having to serve such different needs (ie. as little obtrusive as possible for short notification things like "Your WiFi connection is now connected" to easily accessible permanent (but still unobtrusive) information like file copying, and today's weather) it might not be possible to combine in a single UI element. And the name of the service would then not be that fitting anymore either.