[mythtv] RFE: conditional UI settings presentation

[Kevin Kuphal]

Jeremiah Morris wrote:

> As the new mythui library will be a big post-0.16 push, I wanted to 
> bring up something that I feel is lacking in the current 
> presentation.  All of the settings are present, even when they are 
> inappropriate.   In some cases, it is known at compile time that the 
> settings can never be used.  I would like to see these options hidden 
> or removed when they are irrelevant to the user's situation.
>
> The UI decision can take place either at compile time or at run time.  
> An example is the screen for PVR-350 options.  If the ivtv config flag 
> is disabled, then Myth knows at compile time that I will never use a 
> PVR-350.  It doesn't even have to build that code.  If ivtv is 
> enabled, I still may not have a PVR-350 installed; at run time, it 
> could execute a check for the required hardware, and skip the screen 
> if a 350 is not found.  Ultimately, I'd like to see both types of 
> checks in place, although the compile-time decision is much more 
> straightforward and would be a big help by itself.
>
> As the audience for MythTV grows and its capabilities become more 
> fragmented, this will become more important.  The dynamic menu 
> structure (based on which plugins are loaded) is a good start, but 
> applying this principle at a finer level will lead to less user 
> confusion.  I find myself toggling settings that do nothing on my 
> setup; the situation is worse on Windows and OS X, where hardware 
> abstraction makes many of the choices meaningless.
>
> I've spent very little time in the UI code, so if you've already 
> thought about this, well, I'm glad.  :)  I know it makes a tough job 
> tougher, but I hope that a future release of Myth will only ask the 
> user when there's really a decision to be made.
>
Easy, just add #ifdefs around the part of the settings code that adds 
those to the display.  I did as much with the System Status for DVB 
support by not showing the DVB Status if you didn't compile DVB code.  
Good suggestion though.

Kevin