Bug 2622

Arch Linux
tde-tqt3 14.0.3-1
tde-tqtinterface 14.0.3-1

By default, in Arch Linux, bash will "source" files in /etc/profile.d/, and in particular, /etc/profile.d/tqt3.sh and /etc/profile.d/trinity.sh, which contain simply

export QTDIR=/opt/trinity/tqt3
export TQTDIR=/opt/trinity/tqt3
export QT_XFT=true
export PATH+=:/opt/trinity/tqt3/bin
export PKG_CONFIG_PATH+=:/opt/trinity/tqt3/pkgconfig

and

export TDEDIR=/opt/trinity
export TDEDIRS=$TDEDIR
export PATH=$PATH:/usr/bin:$TDEDIR/bin
export PKG_CONFIG_PATH=$PKG_CONFIG_PATH:$TDEDIR/lib/pkgconfig
if [ ! -z $XDG_DATA_DIRS ]; then
  export XDG_DATA_DIRS=$XDG_DATA_DIRS:$TDEDIR/share
else
  export XDG_DATA_DIRS=$TDEDIR/share
fi
if [ ! -z $XDG_CONFIG_DIRS ]; then
  export XDG_CONFIG_DIRS=$XDG_CONFIG_DIRS:$TDEDIR/etc/xdg
else
  export XDG_CONFIG_DIRS=$TDEDIR/etc/xdg
fi


But, when attempting to run some other Qt-based Desktop Environment, such as LXQt or KDE/Plasma5, tqt3.sh and trinity.sh are still "sourced", and redefine the "QT" and "XDG" environment variables with horrible consequences for the alternative DE, which becomes unusable.

One mindless solution would be to wrap those statements with some test,

if ps -C starttde,starttrinity &>/dev/null;then
...
fi

Will that test work when a graphical display manager is being used?  Also, the test should not be confused by some TDE Applet or Application running in the alternate DE, in the same way that a KDE application might be running in GNOME.

Really though, placing these files in /etc/profile.d is very "heavey handed" and not the correct approach.  It seems to me that /opt/trinity/bin/starttde and /opt/trinity/bin/starttrinity should be completely responsible for setting-up the required environment, including any necessary "QT" and "XDG" variables.

Certainly, anyone "playing" with TDE is going to be very upset and unsympathetic if their TDE install unexpectedly makes their LXQt or KDE install unusable!