Why X protocol/server forbid zero width/height?

[Jim Gettys]

I have no clue; I certainly don't remember any reason for this in the
dusty attic of my brain. 
				- Jim
b

On Wed, 2005-11-23 at 11:35 +0600, Dmitry Yu. Bolkhovityanov wrote:
>   	Hi!
> 
>   	As specs say, and as practice confirms, attempt to set XWindow's 
> width and/or height to 0 results in BadValue error.
> 
>   	BUT: why such a design decision was made (19 years ago?)?
> 
>   	Zero width and/or height seem to be a natural concept (so that
> windows can exist and be "invisible" when they have no content -- this is 
> particularly useful for container windows).  And forbidding zero size 
> creates a "hole" in "size space", so that all widgets have to avoid 
> zero size, including unnatural code like "if (width==0) width=1".
> 
>   	Googling through Usenet gave no answer to this question.
> 
> P.S. Of course, now this can't be changed -- but the reasons of that
>        decision are of interest for better understanding of X ideology.
> 
>   	Thanks in advance,
>   		Dmitry
> 
>   	_________________________________________
>   	  Dmitry Yu. Bolkhovityanov
>   	  The Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics
>   	  Novosibirsk, Russia
> _______________________________________________
> xorg mailing list
> xorg at lists.freedesktop.org
> http://lists.freedesktop.org/mailman/listinfo/xorg