I finally wrote a GNU/apl XCompose file that can provide a quick, no headaches :) alternative to more orthodox methods such as xmodmap or setxkbmap + a third-level modifier.
This hack may come in handy for new users of GNU/apl who already rely on a custom keyboard layout where the third-level modifier is used for other purposes (navigation keypad - arrows, PgDown.. - numpad, special characters, multimedia keys, exotic scripts) The layout is meant to reflect the output of the GNU/apl ]KEYB command (characters & location). The definitions have been tested in the GNU/apl shell as well as Vim running on top of an XTerm. Enabling on GNU/linux: 1. Define a Compose key. Various online articles describe how to do this depending on your desktop environment. 2. Copy the attached XCompose file as ~/.XCompose to your home directory. Limitations: 1. I have not been able to get my custom Compose definitions to work in GTK apps (firefox, gvim). Search online for possible solutions. They appear to work in KDE/Qt apps without any customization. 2. Won't work in environments that do not support the X Compose key mechanism. In order to avoid conflicts with the standard Compose sequences, I prepended a <space> prefix to all my definitions. Some may find having to hit three keys in succession unpractical. Such aspects can easily be customized to suit your requirements. CJ
# UTF-8 (Unicode) custom compose sequences # seems you MUST import system-wide definitions or else you lose them (?) # include "%L" # Sundries # GNU/APL - using the space bar as prefix # TOP (NUMBERS) ROW <Multi_key> <space> <asciitilde> : "⍨" U2368 # APL FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL TILDE DIAERESIS <Multi_key> <space> <grave> : "◊" U25CA # LOZENGE <Multi_key> <space> <exclam> : "¡" U25CA # INVERTED EXCLAMATION MARK <Multi_key> <space> <1> : "¨" U25CA # DIAERESIS <Multi_key> <space> <at> : "€" U20AC # EURO SIGN <Multi_key> <space> <2> : "¯" U00AF # MACRON <Multi_key> <space> <numbersign> : "£" U00A3 # POUND SIGN <Multi_key> <space> <3> : "<" U003C # LESS-THAN SIGN <Multi_key> <space> <dollar> : "⍧" U2367 # APL FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL LEFT SHOE STILE <Multi_key> <space> <4> : "≤" U2264 # LESS-THAN OR EQUAL TO <Multi_key> <space> <percent> : "█" U2588 # *** Unassigned *** <Multi_key> <space> <5> : "=" U003D # EQUALS SIGN <Multi_key> <space> <^> : "█" U2588 # *** Unassigned *** <Multi_key> <space> <6> : "≥" U2265 # GREATER-THAN OR EQUAL TO <Multi_key> <space> <ampersand> : "█" U2588 # *** Unassigned *** <Multi_key> <space> <7> : ">" U003E # GREATER-THAN SIGN <Multi_key> <space> <asterisk> : "⍂" U2342 # APL FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL QUAD BACKSLASH <Multi_key> <space> <8> : "≠" U2260 # NOT IDENTICAL TO <Multi_key> <space> <parenleft> : "⍱" U2371 # APL FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL DOWN CARET TILDE <Multi_key> <space> <9> : "∨" U2228 # LOGICAL OR <Multi_key> <space> <parenright> : "⍲" U2372 # APL FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL UP CARET TILDE <Multi_key> <space> <0> : "∧" U2227 # LOGICAL AND <Multi_key> <space> <underscore> : "≡" U2261 # APL FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL UP CARET TILDE <Multi_key> <space> <minus> : "×" U00D7 # MULTIPLICATION SIGN <Multi_key> <space> <plus> : "⌹" U2339 # APL FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL UP CARET TILDE <Multi_key> <space> <equal> : "÷" U00F7 # DIVISION SIGN # SECOND ROW (Q W E R T Y . . . ) <Multi_key> <space> <Q> : "¿" U00BF # INVERTED QUESTION MARK <Multi_key> <space> <q> : "?" U003F # QUESTION MARK <Multi_key> <space> <W> : "⌽" U233D # APL FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL CIRCLE STILE <Multi_key> <space> <w> : "⍵" U2375 # APL FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL OMEGA <Multi_key> <space> <E> : "⍷" U2377 # APL FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL EPSILON UNDERBAR <Multi_key> <space> <e> : "∈" U2208 # ELEMENT OF <Multi_key> <space> <R> : "█" U2588 # *** unassigned *** <Multi_key> <space> <r> : "⍴" U2374 # APL FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL RHO <Multi_key> <space> <T> : "⍉" U2349 # APL FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL CIRCLE BACKSLASH <Multi_key> <space> <t> : "∼" U223C # TILDE OPERATOR <Multi_key> <space> <Y> : "¥" U00A5 # YEN SIGN <Multi_key> <space> <y> : "↑" U2191 # UPWARDS ARROW # <MULTI_KEY> <SPACE> <U> IS UNUSED: IT IS THE ESCAPE SEQUENCE USED TO ENTER UNICODE CODE POINTS <Multi_key> <space> <u> : "↓" U2193 # DOWNWARDS ARROW <Multi_key> <space> <I> : "⍸" U2378 # APL FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL IOTA UNDERBAR <Multi_key> <space> <i> : "⍳" U2373 # APL FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL IOTA <Multi_key> <space> <O> : "⍥" U2365 # APL FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL CIRCLE DIAERESIS <Multi_key> <space> <o> : "○" U25CB # WHITE CIRCLE <Multi_key> <space> <P> : "⍟" U235F # APL FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL CIRCLE STAR <Multi_key> <space> <p> : "⋆" U22C6 # STAR OPERATOR <Multi_key> <space> <braceleft> : "█" U2588 # *** unassigned *** <Multi_key> <space> <bracketleft> : "←" U2190 # LEFTWARDS ARROW <Multi_key> <space> <braceright> : "⍬" U236C # APL FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL ZILDE <Multi_key> <space> <bracketright> : "→" U2192 # RIGHTWARDS ARROW <Multi_key> <space> <bar> : "⍀" U2340 # APL FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL BACKSLASH BAR <Multi_key> <space> <backslash> : "⍝" U235D # APL FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL UP SHOE JOT # THIRD ROW (A S D F G H . . . ) <Multi_key> <space> <A> : "⊖" U2296 # CIRCLED MINUS <Multi_key> <space> <a> : "⍺" U237A # APL FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL ALPHA <Multi_key> <space> <S> : "█" U2296 # *** unassigned *** <Multi_key> <space> <s> : "⌈" U2308 # LEFT CEILING <Multi_key> <space> <D> : "█" U2588 # *** unassigned *** <Multi_key> <space> <d> : "⌊" U230A # LEFT FLOOR <Multi_key> <space> <F> : "⍫" U2296 # APL FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL DEL TILDE <Multi_key> <space> <f> : "_" U005F # LOW LINE <Multi_key> <space> <G> : "⍒" U2352 # APL FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL DEL STILE <Multi_key> <space> <g> : "∇" U2207 # NABLA <Multi_key> <space> <H> : "⍋" U234B # APL FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL DELTA STILE <Multi_key> <space> <h> : "∆" U2206 # INCREMENT <Multi_key> <space> <J> : "⍤" U2364 # APL FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL JOT DIAERESIS <Multi_key> <space> <j> : "∘" U2218 # RING OPERATOR <Multi_key> <space> <K> : "⌺" U233A # APL FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL QUAD DIAMOND <Multi_key> <space> <k> : "'" U0027 # APOSTROPHE <Multi_key> <space> <K> : "⌺" U233A # APL FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL QUAD DIAMOND <Multi_key> <space> <k> : "'" U0027 # APOSTROPHE <Multi_key> <space> <L> : "⍞" U235E # APL FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL QUOTE QUAD <Multi_key> <space> <l> : "⎕" U2395 # APL FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL QUAD <Multi_key> <space> <colon> : "█" U2296 # *** unassigned *** <Multi_key> <space> <semicolon> : "⊢" U22A2 # RIGHT TACK <Multi_key> <space> <quotedbl> : "█" U2296 # *** unassigned *** <Multi_key> <space> <apostrophe> : "⊣" U22A3 # LEFT TACK # FOURTH ROW (Z X C V B N . . . ) <Multi_key> <space> <Z> : "█" U2296 # *** unassigned *** <Multi_key> <space> <z> : "⊂" U2282 # SUBSET OF <Multi_key> <space> <X> : "█" U2296 # *** unassigned *** <Multi_key> <space> <x> : "⊃" U2283 # SUPERSET OF <Multi_key> <space> <C> : "⍝" U235D # APL FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL UP SHOE JOT <Multi_key> <space> <c> : "∩" U2229 # INTERSECTION <Multi_key> <space> <V> : "█" U2296 # *** unassigned *** <Multi_key> <space> <v> : "∪" U222A # UNION <Multi_key> <space> <B> : "⍎" U234E # APL FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL DOWN TACK JOT <Multi_key> <space> <b> : "⊥" U22A5 # UP TACK <Multi_key> <space> <N> : "⍕" U2355 # APL FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL UP TACK JOT <Multi_key> <space> <n> : "⊤" U22A4 # UP UP TACK <Multi_key> <space> <M> : "⌶" U2336 # APL FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL I-BEAM <Multi_key> <space> <m> : "|" U007C # VERTICAL LINE <Multi_key> <space> <less> : "⍪" U236A # APL FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL COMMA BAR <Multi_key> <space> <comma> : "⌷" U2337 # APL FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL SQUISH QUAD <Multi_key> <space> <greater> : "⍙" U2359 # APL FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL DELTA UNDERBAR <Multi_key> <space> <period> : "⍎" U234E # APL FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL DOWN TACK JOT <Multi_key> <space> <question> : "⌿" U233F # APL FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL DELTA UNDERBAR <Multi_key> <space> <slash> : "⍕" U2355 # APL FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL UP TACK JOT
