Kaixo!

On Thu, Feb 21, 2002 at 06:39:02PM +0700, Ivan Pascal wrote:

>   I have almost completed new framework for XKB layouts and thought of

>   What I have done.
> First part is patches for a xkbcomp to make it recognize 'an explicit group
> specifying'. The modified xkbcomp understands as xkb_simbols strings like
> "first_map+second_map:2+third_map:3". There a colon with digit means that
> key definitions from the specified map should be shifted to group specified
> by digit. Of course, maps there must be keymaps where only one (first)
> group described.

The problem with that is it breaks compatibility for all non-latin
keyboards where two groups are used.
Imagine some people has defined his keyboard just as "ru" or "th" etc.
then he updates XFree86 and those files include only one group --> he
is unable to type any ascii and can't manage his system anymore...

However, often the first group in such cases is always US qwerty.
So, what about making those files have an empty first group (that has already
been done for various keyboard files, it would just need to be done for
the remaining ones) and then have arule to xkb_simbols that says something
like:

- for the first map defined, if it has an empty group 1, then use US qwerty
  for that first group, and keep group 2 as group 2.
- for the second map upwards, if they have an empty first group, discard
  it and consoder only the second (and others) as if they were the first
  (and second etc) groups.

That would allow to have "us+il:2+ar:3" or "il+ar:3" produce the
same effect and both be able to work with current "il" and "ar" files
without modification.

It would also allow people currently using just "il" or "ar" to keep
that when XFree86 is updated without any bad surprize.

If that cannot be done, then the version of XFree86 implementing the
multilayouts must provide two versions of all non-latin layouts, with
different names, one with the old name in old format (two groups) and
one with a new name with only one group. Otherwise a lot of people
will be severly hit.


And now, something completly different :)

I was thinking about the "phonetic" layouts, their purpose is to allow
to type a non latin script with a latin keyboard that doesn't have the
non latin letters printed on the keys.
They are based on an US qwerty keyboard.

But in fact they should be based in keysym equivalences.

For example in a cyrillic phonetic layout the letter with keysyms 'a'
should sent the cyrillic a, and not the key <AC01>. on an US keyboard
key <AC01> has the keysym "a", but not on a French keyboard.

Would it be possible to have keyboard groups defined not
by keyboard layouts (key -> keysms) but by keysym aliasing (keysym -> keysym)
things like:

a = Cyrillic_a
A =  Cyrillic_A
b = Cyrillic_be
...

so that the actual layout of such cyrillic phonetic group will be different
if the first group is taken from "us" or from "fr" for example.

Thanks

-- 
Ki �a vos v�ye b�n,
Pablo Saratxaga

http://www.srtxg.easynet.be/            PGP Key available, key ID: 0x8F0E4975

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