Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!mcsun!cernvax!chx400!sicsun!sasun1!brossard
From: brossard@sasun1.epfl.ch (Alain Brossard EPFL-SIC/SII)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re:  International Keyboard support for X
Message-ID: <1990Oct22.124125@sasun1.epfl.ch>
Date: 22 Oct 90 11:41:25 GMT
References: <9010220805.AA11311@Larry.McRCIM.McGill.EDU>
Sender: news@sicsun.epfl.ch
Reply-To: brossard@sasun1.epfl.ch
Organization: Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne
Lines: 41

In article <9010220805.AA11311@Larry.McRCIM.McGill.EDU>, mouse@LARRY.MCRCIM.MCGILL.EDU writes:
> > I see there is started code for handling Compose sequences in Xlib;
> > What is the best way for a server writer to implement the
> > functionality of compose keys.
> 
> The server writer shouldn't.  Compose-character is done on the client
> side of the client/server split.

  Indeed, all the magic resides in Xlib.  One of the advantage
of using Open Windows 2.0 is that Sun has completed the Compose
part of Xlib.

> 
> > What is the best way to handle dead key's which I understand can be
> > pressed and released (unlike modifier keys)  before the associated
> > key is pressed
> 
> Again, the server has no business knowing that a given key is supposed
> to be a dead key.  As I understand it there is currently no Xlib
> support for dead keys.  (There are no keysyms for them either, which
> IMO is a serious omission that should be rectified at the next
> opportunity, whenever that is.)

  Sun does provide support for Compose keys, and in the MIT's distrib
there is a keysym: Multi-Key.  For example <Compose>'e would give
you ``i'' for those who use an appropriate font with an 8 bit OS,
assuming this character makes it through the news software... :-(.
   On the other hand der Mouse is right in that there is no support
for "dead" keys per se meaning typing 'e and expect to see
the appropriate letter with an ' above it.  But there is support
to compose a sequence of keys into
a single character (eg: <Compose>co for the copyright symbol).
Well there will be for everybody on R5???

> 					der Mouse

-- 

Alain Brossard, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne,
	SIC/SII, EL-Ecublens, CH-1015 Lausanne, Suisse
brossard@sasun1.epfl.ch