Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!ispd-newsserver!ism.isc.com!ico!attc!marbru
From: marbru@attc.UUCP (Martin Brunecky)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re: Using tablets in X (Was: Re: Moving pointer in software ?)
Message-ID: <1276@attc.UUCP>
Date: 18 Mar 91 22:32:40 GMT
References: <9103131557.AA10051@devnull.Eng.Sun.COM> <1165@dandelion.CI.COM> <1991Mar18.170530.13580@dsd.es.com>
Reply-To: marbru@auto-trol.UUCP (Martin Brunecky)
Organization: Auto-trol Technology, Denver
Lines: 42

In article <1991Mar18.170530.13580@dsd.es.com> rthomson@dsd.es.com (Rich Thomson) writes:
>In article <1165@dandelion.CI.COM>
>	dale@jack.ci.com (Dale Gallaher) writes:
>>   Has anyone implemented applications which use tablet input instead
>>   of the mouse.  We have a CAD package where many uses prefer using
>>   a tablet but I have never seen anyone discuss using tablets in X.
>
>The X input extension allows input from a wide variety of devices.
>However, the support for the input extension must be built into the
>server (including driving the devices).  It is not plug-and-play in
>that respect.
>

   We have taken a slightly different approach. Since we want to treate
   the digitizer suface similarly to the screen, i.e. lay windows on the
   top of it, get enter/leave/button/motion events etc., we decided
   to strip-down (lobotomize) the MIT X Server.

   So our application, which can use up to 4 different digitizer widgets,
   opens an additional display connection: to a digitizer server.
   It can create widgets (such as plain digitizing areas with various
   pointer tracking modes, menu, screen-pointer-mapper etc.) using all
   the Xt functionality. The only specific is that windows can be rotated,
   not only parallel to x,y axis.

   The server is a "lobotomized" MIT X server. It has all the graphics
   output stubbed out (XDrawLine - sure, success - don't you see your line?),
   all the fonting stuff stubbed out, all the colormap stuff stubbed out.
   It still deserves some work ... but it does work. The server is much
   smaller then the "real" one, does not eat almost any CPU. And you can even 
   use a digitizer connected to other machine ! 
 
   There are still some issues to work out: How do the 2 applications
   share the digitizer without a window (digitizer) manager ? What you
   do with a digitizer resolution 100,000 x 100,000 dots when the Xt
   defines "Position" as "short" .....
   
-- 
=*= Opinions presented here are solely of my own and not those of Auto-trol =*=
Martin Brunecky                           {...}sunpeaks!auto-trol!marbru
(303) 252-2499                        (sometimes also:  marbru@auto-trol.COM )
Auto-trol Technology Corp. 12500 North Washington St., Denver, CO 80241-2404