Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!ames!pasteur!ucbvax!SUN.COM!dshr
From: dshr@SUN.COM (David Rosenthal)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re: Key Maps...one more time...
Message-ID: <8803150350.AA01099@devnull.sun.com>
Date: 15 Mar 88 00:28:42 GMT
Sender: usenet@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 31

I really think you need to read the protocol spec.,  because
reading your mail it looks to me like you don't understand
the model of keyboard support in X11.  X11 clients see raw
unencoded keycodes,  placing any kind of interpretation on
these key transitions is their responsibility.  There is a
table in the server that they can enquire to find out what
is written on the keys,  to assist in interpreting the events.
It is possible for clients to overwrite this table,  but they
are STRONGLY advised never to attempt to do so - this is NOT
the way in which keymapping should be done.  By doing so,
they disrupt the process by which other clients (which may
not have an ASCII-centric view of the world) interpret
the raw keycodes.  Your example of a server unable to determine
the type of the keyboard is almost the only case in which
a client might sensibly overwrite the table.  The other example
is people who use Dvorak keyboard layouts,  but they are
also advised to actually change the symbols written on the
keycaps.

As an implementor of keyboard support for both X10 and X11
I can assure you that the LAST thing you want is an X10-ish
approach to keyboard support - it mandated that every keyboard
in the world had to imitate a DEC LK201 - one of the world's
more bizarre peripherals.

In the grand X11 tradition,  we have given you a totally
policy-free mechanism,  and enough rope to hang yourself
many times over.  As in other cases,  clients will find
that dealing with this generality is triesome.  But the
generality is there for a very good reason.....

	David.