Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!ames!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bloom-beacon!ATHENA.MIT.EDU!swick
From: swick@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Ralph R Swick)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re: Meta Keys on UWS 2.0 and Xt Intrinsics
Message-ID: <8903011516.AA04717@LYRE.MIT.EDU>
Date: 1 Mar 89 15:16:37 GMT
References: <10369@pasteur.Berkeley.EDU>
Sender: daemon@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU
Organization: DEC/MIT Project Athena
Lines: 23

> When I recently upgraded to DEC UWS 2.0 from X11R3,  I noticed
> that meta-key bindings in the Xaw text widget no longer worked
...
> Unfortunately,  in the default mapping provided by the UWS 2.0
> server,  only one keysym is defined for the ``compose character''
> key: Alt_L.
...
> is it within the rights of the server implentor to define whatever 
> mapping they feel is appropriate?

Actually, the server should try as best it can to produce a default
mapping that matches the printed legends on the keyboard.  The
rest of the environment provided to the user should include a
reasonable user-interface to allow modification and/or customization
of the mapping.  xmodmap is currently the only such interface in
common existance.  Ideally this interface would also preserve the
user's preferences across sessions.

In the case you describe, unless you actually have an LK201 keyboard
with a key labelled 'Meta', the server is not strictly permitted to
include the keysym in the default mapping.  The server(s) shipped
in X11R3 do include Meta as a hack, in deference to all of our
friends who have stuck with us all these years.