XkbGetNamedGeometry

Section: XKB FUNCTIONS (3)
Updated: libX11 1.6.4
Index Return to Main Contents

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NAME

XkbGetNamedGeometry - Loads a keyboard geometry description from this database by name  

SYNOPSIS

Status XkbGetNamedGeometry (Display *dpy, XkbDescPtr xkb, Atom name);

 

ARGUMENTS

- dpy

connection to the X server

- xkb

keyboard description into which the geometry should be loaded

- name

name of the geometry to be loaded

 

DESCRIPTION

It is also possible to load a keyboard geometry by name. The X server maintains a database of keyboard components (see below).

XkbGetNamedGeometry can return BadName if the name cannot be found.

The X server maintains a database of keyboard components, identified by component type. The database contains all the information necessary to build a complete keyboard description for a particular device, as well as to assemble partial descriptions. Table 1 identifies the component types and the type of information they contain.

Table 1 Server Database Keyboard Components
Component	Component Primary Contents	May also contain
Type
Keymap	Complete keyboard description Normally assembled using a complete component from each of the other types
Keycodes	Symbolic name for each key Minimum and maximum legal keycodes	Aliases for some keys Symbolic names for indicators Description of indicators physically present
Types	Key types	Real modifier bindings and symbolic names for some virtual modifiers
Compatibility	Rules used to assign actions to keysyms	Maps for some indicators Real modifier bindings and symbolic names for some virtual modifiers
Symbols	Symbol mapping for keyboard keys Modifier mapping Symbolic names for groups	Explicit actions and behaviors for some keys Real modifier bindings and symbolic names for some virtual modifiers
Geometry	Layout of the keyboard	Aliases for some keys; overrides keycodes component aliases Symbolic names for some indicators Description of indicators physically present

While a keymap is a database entry for a complete keyboard description, and therefore logically different from the individual component database entries, the rules for processing keymap entries are identical to those for the individual components. In the discussion that follows, the term component is used to refer to either individual components or a keymap.

There may be multiple entries for each of the component types. An entry may be either complete or partial. Partial entries describe only a piece of the corresponding keyboard component and are designed to be combined with other entries of the same type to form a complete entry.

For example, a partial symbols map might describe the differences between a common ASCII keyboard and some national layout. Such a partial map is not useful on its own because it does not include those symbols that are the same on both the ASCII and national layouts (such as function keys). On the other hand, this partial map can be used to configure any ASCII keyboard to use a national layout.

When a keyboard description is built, the components are processed in the order in which they appear in Table 1; later definitions override earlier ones.  

DIAGNOSTICS

BadName

A font or color of the specified name does not exist.

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Index

NAME

SYNOPSIS

ARGUMENTS

DESCRIPTION

DIAGNOSTICS