XkbGetNamedGeometry(3)

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.