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Full Discussion: xlib and keyboard events
Top Forums UNIX for Advanced & Expert Users xlib and keyboard events Post 302720329 by N7DR on Tuesday 23rd of October 2012 07:10:31 PM
Old 10-23-2012
xlib and keyboard events

1. If there's some better place where xlib experts hang out, please tell me. Despite an assiduous search, I could not find an xlib reflector.

2. My actual question:
In an xterm, I want to grab and process all keyboard events in a program running inside the xterm. For example, with my program running, if I press an "x", I don't the x to be displayed, and I do want to be able to see the keypress and keyrelease events myself, in the application running inside the xterm.

I have tried quite a few things, but nothing seems to do exactly what I need.

The closest I've come is the pseudo-code sequence:
Code:
XOpenDisplay() to get the correct display
getenv("WINDOWID") to get the window ID
XGrabKeyboard( <display*>, <window>, false, GrabModeAsync, GrabModeSync, CurrentTime)
XSelectInput(<everything>)
forever: (XWindowEvent() on the window)

But that seems to have two problems:
1. it seems to grab keyboard events wherever they occur on the display, not just in the xterm;
2. keyboard events inside the xterm don't actually seem to be returned by the XWindowEvent().

This is the first time I've tried to use xlib, so it's perfectly possible (even likely) that I'm missing something basic, even though I've tried to read the pertinent documentation quite carefully.

---------- Post updated at 05:10 PM ---------- Previous update was at 04:57 PM ----------

Apparently, the call to XGrabKeyboard should be:

Code:
XGrabKeyboard(<display>, <window>, false, GrabModeAsync, GrabModeAsync, CurrentTime);

although I don't undrestand why the keyboard mode should be Async. The documentation seems to indicate that this would mean that the xterm application would also receive the keyboard activity, but that isn't what happens.

(Documentation says: If the keyboard_mode argument is GrabModeAsync, keyboard event processing continues as usual. Apparently, whatever "as usual" means, it does not seem to mean "is sent to other clients as usual".)

So I'm floundering as to <i>why</i> this works, but at least it does seem to do what I need.
 

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XGrabKeyboard(3)						  XLIB FUNCTIONS						  XGrabKeyboard(3)

NAME
XGrabKeyboard, XUngrabKeyboard - grab the keyboard SYNTAX
int XGrabKeyboard(Display *display, Window grab_window, Bool owner_events, int pointer_mode, int keyboard_mode, Time time); int XUngrabKeyboard(Display *display, Time time); ARGUMENTS
display Specifies the connection to the X server. grab_window Specifies the grab window. keyboard_mode Specifies further processing of keyboard events. You can pass GrabModeSync or GrabModeAsync. owner_events Specifies a Boolean value that indicates whether the keyboard events are to be reported as usual. pointer_mode Specifies further processing of pointer events. You can pass GrabModeSync or GrabModeAsync. time Specifies the time. You can pass either a timestamp or CurrentTime. DESCRIPTION
The XGrabKeyboard function actively grabs control of the keyboard and generates FocusIn and FocusOut events. Further key events are reported only to the grabbing client. XGrabKeyboard overrides any active keyboard grab by this client. If owner_events is False, all gen- erated key events are reported with respect to grab_window. If owner_events is True and if a generated key event would normally be reported to this client, it is reported normally; otherwise, the event is reported with respect to the grab_window. Both KeyPress and KeyRelease events are always reported, independent of any event selection made by the client. If the keyboard_mode argument is GrabModeAsync, keyboard event processing continues as usual. If the keyboard is currently frozen by this client, then processing of keyboard events is resumed. If the keyboard_mode argument is GrabModeSync, the state of the keyboard (as seen by client applications) appears to freeze, and the X server generates no further keyboard events until the grabbing client issues a releas- ing XAllowEvents call or until the keyboard grab is released. Actual keyboard changes are not lost while the keyboard is frozen; they are simply queued in the server for later processing. If pointer_mode is GrabModeAsync, pointer event processing is unaffected by activation of the grab. If pointer_mode is GrabModeSync, the state of the pointer (as seen by client applications) appears to freeze, and the X server generates no further pointer events until the grabbing client issues a releasing XAllowEvents call or until the keyboard grab is released. Actual pointer changes are not lost while the pointer is frozen; they are simply queued in the server for later processing. If the keyboard is actively grabbed by some other client, XGrabKeyboard fails and returns AlreadyGrabbed. If grab_window is not viewable, it fails and returns GrabNotViewable. If the keyboard is frozen by an active grab of another client, it fails and returns GrabFrozen. If the specified time is earlier than the last-keyboard-grab time or later than the current X server time, it fails and returns GrabInvalid- Time. Otherwise, the last-keyboard-grab time is set to the specified time (CurrentTime is replaced by the current X server time). XGrabKeyboard can generate BadValue and BadWindow errors. The XUngrabKeyboard function releases the keyboard and any queued events if this client has it actively grabbed from either XGrabKeyboard or XGrabKey. XUngrabKeyboard does not release the keyboard and any queued events if the specified time is earlier than the last-keyboard- grab time or is later than the current X server time. It also generates FocusIn and FocusOut events. The X server automatically performs an UngrabKeyboard request if the event window for an active keyboard grab becomes not viewable. DIAGNOSTICS
BadValue Some numeric value falls outside the range of values accepted by the request. Unless a specific range is specified for an argu- ment, the full range defined by the argument's type is accepted. Any argument defined as a set of alternatives can generate this error. BadWindow A value for a Window argument does not name a defined Window. SEE ALSO
XAllowEvents(3X11), XGrabButton(3X11), XGrabKey(3X11), XGrabPointer(3X11) Xlib - C Language X Interface X Version 11 libX11 1.2.1 XGrabKeyboard(3)
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