[haiku-development] Re: AltGr Key, key_map, and the US-International Keyboard

  • From: Rimas Kudelis <rq@xxxxxx>
  • To: haiku-development@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Fri, 06 Apr 2012 21:28:23 +0300

2012.04.06 20:24, Adrien Destugues rašė:
Le Fri, 06 Apr 2012 19:04:35 +0200, Rimas Kudelis <rq@xxxxxx> a écrit:

Even ignoring the obvious problem of Control still being a separate key, the Win/Lin mode not correct. It makes Control act as command, but Alt then acts as Control, not Option, and Win-key acts as Option/AltGr. I think the more correct way would be:
Control acts as Cmd
Win acts as Ctrl
Alt and AltGr act as Opt

Well, we have a keymap preference that allows switching them around the way you like it. As far as I know, no other OS allows you to do that in so few clicks. And still, people want to change the default setting.

A possibility to fix keys in Windows/Linux compat mode doesn't justify incomplete swapping of the keys in that mode, does it?


I think a sane alternative for Terminal would be to use Cmd+Alt+foo or Cmd+Shift+foo to enter Ctrl+foo escape sequences (that is, Cmd+Alt+C would produce ^C). This would not only free the Control key from being the "Terminal" key to something more universal (e.g. command), but would also allow to have identical shortcuts for Copy and paste among all apps. But I have a sad impression that Alt-as-Cmd is something like a holy cow in Haiku – untouchable. :( I think it's a bit silly for a GUI OS to favor consistency with UNIX terminal applications over that with Win/Lin, but I guess this is a minority view, right? :)


Consistency with others OS is not a goal. Consistent behaviour, look, and feel over all apps is one.

Control+C for Copy from terminal would be just as consistent as Alt+C. Except it would also be consistent with Win and Lin.

Do things that make sense (like the "control" key being used for "control" chars) is another goal for Haiku. And replicating BeOS when it's ok to do so, is also an Haiku goal.

So you're saying that Control key is simply the key that enters control chars and it's a mere coincidence, that these chars are used in Terminal? :) Well, IMO, it's a lame apology, but what do I know, being spoiled by Windows and Linux, perhaps those control chars are incredibly useful...

And, we still allow to swap the keys around, which most windows or linux oriented people do, like switching tracker to single window mode.

Yep, I'm grateful that I'm allowed to somewhat 'sanitize' my keys. But I'm complaining about what I'm not allowed to do.

On the other hand, I have figured out recently that actually, it's just naming that pisses me off. I simply hate the fact that Haiku treats Alt and Opt or Command and Control as different things, because for me they sound like synonyms. If what is currently Option would be renamed to AltGr, what is currently Control would be renamed to Alt, and what is currently command would (optionally) be renamed to Control, it would all suddently make enough sense to me. The only thing that would be inconsistent in this situation would be Alt+foo outputting ^foo, but I could live with that (although I really think that it wouldn't hurt if it was Terminal doing this translation). Haiku could then have two Controls, two Alts and two AltGrs by default, in this order:
Alt AltGr Control Space Control AltGr Alt
. Essentially, you'd have what you have now, but with key names changed to reflect their customary meanings, where Command/Controls is a command key (except Mac OS X, obviously), Alt is a shortcut modifier and AltGr is a key which enters funky symbols.

As for the global commands: I was wondering, how much are F1-F12 used in Haiku? Perhaps these 12 keys could be enough to cover all globally needed commands? Or are these reserved for Midnight Commander compatibility?

Command + Fx currently switches workspaces. One more thing to move around to Option key, along with Command+Tab triggering twitcher, and a few others.

And what do Fx do alone?

Rimas


Other related posts: