May I rework XKB ?

[Dirk Wallenstein]

I would like to give some examples of what a fully functional and configurable
XKB extension could offer.


1.Obviate the need to leave the home row for functionality that is provided by
  keys right of the main keyboard
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By taking a common pc-105 keyboard and holding down the AltGr/ISO-Level3-Shift
modifier , all the alphabetic keys can be equipped with functionality like
cursor-cross, insert, delete, home, etc. With the help of XKB's
Redirect-Key-Action it would even be possible to have word-wise cursor movement
in all text edit fields. All without leaving the home row.
        

2.Shortcuts abound 
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Press one key and let the whole keyboard produce keysyms that are not
recognized by any application, so that you can be sure, not to interact with
the currently active application in an unwanted manner. This now inactive
keyboard could be set up, to exclusively interact with the desktop environment.


3.Use a shortcut setup to control the window manager
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By using a shortcut setup from example 2 and making it accessible by one of the
keys in the lowest keyboard row, it would be possible to configure advanced
window manager interaction that would not require leaving the home row.
Shortcuts for switching applications, switching desktops, packing windows, and
common application shortcuts, would have some considerable clearance. It would
be possible to lock these shortcuts onto the main window (say with
Shift-Return), and with slightly improved support from the window manager,
there would be the chance to move the active window in a mouse-keys like
behavior or force a particular geometry onto a window (For example: maximize on
the left halve of the screen, halve the screen's width and a quarter of the
screen's height in the top right corner, etc).
        

4.Configure remote controls 
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The usual device selection buttons on a remote control could be used to switch
between key type levels, so that the other keys produce the key events a
particular application takes for the corresponding action. With a simple
configuration file format that could be supported by those applications, and a
mechanism like inotify, configuration changes in the application could be
immediately active in the remote control. The user would at first create a
general configuration for the remote control, and after that, would only need
to associate the device selection buttons with a particular application.


5.Configure a gamepad as a typing device
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With 7 independently combinable buttons it would be possible to type all
characters of the English alphabet and punctuation (6 modifiers and a trigger
key), maybe facilitated by an input method.