[I18n]XKB layout names (fwd)

[Katsaloulis Panagiotis]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 4 Apr 2001 07:13:13 +0200
From: Pablo Saratxaga <pablo at mandrakesoft.com>
To: i18n at XFree86.Org
Cc: Katsaloulis Panagiotis <grad0307 at di.uoa.gr>
Subject: Re: [I18n]XKB layout names

Kaixo!

On Tue, Apr 03, 2001 at 10:25:14PM -0400, David Dawes wrote:

> On Sun, Mar 18, 2001 at 02:17:04AM +0200, Katsaloulis Panagiotis wrote:
 
> >I am writing on behalf of the greek i18n team, in order to properly
> >support the greek language under Linux/X.
> >(i18ngr at hellug.gr)
> >
> >We have developed a greek keyboard layout and Compose map, but in the time
> >being someone has already posted similar files, which was already inserted
> >in X 4.0.2.

It was me that did the first iso-8859-7 Compose file.

>>1 We have noticed some problems though: the language was defined as "gr"
>>instead of the proper "el"
> 
> There's some inconsistency with the XKB layout names, but I think most
> are named by country rather than by language.

Indeed, the primary cracteristic of a keyboard is its *geographic* coverage.
Take for example the US keyboard: refering to it as an "English" or 
"American English" keyboard would be wrong.
Then, there are countries where several languages are spoken, but
a single keyboard layout is used, eg: Belgium or Spain.
And languages like French, German, etc spoken in various countries, each
one with a different keyboard layout.

Note that the computer keyboard layouts are mostly derived from the mechanical
typewritters layouts; which originally where country-based (this was a
done on purpose by typewritters manufacturers to segmentate the market)

I know Microsoft Windows list them as if they were language based (eg: last
time I used a Windows system it told me I had a "French (Belgium)" keyboard,
which is wrong, I have a "Belgian" keyboard), but I think it is wrong.


For the Compose files, it is even most language independent, as it depends
only on the encodings (well, it is possible to have locale
(language+country+encoding) specific files, but in most cases it won't be a
good idea, I think for example the "mk_MK.UTF-8" Compose file is an error,
it would have been better to have a "cyrillic.UTF-8" Compose file, with
compose sequences that could be used for all cyrillic languages;
or even include the cyrillic compose sequences with latin compose sequences
into a general UTF-8 Compose file). 

So, to come back to the KBD layouts, it is true that there is a total lack
ofstandardization in their naming; specially when several layouts exist
for a given country. 

>  It'd be good if we could
> make them more consistent.
> 
> David
> --
> David Dawes                                      Email: dawes at XFree86.org
> Founder/President, The XFree86 Project, Inc      Phone: +1 510 687 6857
> http://www.xfree86.org/

-- 
Ki ηa vos vεye bιn,
Pablo Saratxaga

http://www.srtxg.easynet.be/		PGP Key available, key ID: 0x8F0E4975