Bug#235652: xbase-clients: key remaped with xmodmap fails to respond as expected to shifting

[Dave Harding <harda@gnuisance.net>]

On Mon, Mar 01, 2004 at 08:54:03PM +0100, Denis Barbier wrote:
> On Mon, Mar 01, 2004 at 12:55:25PM -0500, Dave Harding wrote:
> > Package: xbase-clients
> > Version: 4.3.0-2
> > Severity: normal
> > 
> > Pressing "backspace" generates "\" when pressed as expected.
> > Pressing "Shift+backspace" does not generate "|", as expected.  Pressing
> > "Shift+<|\>" also does not generate "|".  This behavior has been
> > reported to function as expected to me since at lease XFree 3.3.x 
> > but not >=4.3

> I believe that this is due to /etc/X11/xkb/symbols/pc/pc:
>   key <BKSP> {
>       type="CTRL+ALT",
>       symbols[Group1]= [ BackSpace,   Terminate_Server ]
>   };
> and thus is not a bug.

Thank you and I appologize for my inabilty to locate that information on
my own.  I was still curious as to the change of behavior between
versions of XFree86 prior to 4.3.  I examined the change log available
at: 
http://cvsweb.xfree86.org/cvsweb/xc/programs/Xserver/hw/xfree86/CHANGELOG?rev=HEAD

In the changelog I found: 

"675. Fix some problems with the addition of multi-layout scheme to
      xkb: some keys that aren't 'alphabetic' should be treated as
      such to allow CapsLock+Shift working as expected; sometimes it
      is required to load an include file more than once due to
      multi-layout configuration, also fix some typos (#5545, Ivan Pascal).

674. XKB programable 'special combinations' (such as Ctrl+Alt+<key>)
       also send usual key evants (press and release).  Although the
       keysym generated in this case is NoSymbol such events can confuse
       some applications (#5546, Ivan Pascal)."

And seeming most relevant to this bug:

"672. Temporarily enable the hard-coded Ctrl-Alt-Backspace terminate
      sequence until a better fallback mechanism is implemented (Egbert
      Eich)."
      
These appear to be under the XFree86 4.2.99.3 (21 December 2002)
release.

If setting the type to TWO_LEVEL works without breaking anything (as 672
implies) it would seem this, or the previous behavior of treating BKSP
as a regular key[1] should be the default behavior.

[1] /etc/X11/xkb/symbols/us on XFree86 Version 4.2.1.1 (Debian
4.2.1-12.1 20031003005825 james@nocrew.org):
<snip>
 key <BKSP> {        [       BackSpace               ]       };
</snip>

You've empowered me with the knowledge of how to make the changes
myself.  I don't know enough about XFree86 to determine if the fallback
mechanism that caused the original hardcoding of the Ctrl+Alt-Backspace
has been implimented.  If it has I would suspect the hardcoding of being
a bug, as it is no longer what the developers intended.  If the fallback
feature has not been implemented... perhaps this should be wishlist?

Anyhow I leave it to your providence as a DD and I again thank you for
your forthcoming help,

-Dave