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Bug#241923: xbase-clients: Unable to figure out xmodmap syntax after heaving read the manpage several times



severity 241923 minor
retitle 241923 xbase-clients: [xmodmap] manpage sucks
tag 241923 + upstream
thanks

On Sat, Apr 03, 2004 at 09:36:20PM +0200, Jan Minar wrote:
> Package: xbase-clients
> Version: 4.1.0-16
> Severity: important
> File: /usr/X11R6/bin/xmodmap
> 
> Hi!
> 
> The xmodmap's manpage is unclear, vague, and confusing, to say the
> least.  I don't understand e.g. what the keysym columns are for--in one
> place, the manpage reads:
> 
> | The  first keysym is used when no modifier key is pressed in conjunction
> | with this key, the second with Shift, the third when the Mode_Switch key
> | is used with this key and the fourth when both the Mode_Switch and Shift
> | keys are used.
> 
> But further on, I learned that:
> 
> | [A]pplications that need a Meta key simply need to get  the keycode  and
> | don't  require  the  keysym  to  be in the first column of the keymap
> | table.  This means that applications that are looking for a Multi_key
> | (including the default modifier map) won't notice any change.
> | 
> | 	%  xmodmap -e "keysym Multi_key = Multi_key Meta_L"
> 
> What the h*** is this?

Documentation bugs are generally considered of "minor" severity in
Debian.  I do not think the severity "important" is appropriate for this
bug.  Apart from that, though, I agree with you.  I've been working on X
for 6 years and I can't give you an easy answer.

The first paragraph you quoted, I understand.

The second, I don't.

minor
    a problem which doesn't affect the package's usefulness, and is
    presumably trivial to fix.[1]

I'll happily accept patches to the manpage from an xmodmap guru.

[1] http://www.debian.org/Bugs/Developer#severities

-- 
G. Branden Robinson                |    Somewhere, there is a .sig so funny
Debian GNU/Linux                   |    that reading it will cause an
branden@debian.org                 |    aneurysm.  This is not that .sig.
http://people.debian.org/~branden/ |

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