[SCIM] Re: Custom Keyboard Layout Editor/Interpreter for SCIM

[Kenichi Handa]

In article <200501031854.12248.ybando@k6.dion.ne.jp>, Yukiko Bando <ybando@k6.dion.ne.jp> writes:
>>  >> 1. Users choose one from the SCIM's input methods menu:
>>  >>
>>  >>     Custom Keyboards > MyHungarian
>>  >>     Custom Keyboards > MySpanish
>> 
>>  That has about the same effect as using the M17N input methods
>>  now, I don't really see an advantage here.

> I see.  It might be better to ask Handa-san to make M17N input methods a 
> little bit more user friendly rather than invent a new tool for the same 
> purpose.  Here are what I'd like to see in a future version of M17N-lib or 
> scim-m17n. :)  

> - I had to refer to /usr/share/m17n/latn-pre.min to find out how to type 
> accented characters.  Are there any online documents which describe how to 
> use each M17N input method?  If there are, I think it would be nice to 
> mention such URLs in the SCIM Help.

Please see this page:
  http://www.m17n.org/m17n-lib/m17n-docs/m17nDBData.html#mim-list
It lists all input methods with some description.

> - How about providing more variations of M17N-t-latn-pre each of which is 
> modified to (a) specific language(s)?  For example, ". /" is used to generate 
> letters with an above dot, but it is unnecessary in West European languages 
> such as French, Spanish, Portuguese etc.  With M17N-t-latn-pre on, it seems 
> that one has to press Space to type "./".

That may be a good idea.  Actually M17N-t-latn-pre is based
on Emacs' latin-prefix input method which is a merging of
many other input methods of names LANG-prefix.  Converting
all of Emacs' LANG-prefix input methods to *.mim is quite
easy.  Perhaps in the next version, I'll be able to include
all of them.

> -  How about a GUI configuration tool for M17N (just like the one for 
> scim-table) in the SCIM setup panel where one can disable unnecessary key 
> sequences (eg ./) and even customize such definitions?  Is it possible?

It's possible only for such a simple input method as
latn-pre.  In general it's not possible because, unlike
scim-table, an M17N input method is a kind of state
transition machine with possibly complicated commands, in
other words, it's a kind of program.

---
Ken'ichi HANDA
handa@m17n.org