+- PINE64 (https://forum.pine64.org)
+-- Forum: PinePhone (https://forum.pine64.org/forumdisplay.php?fid=120)
+--- Forum: PinePhone Software (https://forum.pine64.org/forumdisplay.php?fid=121)
+--- Thread: Software keyboard question (/showthread.php?tid=16921)
Software keyboard question - orbital - 06-26-2022
Hi folks,
For most apps, what is the underlying mechanism that causes the software keyboard
to appear? For instance, when it comes to Qt apps, people caution that
it is a desktop GUI library, so does this imply that e.g. editing a Qt text field
will NOT cause the software keyboard to appear?
Thanks.
RE: Software keyboard question - wibble - 06-27-2022
http://www.moiji-mobile.com/2017/11/26/qtvirtualkeyboard-on-wayland/
I think it's essentially the same mechanism as used for accessible input methods, which are just as applicable to the desktop.
https://wayland.app/protocols/input-method-unstable-v1
https://wayland.app/protocols/text-input-unstable-v3
Compatibility issues have been mentioned in the past as the APIs aren't stable yet.
https://blog.martin-graesslin.com/blog/2016/05/virtual-keyboard-support-in-kwinwayland-5-7/
X uses a different mechanism - IIRC that was using extended window manager hints. In the openmoko days there was an attempt to standardise some new ones to indicate the type of input required so the keyboard could show the most suitable keyboard layout, but I don't know if it ever got wider adoption. I don't know how / whether this joins up with X apps showing under xwayland.
I don't know how much is done by default by which toolkit (Qt, GTK etc.) and how much needs to be added by the developer.