4 ms·

Typing the λ (lambda) character with the compose key on Xorg

10 points by ciderpunx 14y ago

p4bl0 14y ago
I use the compose key extensively and I think that one of the best .XCompose file out there is the one of kragen [1]. It has a lot of bindings and they are easy to remember. λ is <Multi_key> <asterisk> <l> (actually all greek letters are on <Multi_key> <asterisk> [letter]). [1] https://github.com/kragen/xcompose/blob/master/dotXCompose https://github.com/kragen/xcompose/blob/master/dotXCompose
thristian 14y ago
For me, changing the GTK+ input method was as easy as right-clicking in any GTK+ dialog box and picking "Input Methods" → "System (Simple)", rather than having to mess with /etc/environment. That setting seems to have stuck even through reboots. I also highly recommend you look through the standard XCompose file, since there's a lot of handy symbols—like <Compose><hyphen><hyphen><hyphen> for an em-dash, <Compose><hyphen><greater-than> for an arrow, or <Compose><C><C><C><P> for ☭.
- p4bl0 14y ago
  I guess it depends on your setup but for me “export GTK_IM_MODULE=xim” is just a line in my ~/.xinitrc file.
AngryParsley 14y ago
After reading the post, I was curious how to do the same thing on OS X. I knew there was a menu for special characters built into all text inputs, so I searched help for "characters." The first result was Edit->Special Characters, which showed a shortcut of ⌘+⎇+T. I searched the special characters for "lamda" and selected the first result. After that, I figured out how to easily type λ often. You can add a string substitution in System Prefs -> Language & Text -> Text. No googling. No config files. No restarting X. ♥ My biggest issue was finding the ⌘ symbol, which is classified as "place of interest sign" in the technical symbols category.
- cmsj 14y ago
  There are also ways to convert an X11 compose configuration into Cocoa keyboard shortcuts. Google around. it's not a ton of fun, but it's very doable :)
thyrsus 14y ago
My Google-foo is usually pretty good, because I usually understand the conceptual framework within which I'm looking for a detail. This is not the case with the X11 system. The last reasonable overview I'm familiar with is the O'Reilly X System Administrators Guide ( http://www.amazon.com/Windows-System-Administrators-Definitive-Guides/dp/0937175838 http://www.amazon.com/Windows-System-Administrators-Definiti... ) from 1992 (volumes 1-7 are mostly about protocol details, primitives and libraries). Things introduced since then are a jumble to me. What should I read for an update? I'm mostly in the Red Hat/Fedora ecosystem, which includes a multitude of upper layers.

10 points by ciderpunx 14y ago

p4bl0 14y ago

I use the compose key extensively and I think that one of the best .XCompose file out there is the one of kragen [1]. It has a lot of bindings and they are easy to remember. λ is <Multi_key> <asterisk> <l> (actually all greek letters are on <Multi_key> <asterisk> [letter]). [1] https://github.com/kragen/xcompose/blob/master/dotXCompose https://github.com/kragen/xcompose/blob/master/dotXCompose

thristian 14y ago

For me, changing the GTK+ input method was as easy as right-clicking in any GTK+ dialog box and picking "Input Methods" → "System (Simple)", rather than having to mess with /etc/environment. That setting seems to have stuck even through reboots. I also highly recommend you look through the standard XCompose file, since there's a lot of handy symbols—like <Compose><hyphen><hyphen><hyphen> for an em-dash, <Compose><hyphen><greater-than> for an arrow, or <Compose><C><C><C><P> for ☭.

p4bl0 14y ago
I guess it depends on your setup but for me “export GTK_IM_MODULE=xim” is just a line in my ~/.xinitrc file.

AngryParsley 14y ago

After reading the post, I was curious how to do the same thing on OS X. I knew there was a menu for special characters built into all text inputs, so I searched help for "characters." The first result was Edit->Special Characters, which showed a shortcut of ⌘+⎇+T. I searched the special characters for "lamda" and selected the first result. After that, I figured out how to easily type λ often. You can add a string substitution in System Prefs -> Language & Text -> Text. No googling. No config files. No restarting X. ♥ My biggest issue was finding the ⌘ symbol, which is classified as "place of interest sign" in the technical symbols category.

cmsj 14y ago
There are also ways to convert an X11 compose configuration into Cocoa keyboard shortcuts. Google around. it's not a ton of fun, but it's very doable :)

thyrsus 14y ago

My Google-foo is usually pretty good, because I usually understand the conceptual framework within which I'm looking for a detail. This is not the case with the X11 system. The last reasonable overview I'm familiar with is the O'Reilly X System Administrators Guide ( http://www.amazon.com/Windows-System-Administrators-Definitive-Guides/dp/0937175838 http://www.amazon.com/Windows-System-Administrators-Definiti... ) from 1992 (volumes 1-7 are mostly about protocol details, primitives and libraries). Things introduced since then are a jumble to me. What should I read for an update? I'm mostly in the Red Hat/Fedora ecosystem, which includes a multitude of upper layers.