On Thu, Dec 31, 2020 at 12:39:21PM -0500, Steve Litt wrote:
> On Thu, 31 Dec 2020 12:21:47 -0500
> Hendrik Boom <hendrik@???> wrote:
>
> > On Thu, Dec 31, 2020 at 11:53:51AM -0500, Steve Litt wrote:
> > >
> > > <rant>
> > > It didn't have to be this way. In 2020, better alternatives could
> > > have been made. If I were the project manager, the first thing I'd
> > > do is uncouple keyboard, mouse and video from each other. Why X has
> > > anything to do with keyboard or mouse is beyond me.
> >
> > Perhaps because X was originally a means of having a graphical user
> > interface to multiple machines over a network. Which usualy involves
> > a screen, keyboard, and mouse.
> >
> > Each X window could be talking to a different computer. It mattered
> > which computer your keystrokes went to.
>
> Yes, but that doesn't preclude three or more separate pieces of
> software: One for the screen, one for the keyboard, and one for the
> mouse. There can be others as input devices are added. There could even
> be a struct that passes a pointer to each of those three (or more).

The X server would still have to take the keystrokes, see which window was
active and sent those keystrokes to the remote machine using that window. That
connects them together.

Not clear what would be the advantage in using separate channels except maybe
achieving confusion in the order of clicks and keybard events.

When the remote machine gets these clicks and events, it can do what it pleases
with them. There was even a provision for having a window manager (which could
run on a third machine) and intervene in the conversations.

But when the X inventors did this, they left out audio. I can connect to a
remote host, run a media player, and never hear the sound, because it's playing
on the remote host.

-- hendrik

>
> SteveT
>
> Steve Litt
> Autumn 2020 featured book: Thriving in Tough Times
> http://www.troubleshooters.com/thrive
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