Re: Adjusting the 2.4 schedule (cursors)

[Keith Packard <keithp keithp com>]

Around 11 o'clock on Jun 24, Owen Taylor wrote:

> - X cursor support for GTK+

I'd like to see at least a preliminary outline of a spec for a set of 
standard cursor names and how they map to the existing core cursor 
numbers.  Without that, we're left with the current disaster where cursor 
themes require far too many cursors to implement reasonably.  We'll need
rough semantic descriptions for the HIG as well.  Here's a short list, 
perhaps we can keep it brief and reduce the number of different cursors 
that appear on the screen for most application uses:

Pointer.	Default cursor.  Indicates the interface is idle and prepared
		to accept commands from the user.  Used to manipulate basic
		user interface elements like buttons and scrollbars.

Text.		Text input cursor.  Indicates the cursor is in a region which
		can select text and possibly edit text.

Busy.		Busy cursor.  Indicates the interface is not prepared to
		accept commands from the user and is blocked on some
		external resource.

Pointer+Busy.	Default cursor + busy cursor.  Indicates a pending activity
		which may asycnhronously affect the interface but which
		is not blocking commands from the user.

Grab.		Manipulation cursor.  Indicates the interface is engaged in
		direct manipulation of some visible representation of
		an object.

Silly.		Ridiculous cursor.  Indicates that the interface is intent
		on provoking the user with arbitrary and capricious responses.

A simple mapping from X cursors to these names:

	Pointer		<->	left_ptr
	Text		<->	xterm
	Busy		<->	watch
	Pointer+Busy	<->	left_ptr
	Grab		<->	hand1
	Silly		<->	gumby

A secondary list of 'optional' cursors could then be created to include 
things like paint tools and resize handles; I'd like to make sure that the 
use of these optional cursors was restricted somehow so that they didn't 
appear except where the additional information provided was justified.

We would map the remaining core X cursors (and legacy bitmap cursors) to
these standard cursors so that a simple cursor theme could capture legacy
applications completely.

The Xcursor library is (nearly) ready for independent release, so 2.4 
could require a more recent version of that library than shipped with 
XFree86 4.3.

-keith