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\&
.sp 1
.ce 3
\s+1\fBChapter 11\fP\s-1
\s+1\fBEvent Handling Functions\fP\s-1
.sp 2
.nr H1 11
.nr H2 0
.nr H3 0
.nr H4 0
.nr H5 0
.na
.LP
.XS
Chapter 11: Event Handling Functions
.XE
This chapter discusses the Xlib functions you can use to:
.IP \(bu 5
Select events
.IP \(bu 5
Handle the output buffer and the event queue
.IP \(bu 5
Select events from the event queue
.IP \(bu 5
Send and get events
.IP \(bu 5
Handle protocol errors
.NT Note
Some toolkits use their own event-handling functions
and do not allow you to interchange these event-handling functions
with those in Xlib.
For further information,
see the documentation supplied with the toolkit.
.NE
.LP
Most applications simply are event loops:
they wait for an event, decide what to do with it,
execute some amount of code that results in changes to the display,
and then wait for the next event.
.NH 2
Selecting Events
.XS
\*(SN Selecting Events
.XE
.LP
There are two ways to select the events you want reported to your client
application.
One way is to set the event_mask member of the
.PN XSetWindowAttributes
structure when you call
.PN XCreateWindow
and
.PN XChangeWindowAttributes .
Another way is to use
.PN XSelectInput .
.IN "XSelectInput" "" "@DEF@"
.sM
.FD 0
XSelectInput\^(\^\fIdisplay\fP, \fIw\fP\^, \fIevent_mask\fP\^)
.br
Display *\fIdisplay\fP\^;
.br
Window \fIw\fP\^;
.br
long \fIevent_mask\fP\^;
.FN
.IP \fIdisplay\fP 1i
Specifies the connection to the X server.
.ds Wi whose events you are interested in
.IP \fIw\fP 1i
Specifies the window \*(Wi.
.IP \fIevent_mask\fP 1i
Specifies the event mask.
.LP
.eM
The
.PN XSelectInput
function requests that the X server report the events associated with the
specified event mask.
Initially, X will not report any of these events.
Events are reported relative to a window.
If a window is not interested in a device event, it usually propagates to
the closest ancestor that is interested,
unless the do_not_propagate mask prohibits it.
.IN "Event" "propagation"
.LP
Setting the event-mask attribute of a window overrides any previous call
for the same window but not for other clients.
Multiple clients can select for the same events on the same window
with the following restrictions:
.IP \(bu 5
Multiple clients can select events on the same window because their event masks
are disjoint.
When the X server generates an event, it reports it
to all interested clients.
.IP \(bu 5
Only one client at a time can select
.PN CirculateRequest ,
.PN ConfigureRequest ,
or
.PN MapRequest
events, which are associated with
the event mask
.PN SubstructureRedirectMask .
.IP \(bu 5
Only one client at a time can select
a
.PN ResizeRequest
event, which is associated with
the event mask
.PN ResizeRedirectMask .
.IP \(bu 5
Only one client at a time can select a
.PN ButtonPress
event, which is associated with
the event mask
.PN ButtonPressMask .
.LP
The server reports the event to all interested clients.
.LP
.PN XSelectInput
can generate a
.PN BadWindow
error.
.NH 2
Handling the Output Buffer
.XS
\*(SN Handling the Output Buffer
.XE
.LP
The output buffer is an area used by Xlib to store requests.
The functions described in this section flush the output buffer
if the function would block or not return an event.
That is, all requests residing in the output buffer that
have not yet been sent are transmitted to the X server.
These functions differ in the additional tasks they might perform.
.LP
.sp
To flush the output buffer, use
.PN XFlush .
.IN "XFlush" "" "@DEF@"
.sM
.FD 0
XFlush\^(\^\fIdisplay\fP\^)
.br
Display *\fIdisplay\fP\^;
.FN
.IP \fIdisplay\fP 1i
Specifies the connection to the X server.
.LP
.eM
The
.PN XFlush
function
flushes the output buffer.
Most client applications need not use this function because the output
buffer is automatically flushed as needed by calls to
.PN XPending ,
.PN XNextEvent ,
and
.PN XWindowEvent .
.IN "XPending"
.IN "XNextEvent"
.IN "XWindowEvent"
Events generated by the server may be enqueued into the library's event queue.
.LP
.sp
To flush the output buffer and then wait until all requests have been processed,
use
.PN XSync .
.IN "XSync" "" "@DEF@"
.sM
.FD 0
XSync\^(\^\fIdisplay\fP, \fIdiscard\fP\^)
.br
Display *\fIdisplay\fP\^;
.br
Bool \fIdiscard\fP\^;
.FN
.IP \fIdisplay\fP 1i
Specifies the connection to the X server.
.IP \fIdiscard\fP 1i
Specifies a Boolean value that indicates whether
.PN XSync
discards all events on the event queue.
.LP
.eM
The
.PN XSync
function
flushes the output buffer and then waits until all requests have been received
and processed by the X server.
Any errors generated must be handled by the error handler.
For each protocol error received by Xlib,
.PN XSync
calls the client application's error handling routine (see section 11.8.2).
Any events generated by the server are enqueued into the library's
event queue.
.LP
Finally, if you passed
.PN False ,
.PN XSync
does not discard the events in the queue.
If you passed
.PN True ,
.PN XSync
discards all events in the queue,
including those events that were on the queue before
.PN XSync
was called.
Client applications seldom need to call
.PN XSync .
.NH 2
Event Queue Management
.XS
\*(SN Event Queue Management
.XE
.LP
Xlib maintains an event queue.
However, the operating system also may be buffering data
in its network connection that is not yet read into the event queue.
.LP
.sp
To check the number of events in the event queue, use
.PN XEventsQueued .
.IN "XEventsQueued" "" "@DEF@"
.sM
.FD 0
int XEventsQueued\^(\^\fIdisplay\fP, \fImode\fP\^)
.br
Display *\fIdisplay\fP\^;
.br
int \fImode\fP\^;
.FN
.IP \fIdisplay\fP 1i
Specifies the connection to the X server.
.IP \fImode\fP 1i
Specifies the mode.
You can pass
.PN QueuedAlready ,
.PN QueuedAfterFlush ,
or
.PN QueuedAfterReading .
.LP
.eM
If mode is
.PN QueuedAlready ,
.PN XEventsQueued
returns the number of events
already in the event queue (and never performs a system call).
If mode is
.PN QueuedAfterFlush ,
.PN XEventsQueued
returns the number of events already in the queue if the number is nonzero.
If there are no events in the queue,
.PN XEventsQueued
flushes the output buffer,
attempts to read more events out of the application's connection,
and returns the number read.
If mode is
.PN QueuedAfterReading ,
.PN XEventsQueued
returns the number of events already in the queue if the number is nonzero.
If there are no events in the queue,
.PN XEventsQueued
attempts to read more events out of the application's connection
without flushing the output buffer and returns the number read.
.LP
.PN XEventsQueued
always returns immediately without I/O if there are events already in the
queue.
.PN XEventsQueued
with mode
.PN QueuedAfterFlush
is identical in behavior to
.PN XPending .
.PN XEventsQueued
with mode
.PN QueuedAlready
is identical to the
.PN XQLength
function.
.LP
.sp
To return the number of events that are pending, use
.PN XPending .
.IN "XPending" "" "@DEF@"
.sM
.FD 0
int XPending\^(\^\fIdisplay\fP\^)
.br
Display *\fIdisplay\fP\^;
.FN
.IP \fIdisplay\fP 1i
Specifies the connection to the X server.
.LP
.eM
The
.PN XPending
function returns the number of events that have been received from the
X server but have not been removed from the event queue.
.PN XPending
is identical to
.PN XEventsQueued
with the mode
.PN QueuedAfterFlush
specified.
.NH 2
Manipulating the Event Queue
.XS
\*(SN Manipulating the Event Queue
.XE
.LP
Xlib provides functions that let you manipulate the event queue.
This section discusses how to:
.IP \(bu 5
Obtain events, in order, and remove them from the queue
.IP \(bu 5
Peek at events in the queue without removing them
.IP \(bu 5
Obtain events that match the event mask or the arbitrary
predicate procedures that you provide
.NH 3
Returning the Next Event
.XS
\*(SN Returning the Next Event
.XE
.LP
To get the next event and remove it from the queue, use
.PN XNextEvent .
.IN "XNextEvent" "" "@DEF@"
.sM
.FD 0
XNextEvent\^(\^\fIdisplay\fP, \fIevent_return\fP\^)
.br
Display *\fIdisplay\fP\^;
.br
XEvent *\fIevent_return\fP\^;
.FN
.IP \fIdisplay\fP 1i
Specifies the connection to the X server.
.IP \fIevent_return\fP 1i
Returns the next event in the queue.
.LP
.eM
The
.PN XNextEvent
function copies the first event from the event queue into the specified
.PN XEvent
structure and then removes it from the queue.
If the event queue is empty,
.PN XNextEvent
flushes the output buffer and blocks until an event is received.
.LP
.sp
To peek at the event queue, use
.PN XPeekEvent .
.IN "XPeekEvent" "" "@DEF@"
.sM
.FD 0
XPeekEvent\^(\^\fIdisplay\fP, \fIevent_return\fP\^)
.br
Display *\fIdisplay\fP\^;
.br
XEvent *\fIevent_return\fP\^;
.FN
.IP \fIdisplay\fP 1i
Specifies the connection to the X server.
.IP \fIevent_return\fP 1i
Returns a copy of the matched event's associated structure.
.LP
.eM
The
.PN XPeekEvent
function returns the first event from the event queue,
but it does not remove the event from the queue.
If the queue is empty,
.PN XPeekEvent
flushes the output buffer and blocks until an event is received.
It then copies the event into the client-supplied
.PN XEvent
structure without removing it from the event queue.
.NH 3
Selecting Events Using a Predicate Procedure
.XS
\*(SN Selecting Events Using a Predicate Procedure
.XE
.LP
Each of the functions discussed in this section requires you to
pass a predicate procedure that determines if an event matches
what you want.
Your predicate procedure must decide if the event is useful
without calling any Xlib functions.
If the predicate directly or indirectly causes the state of the event queue
to change, the result is not defined.
If Xlib has been initialized for threads, the predicate is called with
the display locked and the result of a call by the predicate to any
Xlib function that locks the display is not defined unless the caller
has first called
.PN XLockDisplay .
.LP
The predicate procedure and its associated arguments are:
.sM
.FD 0
Bool (\^*\fIpredicate\fP\^)\^(\^\fIdisplay\fP, \fIevent\fP, \fIarg\fP\^)
.br
Display *\fIdisplay\fP\^;
.br
XEvent *\fIevent\fP\^;
.br
XPointer \fIarg\fP\^;
.FN
.IP \fIdisplay\fP 1i
Specifies the connection to the X server.
.IP \fIevent\fP 1i
Specifies the
.PN XEvent
structure.
.IP \fIarg\fP 1i
Specifies the argument passed in from the
.PN XIfEvent ,
.PN XCheckIfEvent ,
or
.PN XPeekIfEvent
function.
.LP
.eM
The predicate procedure is called once for each
event in the queue until it finds a match.
After finding a match, the predicate procedure must return
.PN True .
If it did not find a match, it must return
.PN False .
.LP
.sp
To check the event queue for a matching event
and, if found, remove the event from the queue, use
.PN XIfEvent .
.IN "XIfEvent" "" "@DEF@"
.sM
.FD 0
XIfEvent\^(\^\fIdisplay\fP, \fIevent_return\fP, \fIpredicate\fP, \fIarg\fP\^)
.br
Display *\fIdisplay\fP\^;
.br
XEvent *\fIevent_return\fP\^;
.br
Bool (\^*\fIpredicate\fP\^)\^(\^)\^;
.br
XPointer \fIarg\fP\^;
.FN
.IP \fIdisplay\fP 1i
Specifies the connection to the X server.
.IP \fIevent_return\fP 1i
Returns the matched event's associated structure.
.IP \fIpredicate\fP 1i
Specifies the procedure that is to be called to determine
if the next event in the queue matches what you want.
.IP \fIarg\fP 1i
Specifies the user-supplied argument that will be passed to the predicate procedure.
.LP
.eM
The
.PN XIfEvent
function completes only when the specified predicate
procedure returns
.PN True
for an event,
which indicates an event in the queue matches.
.PN XIfEvent
flushes the output buffer if it blocks waiting for additional events.
.PN XIfEvent
removes the matching event from the queue
and copies the structure into the client-supplied
.PN XEvent
structure.
.LP
.sp
To check the event queue for a matching event without blocking, use
.PN XCheckIfEvent .
.IN "XCheckIfEvent" "" "@DEF@"
.sM
.FD 0
Bool XCheckIfEvent\^(\^\fIdisplay\fP, \fIevent_return\fP, \fIpredicate\fP, \fIarg\fP\^)
.br
Display *\fIdisplay\fP\^;
.br
XEvent *\fIevent_return\fP\^;
.br
Bool (\^*\fIpredicate\fP\^)\^(\^)\^;
.br
XPointer \fIarg\fP\^;
.FN
.IP \fIdisplay\fP 1i
Specifies the connection to the X server.
.IP \fIevent_return\fP 1i
Returns a copy of the matched event's associated structure.
.IP \fIpredicate\fP 1i
Specifies the procedure that is to be called to determine
if the next event in the queue matches what you want.
.IP \fIarg\fP 1i
Specifies the user-supplied argument that will be passed to the predicate procedure.
.LP
.eM
When the predicate procedure finds a match,
.PN XCheckIfEvent
copies the matched event into the client-supplied
.PN XEvent
structure and returns
.PN True .
(This event is removed from the queue.)
If the predicate procedure finds no match,
.PN XCheckIfEvent
returns
.PN False ,
and the output buffer will have been flushed.
All earlier events stored in the queue are not discarded.
.LP
.sp
To check the event queue for a matching event
without removing the event from the queue, use
.PN XPeekIfEvent .
.IN "XPeekIfEvent" "" "@DEF@"
.sM
.FD 0
XPeekIfEvent\^(\^\fIdisplay\fP, \fIevent_return\fP, \fIpredicate\fP, \fIarg\fP\^)
.br
Display *\fIdisplay\fP\^;
.br
XEvent *\fIevent_return\fP\^;
.br
Bool (\^*\fIpredicate\fP\^)\^(\^)\^;
.br
XPointer \fIarg\fP\^;
.FN
.IP \fIdisplay\fP 1i
Specifies the connection to the X server.
.IP \fIevent_return\fP 1i
Returns a copy of the matched event's associated structure.
.IP \fIpredicate\fP 1i
Specifies the procedure that is to be called to determine
if the next event in the queue matches what you want.
.IP \fIarg\fP 1i
Specifies the user-supplied argument that will be passed to the predicate procedure.
.LP
.eM
The
.PN XPeekIfEvent
function returns only when the specified predicate
procedure returns
.PN True
for an event.
After the predicate procedure finds a match,
.PN XPeekIfEvent
copies the matched event into the client-supplied
.PN XEvent
structure without removing the event from the queue.
.PN XPeekIfEvent
flushes the output buffer if it blocks waiting for additional events.
.NH 3
Selecting Events Using a Window or Event Mask
.XS
\*(SN Selecting Events Using a Window or Event Mask
.XE
.LP
The functions discussed in this section let you select events by window
or event types, allowing you to process events out of order.
.LP
.sp
To remove the next event that matches both a window and an event mask, use
.PN XWindowEvent .
.IN "XWindowEvent" "" "@DEF@"
.sM
.FD 0
XWindowEvent\^(\^\fIdisplay\fP, \fIw\fP\^, \fIevent_mask\fP\^, \fIevent_return\fP\^)
.br
Display *\fIdisplay\fP\^;
.br
Window \fIw\fP\^;
.br
long \fIevent_mask\fP\^;
.br
XEvent *\fIevent_return\fP\^;
.FN
.IP \fIdisplay\fP 1i
Specifies the connection to the X server.
.ds Wi whose events you are interested in
.IP \fIw\fP 1i
Specifies the window \*(Wi.
.IP \fIevent_mask\fP 1i
Specifies the event mask.
.IP \fIevent_return\fP 1i
Returns the matched event's associated structure.
.LP
.eM
The
.PN XWindowEvent
function searches the event queue for an event that matches both the specified
window and event mask.
When it finds a match,
.PN XWindowEvent
removes that event from the queue and copies it into the specified
.PN XEvent
structure.
The other events stored in the queue are not discarded.
If a matching event is not in the queue,
.PN XWindowEvent
flushes the output buffer and blocks until one is received.
.LP
.sp
To remove the next event that matches both a window and an event mask (if any),
use
.PN XCheckWindowEvent .
.IN "XCheckWindowEvent"
This function is similar to
.PN XWindowEvent
except that it never blocks and it returns a
.PN Bool
indicating if the event was returned.
.IN "XCheckWindowEvent" "" "@DEF@"
.sM
.FD 0
Bool XCheckWindowEvent\^(\^\fIdisplay\fP, \fIw\fP\^, \fIevent_mask\fP\^, \fIevent_return\fP\^)
.br
Display *\fIdisplay\fP\^;
.br
Window \fIw\fP\^;
.br
long \fIevent_mask\fP\^;
.br
XEvent *\fIevent_return\fP\^;
.FN
.IP \fIdisplay\fP 1i
Specifies the connection to the X server.
.ds Wi whose events you are interested in
.IP \fIw\fP 1i
Specifies the window \*(Wi.
.IP \fIevent_mask\fP 1i
Specifies the event mask.
.IP \fIevent_return\fP 1i
Returns the matched event's associated structure.
.LP
.eM
The
.PN XCheckWindowEvent
function searches the event queue and then the events available
on the server connection for the first event that matches the specified window
and event mask.
If it finds a match,
.PN XCheckWindowEvent
removes that event, copies it into the specified
.PN XEvent
structure, and returns
.PN True .
The other events stored in the queue are not discarded.
If the event you requested is not available,
.PN XCheckWindowEvent
returns
.PN False ,
and the output buffer will have been flushed.
.LP
.sp
To remove the next event that matches an event mask, use
.PN XMaskEvent .
.IN "XMaskEvent" "" "@DEF@"
.sM
.FD 0
XMaskEvent\^(\^\fIdisplay\fP, \fIevent_mask\fP\^, \fIevent_return\fP\^)
.br
Display *\fIdisplay\fP\^;
.br
long \fIevent_mask\fP\^;
.br
XEvent *\fIevent_return\fP\^;
.FN
.IP \fIdisplay\fP 1i
Specifies the connection to the X server.
.IP \fIevent_mask\fP 1i
Specifies the event mask.
.IP \fIevent_return\fP 1i
Returns the matched event's associated structure.
.LP
.eM
The
.PN XMaskEvent
function searches the event queue for the events associated with the
specified mask.
When it finds a match,
.PN XMaskEvent
removes that event and copies it into the specified
.PN XEvent
structure.
The other events stored in the queue are not discarded.
If the event you requested is not in the queue,
.PN XMaskEvent
flushes the output buffer and blocks until one is received.
.LP
.sp
To return and remove the next event that matches an event mask (if any), use
.PN XCheckMaskEvent .
This function is similar to
.PN XMaskEvent
except that it never blocks and it returns a
.PN Bool
indicating if the event was returned.
.IN "XCheckMaskEvent" "" "@DEF@"
.sM
.FD 0
Bool XCheckMaskEvent\^(\^\fIdisplay\fP, \fIevent_mask\fP\^, \fIevent_return\fP\^)
.br
Display *\fIdisplay\fP\^;
.br
long \fIevent_mask\fP\^;
.br
XEvent *\fIevent_return\fP\^;
.FN
.IP \fIdisplay\fP 1i
Specifies the connection to the X server.
.IP \fIevent_mask\fP 1i
Specifies the event mask.
.IP \fIevent_return\fP 1i
Returns the matched event's associated structure.
.LP
.eM
The
.PN XCheckMaskEvent
function searches the event queue and then any events available on the
server connection for the first event that matches the specified mask.
If it finds a match,
.PN XCheckMaskEvent
removes that event, copies it into the specified
.PN XEvent
structure, and returns
.PN True .
The other events stored in the queue are not discarded.
If the event you requested is not available,
.PN XCheckMaskEvent
returns
.PN False ,
and the output buffer will have been flushed.
.LP
.sp
To return and remove the next event in the queue that matches an event type, use
.PN XCheckTypedEvent .
.IN "XCheckTypedEvent" "" "@DEF@"
.sM
.FD 0
Bool XCheckTypedEvent\^(\^\fIdisplay\fP, \fIevent_type\fP\^, \fIevent_return\fP\^)
.br
Display *\fIdisplay\fP\^;
.br
int \fIevent_type\fP\^;
.br
XEvent *\fIevent_return\fP\^;
.FN
.IP \fIdisplay\fP 1i
Specifies the connection to the X server.
.IP \fIevent_type\fP 1i
Specifies the event type to be compared.
.IP \fIevent_return\fP 1i
Returns the matched event's associated structure.
.LP
.eM
The
.PN XCheckTypedEvent
function searches the event queue and then any events available
on the server connection for the first event that matches the specified type.
If it finds a match,
.PN XCheckTypedEvent
removes that event, copies it into the specified
.PN XEvent
structure, and returns
.PN True .
The other events in the queue are not discarded.
If the event is not available,
.PN XCheckTypedEvent
returns
.PN False ,
and the output buffer will have been flushed.
.LP
.sp
To return and remove the next event in the queue that matches an event type
and a window, use
.PN XCheckTypedWindowEvent .
.IN "XCheckTypedWindowEvent" "" "@DEF@"
.sM
.FD 0
Bool XCheckTypedWindowEvent\^(\^\fIdisplay\fP, \fIw\fP\^, \fIevent_type\fP\^, \fIevent_return\fP\^)
.br
Display *\fIdisplay\fP\^;
.br
Window \fIw\fP\^;
.br
int \fIevent_type\fP\^;
.br
XEvent *\fIevent_return\fP\^;
.FN
.IP \fIdisplay\fP 1i
Specifies the connection to the X server.
.IP \fIw\fP 1i
Specifies the window.
.IP \fIevent_type\fP 1i
Specifies the event type to be compared.
.IP \fIevent_return\fP 1i
Returns the matched event's associated structure.
.LP
.eM
The
.PN XCheckTypedWindowEvent
function searches the event queue and then any events available
on the server connection for the first event that matches the specified
type and window.
If it finds a match,
.PN XCheckTypedWindowEvent
removes the event from the queue, copies it into the specified
.PN XEvent
structure, and returns
.PN True .
The other events in the queue are not discarded.
If the event is not available,
.PN XCheckTypedWindowEvent
returns
.PN False ,
and the output buffer will have been flushed.
.NH 2
Putting an Event Back into the Queue
.XS
\*(SN Putting an Event Back into the Queue
.XE
.LP
To push an event back into the event queue, use
.PN XPutBackEvent .
.IN "XPutBackEvent" "" "@DEF@"
.sM
.FD 0
XPutBackEvent\^(\^\fIdisplay\fP, \fIevent\fP\^)
.br
Display *\fIdisplay\fP\^;
.br
XEvent *\fIevent\fP\^;
.FN
.IP \fIdisplay\fP 1i
Specifies the connection to the X server.
.IP \fIevent\fP 1i
Specifies the event.
.LP
.eM
The
.PN XPutBackEvent
function pushes an event back onto the head of the display's event queue
by copying the event into the queue.
This can be useful if you read an event and then decide that you
would rather deal with it later.
There is no limit to the number of times in succession that you can call
.PN XPutBackEvent .
.NH 2
Sending Events to Other Applications
.XS
\*(SN Sending Events to Other Applications
.XE
.LP
To send an event to a specified window, use
.PN XSendEvent .
.IN "XSendEvent"
This function is often used in selection processing.
For example, the owner of a selection should use
.PN XSendEvent
to send a
.PN SelectionNotify
event to a requestor when a selection has been converted
and stored as a property.
.IN "XSendEvent" "" "@DEF@"
.sM
.FD 0
Status XSendEvent\^(\^\fIdisplay\fP, \fIw\fP\^, \fIpropagate\fP\^, \fIevent_mask\fP\^, \fIevent_send\fP\^)
.br
Display *\fIdisplay\fP\^;
.br
Window \fIw\fP\^;
.br
Bool \fIpropagate\fP\^;
.br
long \fIevent_mask\fP\^;
.br
XEvent *\fIevent_send\fP\^;
.FN
.IP \fIdisplay\fP 1i
Specifies the connection to the X server.
.IP \fIw\fP 1i
Specifies the window the event is to be sent to, or
.PN PointerWindow ,
or
.PN InputFocus .
.IP \fIpropagate\fP 1i
Specifies a Boolean value.
.IP \fIevent_mask\fP 1i
Specifies the event mask.
.IP \fIevent_send\fP 1i
Specifies the event that is to be sent.
.LP
.eM
The
.PN XSendEvent
function identifies the destination window,
determines which clients should receive the specified events,
and ignores any active grabs.
This function requires you to pass an event mask.
For a discussion of the valid event mask names,
see section 10.3.
This function uses the w argument to identify the destination window as follows:
.IP \(bu 5
If w is
.PN PointerWindow ,
the destination window is the window that contains the pointer.
.IP \(bu 5
If w is
.PN InputFocus
and if the focus window contains the pointer,
the destination window is the window that contains the pointer;
otherwise, the destination window is the focus window.
.LP
To determine which clients should receive the specified events,
.PN XSendEvent
uses the propagate argument as follows:
.IP \(bu 5
If event_mask is the empty set,
the event is sent to the client that created the destination window.
If that client no longer exists,
no event is sent.
.IP \(bu 5
If propagate is
.PN False ,
the event is sent to every client selecting on destination any of the event
types in the event_mask argument.
.IP \(bu 5
If propagate is
.PN True
and no clients have selected on destination any of
the event types in event-mask, the destination is replaced with the
closest ancestor of destination for which some client has selected a
type in event-mask and for which no intervening window has that type in its
do-not-propagate-mask.
If no such window exists or if the window is
an ancestor of the focus window and
.PN InputFocus
was originally specified
as the destination, the event is not sent to any clients.
Otherwise, the event is reported to every client selecting on the final
destination any of the types specified in event_mask.
.LP
The event in the
.PN XEvent
structure must be one of the core events or one of the events
defined by an extension (or a
.PN BadValue
error results) so that the X server can correctly byte-swap
the contents as necessary.
The contents of the event are
otherwise unaltered and unchecked by the X server except to force send_event to
.PN True
in the forwarded event and to set the serial number in the event correctly;
therefore these fields
and the display field are ignored by
.PN XSendEvent .
.LP
.PN XSendEvent
returns zero if the conversion to wire protocol format failed
and returns nonzero otherwise.
.LP
.PN XSendEvent
can generate
.PN BadValue
and
.PN BadWindow
errors.
.NH 2
Getting Pointer Motion History
.XS
\*(SN Getting Pointer Motion History
.XE
.LP
Some X server implementations will maintain a more complete
history of pointer motion than is reported by event notification.
The pointer position at each pointer hardware interrupt may be
stored in a buffer for later retrieval.
This buffer is called the motion history buffer.
For example, a few applications, such as paint programs,
want to have a precise history of where the pointer
traveled.
However, this historical information is highly excessive for most applications.
.LP
.sp
To determine the approximate maximum number of elements in the motion buffer,
use
.PN XDisplayMotionBufferSize .
.IN "XDisplayMotionBufferSize" "" "@DEF@"
.sM
.FD 0
unsigned long XDisplayMotionBufferSize\^(\^\fIdisplay\fP\^)
.br
Display *\fIdisplay\fP\^;
.FN
.IP \fIdisplay\fP 1i
Specifies the connection to the X server.
.LP
.eM
The server may retain the recent history of the pointer motion
and do so to a finer granularity than is reported by
.PN MotionNotify
events.
The
.PN XGetMotionEvents
function makes this history available.
.LP
.sp
To get the motion history for a specified window and time, use
.PN XGetMotionEvents .
.IN "XGetMotionEvents" "" "@DEF@"
.sM
.FD 0
XTimeCoord *XGetMotionEvents\^(\^\fIdisplay\fP, \fIw\fP\^, \fIstart\fP\^, \fIstop\fP\^, \fInevents_return\fP\^)
.br
Display *\fIdisplay\fP\^;
.br
Window \fIw\fP\^;
.br
Time \fIstart\fP\^, \fIstop\fP\^;
.br
int *\fInevents_return\fP\^;
.FN
.IP \fIdisplay\fP 1i
Specifies the connection to the X server.
.IP \fIw\fP 1i
Specifies the window.
.IP \fIstart\fP 1i
.br
.ns
.IP \fIstop\fP 1i
Specify the time interval in which the events are returned from the motion
history buffer.
You can pass a timestamp or
.PN CurrentTime .
.IP \fInevents_return\fP 1i
Returns the number of events from the motion history buffer.
.LP
.eM
The
.PN XGetMotionEvents
function returns all events in the motion history buffer that fall between the
specified start and stop times, inclusive, and that have coordinates
that lie within the specified window (including its borders) at its present
placement.
If the server does not support motion history,
if the start time is later than the stop time,
or if the start time is in the future,
no events are returned;
.PN XGetMotionEvents
returns NULL.
If the stop time is in the future, it is equivalent to specifying
.PN CurrentTime .
The return type for this function is a structure defined as follows:
.LP
.IN "XTimeCoord" "" "@DEF@"
.sM
.Ds 0
.TA .5i
.ta .5i
typedef struct {
Time time;
short x, y;
} XTimeCoord;
.De
.LP
.eM
The time member is set to the time, in milliseconds.
The x and y members are set to the coordinates of the pointer and
are reported relative to the origin
of the specified window.
To free the data returned from this call, use
.PN XFree .
.LP
.PN XGetMotionEvents
can generate a
.PN BadWindow
error.
.NH 2
Handling Protocol Errors
.XS
\*(SN Handling Protocol Errors
.XE
.LP
Xlib provides functions that you can use to enable or disable synchronization
and to use the default error handlers.
.NH 3
Enabling or Disabling Synchronization
.XS
\*(SN Enabling or Disabling Synchronization
.XE
.LP
When debugging X applications,
it often is very convenient to require Xlib to behave synchronously
so that errors are reported as they occur.
The following function lets you disable or enable synchronous behavior.
Note that graphics may occur 30 or more times more slowly when
synchronization is enabled.
.IN "_Xdebug"
On POSIX-conformant systems,
there is also a global variable
.PN _Xdebug
that, if set to nonzero before starting a program under a debugger, will force
synchronous library behavior.
.LP
After completing their work,
all Xlib functions that generate protocol requests call what is known as
an after function.
.PN XSetAfterFunction
sets which function is to be called.
.IN "XSetAfterFunction" "" "@DEF@"
.sM
.FD 0
int (*XSetAfterFunction\^(\^\fIdisplay\fP, \fIprocedure\fP\^))()
.br
Display *\fIdisplay\fP\^;
.br
int (\^*\^\fIprocedure\fP\^)\^();
.FN
.IP \fIdisplay\fP 1i
Specifies the connection to the X server.
.IP \fIprocedure\fP 1i
Specifies the procedure to be called.
.LP
.eM
The specified procedure is called with only a display pointer.
.PN XSetAfterFunction
returns the previous after function.
.LP
To enable or disable synchronization, use
.PN XSynchronize .
.IN "Debugging" "synchronous mode"
.IN "XSynchronize" "" "@DEF@"
.sM
.FD 0
int (*XSynchronize\^(\^\fIdisplay\fP, \fIonoff\fP\^)\^)()
.br
Display *\fIdisplay\fP\^;
.br
Bool \fIonoff\fP\^;
.FN
.IP \fIdisplay\fP 1i
Specifies the connection to the X server.
.IP \fIonoff\fP 1i
Specifies a Boolean value that indicates whether to enable
or disable synchronization.
.LP
.eM
The
.PN XSynchronize
function returns
the previous after function.
If onoff is
.PN True ,
.PN XSynchronize
turns on synchronous behavior.
If onoff is
.PN False ,
.PN XSynchronize
turns off synchronous behavior.
.NH 3
Using the Default Error Handlers
.XS
\*(SN Using the Default Error Handlers
.XE
.LP
.IN "Debugging" "error handlers"
.IN "Error" "handlers"
There are two default error handlers in Xlib:
one to handle typically fatal conditions (for example,
the connection to a display server dying because a machine crashed)
and one to handle protocol errors from the X server.
These error handlers can be changed to user-supplied routines if you
prefer your own error handling and can be changed as often as you like.
If either function is passed a NULL pointer, it will
reinvoke the default handler.
The action of the default handlers is to print an explanatory
message and exit.
.LP
.sp
To set the error handler, use
.PN XSetErrorHandler .
.IN "XSetErrorHandler" "" "@DEF@"
.sM
.FD 0
int (*XSetErrorHandler\^(\^\fIhandler\fP\^)\^)\^(\^)
.br
int (\^*\^\fIhandler\fP\^)\^(Display *, XErrorEvent *)
.FN
.IP \fIhandler\fP 1i
Specifies the program's supplied error handler.
.LP
.eM
Xlib generally calls the program's
supplied error handler whenever an error is received.
It is not called on
.PN BadName
errors from
.PN OpenFont ,
.PN LookupColor ,
or
.PN AllocNamedColor
protocol requests or on
.PN BadFont
errors from a
.PN QueryFont
protocol request.
These errors generally are reflected back to the program through the
procedural interface.
Because this condition is not assumed to be fatal,
it is acceptable for your error handler to return;
the returned value is ignored.
However, the error handler should not
call any functions (directly or indirectly) on the display
that will generate protocol requests or that will look for input events.
The previous error handler is returned.
.LP
The
.PN XErrorEvent
structure contains:
.IN "Debugging" "error event"
.LP
.IN "XErrorEvent" "" "@DEF"
.Ds 0
.TA .5i 2.5i
.ta .5i 2.5i
typedef struct {
int type;
Display *display; /* Display the event was read from */
unsigned long serial; /* serial number of failed request */
unsigned char error_code; /* error code of failed request */
unsigned char request_code; /* Major op-code of failed request */
unsigned char minor_code; /* Minor op-code of failed request */
XID resourceid; /* resource id */
} XErrorEvent;
.De
.LP
.IN "Serial Number"
The serial member is the number of requests, starting from one,
sent over the network connection since it was opened.
It is the number that was the value of
.PN NextRequest
immediately before the failing call was made.
The request_code member is a protocol request
of the procedure that failed, as defined in
.hN X11/Xproto.h .
The following error codes can be returned by the functions described in this
chapter:
.br
.ne 13
.IN "Debugging" "error numbers"
.IN "Error" "codes"
.\".CP T 3
.\"Error Codes
.IN "BadAccess" "" "@DEF@"
.IN "BadAlloc" "" "@DEF@"
.IN "BadAtom" "" "@DEF@"
.IN "BadColor" "" "@DEF@"
.IN "BadCursor" "" "@DEF@"
.IN "BadDrawable" "" "@DEF@"
.IN "BadFont" "" "@DEF@"
.IN "BadGC" "" "@DEF@"
.IN "BadIDChoice" "" "@DEF@"
.TS H
l c
lw(1.75i) lw(4i).
_
.sp 6p
.B
Error Code Description
.sp 6p
_
.sp 6p
.TH
.R
T{
.PN BadAccess
T} T{
A client attempts to grab a key/button combination already grabbed
by another client.
.sp 3p
A client attempts to free a colormap entry that it had not already allocated
or to free an entry in a colormap that was created with all entries writable.
.sp 3p
A client attempts to store into a read-only or unallocated colormap entry.
.sp 3p
A client attempts to modify the access control list from other than the local
(or otherwise authorized) host.
.sp 3p
A client attempts to select an event type that another client
has already selected.
T}
.sp 3p
T{
.PN BadAlloc
T} T{
The server fails to allocate the requested resource.
Note that the explicit listing of
.PN BadAlloc
errors in requests only covers allocation errors at a very coarse level
and is not intended to (nor can it in practice hope to) cover all cases of
a server running out of allocation space in the middle of service.
The semantics when a server runs out of allocation space are left unspecified,
but a server may generate a
.PN BadAlloc
error on any request for this reason,
and clients should be prepared to receive such errors and handle or discard
them.
T}
.sp 3p
T{
.PN BadAtom
T} T{
A value for an atom argument does not name a defined atom.
T}
.sp 3p
T{
.PN BadColor
T} T{
A value for a colormap argument does not name a defined colormap.
T}
.sp 3p
T{
.PN BadCursor
T} T{
A value for a cursor argument does not name a defined cursor.
T}
.sp 3p
T{
.PN BadDrawable
T} T{
A value for a drawable argument does not name a defined window or pixmap.
T}
.sp 3p
T{
.PN BadFont
T} T{
A value for a font argument does not name a defined font (or, in some cases,
.PN GContext ).
T}
.sp 3p
T{
.PN BadGC
T} T{
A value for a
.PN GContext
argument does not name a defined
.PN GContext .
T}
.sp 3p
T{
.PN BadIDChoice
T} T{
The value chosen for a resource identifier either is not included in the
range assigned to the client or is already in use.
Under normal circumstances,
this cannot occur and should be considered a server or Xlib error.
T}
.sp 3p
T{
.PN BadImplementation
T} T{
The server does not implement some aspect of the request.
A server that generates this error for a core request is deficient.
As such, this error is not listed for any of the requests,
but clients should be prepared to receive such errors
and handle or discard them.
T}
.sp 3p
T{
.PN BadLength
T} T{
The length of a request is shorter or longer than that required to
contain the arguments.
This is an internal Xlib or server error.
.sp 3p
The length of a request exceeds the maximum length accepted by the server.
T}
.sp 3p
T{
.PN BadMatch
T} T{
In a graphics request,
the root and depth of the graphics context do not match those of the drawable.
.sp 3p
An
.PN InputOnly
window is used as a drawable.
.sp 3p
Some argument or pair of arguments has the correct type and range,
but it fails to match in some other way required by the request.
.sp 3p
An
.PN InputOnly
window lacks this attribute.
T}
.sp 3p
T{
.PN BadName
T} T{
A font or color of the specified name does not exist.
T}
.sp 3p
T{
.PN BadPixmap
T} T{
A value for a pixmap argument does not name a defined pixmap.
T}
.sp 3p
T{
.PN BadRequest
T} T{
The major or minor opcode does not specify a valid request.
This usually is an Xlib or server error.
T}
.sp 3p
T{
.PN BadValue
T} T{
Some numeric value falls outside of the range of values accepted
by the request.
Unless a specific range is specified for an argument,
the full range defined by the argument's type is accepted.
Any argument defined as a set of alternatives typically can generate
this error (due to the encoding).
T}
.sp 3p
T{
.PN BadWindow
T} T{
A value for a window argument does not name a defined window.
T}
.sp 6p
_
.TE
.IN "BadImplementation" "" "@DEF@"
.IN "BadLength" "" "@DEF@"
.IN "BadMatch" "" "@DEF@"
.IN "BadName" "" "@DEF@"
.IN "BadPixmap" "" "@DEF@"
.IN "BadRequest" "" "@DEF@"
.IN "BadValue" "" "@DEF@"
.IN "BadWindow" "" "@DEF@"
.NT Note
The
.PN BadAtom ,
.PN BadColor ,
.PN BadCursor ,
.PN BadDrawable ,
.PN BadFont ,
.PN BadGC ,
.PN BadPixmap ,
and
.PN BadWindow
errors are also used when the argument type is extended by a set of
fixed alternatives.
.NE
.sp
.LP
To obtain textual descriptions of the specified error code, use
.PN XGetErrorText .
.IN "XGetErrorText" "" "@DEF@"
.IN "Debugging" "error message strings"
.sM
.FD 0
XGetErrorText\^(\^\fIdisplay\fP, \fIcode\fP, \fIbuffer_return\fP, \fIlength\fP\^)
.br
Display *\fIdisplay\fP\^;
.br
int \fIcode\fP\^;
.br
char *\fIbuffer_return\fP\^;
.br
int \fIlength\fP\^;
.FN
.IP \fIdisplay\fP 1i
Specifies the connection to the X server.
.IP \fIcode\fP 1i
Specifies the error code for which you want to obtain a description.
.IP \fIbuffer_return\fP 1i
Returns the error description.
.IP \fIlength\fP 1i
Specifies the size of the buffer.
.LP
.eM
The
.PN XGetErrorText
function copies a null-terminated string describing the specified error code
into the specified buffer.
The returned text is in the encoding of the current locale.
It is recommended that you use this function to obtain an error description
because extensions to Xlib may define their own error codes
and error strings.
.LP
.sp
To obtain error messages from the error database, use
.PN XGetErrorDatabaseText .
.IN "XGetErrorDatabaseText" "" "@DEF@"
.sM
.FD 0
XGetErrorDatabaseText\^(\^\fIdisplay\fP, \fIname\fP, \fImessage\fP, \fIdefault_string\fP, \fIbuffer_return\fP, \fIlength\fP\^)
.br
Display *\fIdisplay\fP\^;
.br
char *\fIname\fP, *\fImessage\fP\^;
.br
char *\fIdefault_string\fP\^;
.br
char *\fIbuffer_return\fP\^;
.br
int \fIlength\fP\^;
.FN
.IP \fIdisplay\fP 1i
Specifies the connection to the X server.
.IP \fIname\fP 1i
Specifies the name of the application.
.IP \fImessage\fP 1i
Specifies the type of the error message.
.IP \fIdefault_string\fP 1i
Specifies the default error message if none is found in the database.
.IP \fIbuffer_return\fP 1i
Returns the error description.
.IP \fIlength\fP 1i
Specifies the size of the buffer.
.LP
.eM
The
.PN XGetErrorDatabaseText
function returns a null-terminated message
(or the default message) from the error message
database.
Xlib uses this function internally to look up its error messages.
The text in the default_string argument is assumed
to be in the encoding of the current locale,
and the text stored in the buffer_return argument
is in the encoding of the current locale.
.LP
The name argument should generally be the name of your application.
The message argument should indicate which type of error message you want.
If the name and message are not in the Host Portable Character Encoding,
the result is implementation-dependent.
Xlib uses three predefined ``application names'' to report errors.
In these names,
uppercase and lowercase matter.
.IP XProtoError 1i
The protocol error number is used as a string for the message argument.
.IP XlibMessage 1i
These are the message strings that are used internally by the library.
.IP XRequest 1i
For a core protocol request,
the major request protocol number is used for the message argument.
For an extension request,
the extension name (as given by
.PN InitExtension )
followed by a period (\.) and the minor request protocol number
is used for the message argument.
If no string is found in the error database,
the default_string is returned to the buffer argument.
.LP
.sp
To report an error to the user when the requested display does not exist, use
.PN XDisplayName .
.IN "XDisplayName" "" "@DEF@"
.sM
.FD 0
char *XDisplayName\^(\^\fIstring\fP\^)
.br
char *\fIstring\fP\^;
.FN
.IP \fIstring\fP 1i
Specifies the character string.
.LP
.eM
The
.PN XDisplayName
function returns the name of the display that
.PN XOpenDisplay
would attempt to use.
If a NULL string is specified,
.PN XDisplayName
looks in the environment for the display and returns the display name that
.PN XOpenDisplay
would attempt to use.
This makes it easier to report to the user precisely which display the
program attempted to open when the initial connection attempt failed.
.LP
.sp
To handle fatal I/O errors, use
.PN XSetIOErrorHandler .
.IN "XSetIOErrorHandler" "" "@DEF@"
.sM
.FD 0
int (*XSetIOErrorHandler\^(\^\fIhandler\fP\^)\^)\^(\^)
.br
int (\^*\^\fIhandler\fP\^)(Display *);
.FN
.IP \fIhandler\fP 1i
Specifies the program's supplied error handler.
.LP
.eM
The
.PN XSetIOErrorHandler
sets the fatal I/O error handler.
Xlib calls the program's supplied error handler if any sort of system call
error occurs (for example, the connection to the server was lost).
This is assumed to be a fatal condition,
and the called routine should not return.
If the I/O error handler does return,
the client process exits.
.LP
Note that the previous error handler is returned.
.bp