Xaw(3) Introduction to Library Functions Xaw(3)

NAME


Xaw - X Athena Widgets

DESCRIPTION


Xaw is a widget set based on the X Toolkit Intrinsics (Xt) Library.
This release by the X.Org Foundation includes additions and
modifications originally made for The XFree86 Project, Inc. This
manual page describes these changes as well as some of the common
interfaces between its version and the previous X Consortium release
(Xaw6).

The bulk of the Xaw documentation is located in the API specification
which may be installed in /usr/share/doc/libXaw, or found on the
X.Org website.

ACTIONS


All of the Xaw widgets now have the additional translations
call-proc, declare, get-values and set-values. The syntax for these
actions is:

action-name (boolean-expression, arguments)

action-name is one of call-proc, declare, get-values or set-values.

boolean-expression is composed with the operators

| (or),

& (and),

^ (xor), and

~ (not).

Its operands can be

+o a variable name, which starts with a $,

+o a resource name without the bindings . or *, or

+o a constant name, including

+o mine (event->xany.window == XtWindow(widget)),

+o faked (event->xany.send_event != 0),

+o true (1) and

+o false (0).

arguments are self-explanatory:

+o when starting with a $ they name a variable,

+o otherwise they indicate a resource name.

call-proc (boolean-expression, procedure-name)
This action allows the evaluation of a boolean expression in
the first parameter before calling a action procedure. The
procedure is only called if the expression evaluates as true.
Example:
call-proc("$inside & $pressed", notify)

declare (boolean-expression, variable, value, ...)
This action is used to create new variables or change their
values. Any number of variable-value tuples may be
specified. Example:
declare(1, $pressed, 1)

get-values (boolean-expression, variable, value, ...)
This action reads a widget resource value into a variable.
Any number of variable-value tuples may be specified.
Example:
get-values(1, $fg, foreground, $bg, background)

set-values (boolean-expression, variable, value, ...)
This action sets a widget resource to the given value, which
may be a variable. Any number of variable-value tuples may
be specified. Example:
set-values(1, foreground, $bg, background, $fg)

Here is a sample translation to make a label widget behave like a
button:

<Map>: get-values(1, $fg, foreground, $bg, background)\n\
<Btn1Down>: set-values(1, foreground, yellow, background, gray30)\n\
<Btn1Up>: set-values(1, foreground, $fg, background, $bg)

DISPLAY LISTS


All of the Xaw widgets have now the additional resource displayList.
This resource allows drawing the widget decorations using commands
embedded in a resource string. The displayList resource has the
syntax:

[class-name:]function-name arguments[[{;\n}]...]

class-name is any registered set of functions to draw in the widget.
Currently the only existing class is xlib, which provides access to
the Xlib drawing primitives.

function-name is the drawing or configuration function to be called,
described below.

arguments may be anything suitable to the displayList function being
called. When the function requires a coordinate, the syntax is

{+-}<integer> or
<integer>/<integer>.

Examples:
+0,+0 top, left
-0,-0 bottom, right
-+10,-+10 bottom+10, right+10
+0,1/2 left, vertical-center

arc-mode mode
Sets the arc mode. Accepted modes are "pieslice" and
"chord", which set the arc to ArcPieSlice or ArcChord,
respectively. Example:
arc-mode chord

bg color-spec

background color-spec
Sets the background color. color-spec must a valid color
specification. Example:
background red

cap-style style
Sets the cap style. Accepted styles are "notlast", "butt",
"round", and "projecting", which set the cap style to
CapNotLast, CapBut, CapRound or CapProjecting, respectively.
Example:
cap-style round

clip-mask pixmap-spec
Sets the pixmap for the clip mask. Requires a pixmap
parameter, as described in the PIXMAPS section below.
Example:
clip-mask xlogo11

clip-origin x,y
Sets the clip x and y origin. Requires two arguments, the x
and y coordinates. Example:
clip-origin 10,10

clip-rects x1,y1,x2,y2 [...,xn,yn]

clip-rectangles x1,y1,x2,y2 [...,xn,yn]
Sets a list of rectangles to the clip mask. The number of
arguments must be a multiple of four. The arguments are
coordinates. The parser calculates the width and height of
the rectangles. Example:
clip-rects 0,0,10,20, 20,10,30,30

coord-mode mode
Changes the coordinate mode for fill-polygon, draw-lines, and
draw-points. Accepted parameters are "modeorigin" and
"previous", that sets the coord mode to CoordModeOrigin or
CoordModePrevious, respectively. Example:
coord-mode previous

copy-area {pixmap-spec|.},dstx,dsty[,x2,y2,srcx,srcy]
Calls XCopyArea. The character . means copy the window
contents; pixmap-spec is as defined in the PIXMAPS section
below. X2 and y2 are the coordinates of the end copy, not
the width and height; if not defined, the parser calculates
them. src_x and src_y default to zero. Example:
copy-area Term,10,10

copy-plane {pixmap-spec|.},dstx,dsty[,x2,y2,srcx,srcy,plane]
Calls XCopyPlane. The character . means copy the window
contents; pixmap-spec is as defined in the PIXMAPS section
below. X2 and y2 are the coordinates of the end copy, not
the width and height; if not defined, the parser calculates
them. src_x and src_y default to zero. Plane defaults to
one. Example:
copy-plane star,10,10

dashes i1[...,in]
Sets the dashes for line drawing. Accepts up to 127
arguments. Example:
dashes 3,7 9,10

draw-arc x1,y1,x2,y2[,start-angle,end-angle]
Draws an arc. The four first arguments are the rectangle
enclosing the arc. The two remaining arguments, if
specified, are the start and end angle, in degrees. Example:
draw-arc +0,+0,-1,-1,0,90

draw-rect x1,y1,x2,y2

draw-rectangle x1,y1,x2,y2
Draws a rectangle. Requires four arguments, which are the
start and end coordinate pairs. Example:
draw-rect +1,+1,-5,-5

draw-string x,y,"string"
Draws a text string. Requires three arguments, a x
coordinate, a y coordinate, and a string. Strings that have
white space can be quoted with the " character; the backslash
character \ can also be used, but it will be necessary escape
it twice. Example:
draw-string 10,10, "Hello world!"

exposures boolean
Sets graphics exposures in the GC. Allowed parameters are a
integer or the strings "true", "false", "on" and "off".
Example:
exposures true

fill-arc x1,y1,x2,y2[,start-angle,end-angle]
Like draw-arc, but fills the contents of the arc with the
currently selected foreground. Example:
fill-arc +0,+0,-1,-1,0,180

fill-poly x1,y1 [...,xn,yn]

fill-polygon x1,y1 [...,xn,yn]
Like draw-lines, but fills the enclosed polygon and joins the
first and last point, if they are not at the same position.
Example:
fill-poly +0,+10, +10,+20, +30,+0

fill-rect x1,y1,x2,y2

fill-rectangle x1,y1,x2,y2
Like draw-rect, but fills the contents of the rectangle with
the selected foreground color. Example:
fill-rect +10,+10,-20,-20

fill-rule rule
Sets the fill rule. Accepted parameters are "evenodd" and
"winding", which set the fill rule to EvenOddRule or
WindingRule, respectively. Example:
fill-rule winding

fill-style style
Sets the fill style. Allowed parameters are "solid",
"tiled", "stippled" and "opaquestippled", which set the fill
style to FillSolid, FillTiled, FillStippled or
FillOpaqueStippled, respectively. Example:
fill-style tiled

font font-spec
Sets the font for text functions. Example:
font -*-*-*-R-*-*-*-120-*-*-*-*-ISO8859-1

fg color-spec

foreground color-spec
Like background, but sets the current foreground color.
Example:
foreground blue

mask This command is useful when you want to draw only in the
region that really needs to be repainted. It requires no
arguments.

function function-spec
Sets the specific GC function. Allowed parameters are "set",
"clear", "and", "andreverse", "copy", "andinverted", "noop",
"xor", "or", "nor", "equiv", "invert", "orreverse",
"copyinverted" and "nand", which set the function to GXset,
GXclear, GXand, GXandReverse, GXcopy, GXandInverted, GXnoop,
GXxor, GXor, GXnor, GXequiv, GXinvert, GXorReverse,
GXcopyInverted or GXnand, respectively. Example:
function xor

join-style style
Sets the join style. Allowed parameters are "miter", "round"
and "bevel", which set the join style to JoinMiter, JoinRound
and JoinBevel, respectively. Example:
join-style round

image {pixmap-spec},xs,ys,[xe,ye]
This function is implemented as a way to quickly compose
complex decorations in widgets. Pixmap-spec is as defined in
the PIXMAPS section below. xs and ys are the coordinates
from where to start copying the pixmap; xe and ye are
optional (they default to xs + pixmap.width and ys +
pixmap.height, respectively). If the pixmap has a mask, the
copy is masked accordingly. Example:
image pixmap.xpm,0,0,20,20

line x1,y1,x2,y2

draw-line x1,y1,x2,y2
Draws a line with the current foreground color. Requires
four arguments, the starting and ending coordinate pairs.
Example:
line +0,+0, -1,-1

line-width integer
Selects a line width for drawing. Example:
line-width 2

line-style style
Sets the line style. Accepted parameters are "solid",
"onoffdash" and "doubledash", which set the line style to
LineSolid, LineOnOffDash or LineDoubleDash, respectively.
Example:
line-style onoffdash

lines x1,y1,x2,y2 [...,xn,yn]

draw-lines x1,y1,x2,y2 [...,xn,yn]
Draws a list of lines. Any number of argument pairs may be
supplied. Example:
lines +0,-1, -1,-1, -1,+0

paint-string x,y,"string"
Identical to draw-string, but also uses the background color.
Example:
paint-string 10,20, "Sample text"

point x,y

draw-point x,y
Draws a point. Requires two arguments, a coordinate pair.
Example:
point +10,+10

plane-mask integer
Sets the plane mask. Requires an integer parameter.
Example:
plane-mask -1

points x1,y1 [...,xn,yn]

draw-points x1,y1 [...,xn,yn]
Draws a list of points at the specified coordinates.
Example:
points +1,+2, +1,+4, +1,+6

segments x1,y1,x2,y2 [...,xn,yn]

draw-segments x1,y1,x2,y2 [...,xn,yn]
Draws a list of segment lines. The number of parameters must
be multiple of 4. Example:
segments +1,+2,+1,-3, +2,-2,-3,-2

shape-mode mode
Sets the shape mode used in fill-polygon. Accepted
parameters are "complex", "convex" or "nonconvex", which set
the shape mode to Complex, Convex or Nonconvex, accordingly.
Example:
shape-mode convex

stipple pixmap-spec
Sets the pixmap for a stipple. Requires a pixmap parameter,
as described in the PIXMAPS section below. Example:
stipple plaid

subwindow-mode mode
Sets the subwindow mode in the GC. Accepted parameters are
"includeinferiors" and "clipbychildren", which set the
subwindow mode to IncludeInferiors or ClipByChildren,
respectively. Example:
subwindow-mode includeinferiors

tile pixmap-spec
Sets the pixmap for a tile. Requires a pixmap parameter, as
described in the PIXMAPS section below. Example:
tile xlogo11?foreground=red&background=gray80

ts-origin x,y
Sets the tile stipple x and y origin. Requires two
arguments, a x and y coordinate. Example:
ts-origin 10,10

umask Disables the GC mask, if it has been set with the command
mask. Requires no arguments.

Example for drawing a shadow effect in a widget:

foreground gray30;\
draw-lines +1,-1,-1,-1,-1,+1;\
foreground gray85;\
draw-lines -1,+0,+0,+0,+0,-1

PIXMAPS


A String to Pixmap converter has been added to Xaw. This converter
is meant to be extended, and has enough abstraction to allow loading
several image formats. It uses a format that resembles a URL, with
the syntax:

[type:]name[?arg=val[{&}...]]

type can be one of bitmap, gradient or xpm.

name may be a file name, or, in the case of type gradient, may be
either vertical or horizontal.

arg=val
is a list of arguments to the converter.

An argument list is preceded by a question mark, and multiple
arguments are separated by ampersands.

The most common arguments are foreground and background.

Gradients also support the arguments start and end (colors
with which to start and end the gradient), the steps argument
(to allow using fewer colors), and the dimension argument (to
specify the size of the gradient).

The xpm converter understands the closeness argument, which
aids in using fewer colors (useful if you have a limited
colormap).

TEXT WIDGET


Most of the changes to this version of the Xaw library were done in
the TextWidget, TextSrcObject, TextSinkObject and related files.

A couple of highly visible changes in the Text widget are due to many
bugs in the Xaw6 implementation involving scrollbars and auto-
resizing. Scrollbars being added or removed caused several problems
in keeping the text cursor visible, and in Xaw6 it was very easy to
have a widget thinking the cursor was visible, when it was not.
Also, permitting automatic resizing of the widget to a larger
geometry created other problems, making it difficult to have a
consistent layout in the application, and, if the window manager did
not interfere, windows larger than the screen could result.
Therefore, some functionality involving scrollbars and auto-resizing
has been disabled; see the section on new and modified Text widget
resources below.

The Text widget's default key bindings were originally based on the
Emacs text editor. In this release, even more operations familiar to
Emacs users have been added. New text actions include:

indent Indents text blocks. Not bound by default. The Text widget
also does not attempt to perform auto-indentation of its
source object by default.

keyboard-reset
Resets the keyboard state. Reverts the action multiplier to
1, and if undo is enabled, toggles between undo and redo.
Bound by default to Control<Key>G.

kill-ring-yank
In this version of Xaw, text killed in any text field is kept
in memory, allowing cut and paste operations internally to
the program between text fields. Bound by default to
Meta<Key>Y.

numeric Listed here only for purposes of documentation. Called by
default when one of the characters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,
0, or - is typed, allowing composition of the multiplication
number of text actions.

set-keyboard-focus
Sets the input focus of the top level widget to the text
field. Not enabled by default, but bound to the <Btn1Down>
event.

toggle-overwrite
Toggles overwrite mode. In overwrite mode, any text inserted
in a text field will replace existing text. Bound by default
to <Key>Insert.

undo Sets the enableUndo resource of the textSrcObject. Not
enabled by default, but bound to Control<Key>_.

New and modified Text widget resources include:

justify (Class Justify)
Sets the text justification. Can be one of left, right,
center, or full. Only enabled when the autoFill resource is
set, and the resources leftColumn and rightColumn are
correctly set.

leftColumn (Class Column)
Specifies the left column at which to break text. Text lines
started with an alphanumeric character will automatically
start at this column.

positionCallback (Class Callback)
Allows installation of a callback to be called every time the
cursor is moved, and/or the file changes its size. The
callback is called with a pointer to a structure containing
the following data:

typedef struct {
int line_number;
int column_number;
XawTextPosition insert_position;
XawTextPosition last_position;
Boolean overwrite_mode;
} XawTextPositionInfo;

This callback is intended to help programmers write text
editors based on the Xaw widget set.

resize (Class Resize)
No longer supported, but recognized for backward
compatibility with resource specifications written for the
Xaw6 Text widget.

rightColumn (Class Column)
Specifies the right column at which to break text. Text
lines started with an alphanumeric character will
automatically end at this column.

scrollHorizontal (Class Scroll)

scrollVertical (Class Scroll)
These resources control the placement of scrollbars on the
left and bottom edges of the Text widget. They accept the
values XawtextScrollAlways and XawtextScrollNever. A
converter is registered for this resource that will convert
the following strings: always and never. The value
XawtextScrollWhenNeeded (and whenNeeded, recognized by the
converter), is accepted for backwards compatibility with
resource specifications written for the Xaw6 Text widget, but
ignored (effectively treated as XawtextScrollNever).

TEXT SOURCE OBJECT


The textSrcObject allows display of its contents to more than one
window, and also stores undo information. The new resources for the
textSrcObject are:

callback (Class Callback)
Previous versions of Xaw had this resource in subclasses of
the TextSource object. This was changed to make it possible
to tell the callback the state of the text when undo is
enabled.

enableUndo (Class Undo)
A boolean resource that enables or disables the undo
function. The default value is False.

sourceChanged (Class Changed)
Like the callback resource, this resource was previously in
subclasses of the TextSource object. It is now in the
textSrcObject to control the changed/unchanged state when
undo is enabled.

TEXT SINK OBJECT


The textSinkObject subclasses asciiSinkObject and multiSinkObject
have been changed slightly to use a new cursor shape (no longer a
caret at the baseline) that indicates the input focus of the text
widget, and allow specification of the cursor color. The new
resource is:

cursorColor (Class Color)
Sets the cursor color of the text. This color is also used
to draw selected text.

SIMPLE MENU WIDGET


The simpleMenuWidget algorithm to lay out menu entries has been
changed to enable multiple columns when a single column does not fit
on the screen. It was also modified to enable submenus.

SME BSB OBJECT


A new resource has been added to the smeBSBObject to allow binding
submenus to it. The new resource is:

menuName (Class MenuName)
Specifies the name of the popup widget to be popped up when
the pointer is over the menu entry, or NULL. Note that the
named menu must be a child of the popup parent of the
smeBSBObject.

AUTHORS


The original X Consortium version of the Athena Widget Set and its
documentation were the work of many people, including Chris D.
Peterson, Ralph Swick, Mark Ackerman, Donna Converse, Jim Fulton,
Loretta Guarino-Reid, Charles Haynes, Rich Hyde, Mary Larson, Joel
McCormack, Ron Newman, Jeanne Rich, Terry Weissman, Mike Gancarz,
Phil Karlton, Kathleen Langone, Ram Rao, Smokey Wallace, Al Mento,
and Jean Diaz.

The additions and modifications to Xaw which were originally made for
XFree86 were written by Paulo C'esar Pereira de Andrade.

SEE ALSO


Athena Widget Set - C Language Interface

X Version 11 libXaw 1.0.16 Xaw(3)

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