New keyboard layout – LEKP

[Mantas Zimnickas]

Binary package hint: xkeyboard-config

I filed bug to upstream: http://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=14096
But also want, that this keyboard layout would be included in Ubuntu.

[Sergey V. Udaltsov (svu)]

Since I cannot read Lithuanian, could you please give some context here. What is the origin of these layouts? How many people are actually using them (just estimation)? Thanks

[Mantas Zimnickas (sirex)]

(In reply to comment #1)
> Since I cannot read Lithuanian, could you please give some context here. What
> is the origin of these layouts? How many people are actually using them (just
> estimation)? Thanks
>

LEKP and LEKPa is based on Colemak: http://colemak.com/ but only designed for Lithuanian language and Lithuanian characters.

Baltic+ is same as in /etc/X11/xkb/symbols/lt but with few improvements.

By active people on LEKP forums, the is about 20 that use this keyboard, but there is also those, that is not active in forums...

This layout appeared only half year ago.

Layout is well maintained and works on all OS (Linux, Mac, Windows). There is various tips, how to learn it, there is courses made for "TypeFaster", "KTouch". Also we have made plugin for VIM, to work using this layout.

[Mantas Zimnickas (sirex)]

Binary package hint: xkeyboard-config

I filed bug to upstream: http://bugs.freedesktop.org/show_bug.cgi?id=14096
But also want, that this keyboard layout would be included in Ubuntu.

[Sergey V. Udaltsov (svu)]

Actually, the naming convention for the layout does not follow xkeyboard-config rules. Could you please format it as a patch for symbols/lt and rules/base.xml.in

[Mantas Zimnickas (sirex)]

Ok, we will try to include lekp keyboard layout to already existing symbols/lt file. Soon I will attach needed patches.

[Mantas Zimnickas (sirex)]

Created an attachment (id=14079)
Patch, that adds LEKP keyboard layouts to rules/base.xml.in and symbols/lt files.

I made patch for these versions of files:

rules/base.xml.in http://webcvs.freedesktop.org/xlibs/xkbdesc/xkeyboard-config/rules/base.xml.in?revision=1.241
symbols/lt http://webcvs.freedesktop.org/xlibs/xkbdesc/xkeyboard-config/symbols/lt?revision=1.9

[Sergey V. Udaltsov (svu)]

Great! Committed! There was one minor issue - you marked all new variants in symbols/lt as "default", I cleared that bit;)

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

This bug was fixed in the package xkeyboard-config - 1.1~cvs.20080104.1-1ubuntu4

---------------
xkeyboard-config (1.1~cvs.20080104.1-1ubuntu4) hardy; urgency=low

  * New patches:
    + ca-shs-add.diff - layout for Secwepemctsin (LP: #187430)
    + lekp-add.diff - layout for Lithuanian (LP: #183511)

 -- Bryce Harrington <email address hidden> Tue, 08 Apr 2008 01:13:34 -0700

[Rimas Kudelis (rq)]

I think the "Baltic+" part should be removed because:
1. It isn't widely used, and
2. It isn't fundamentally different from the existing "Lithuania" keymap, and only provides two additional characters that aren't available in it: the PLUS-MINUS sign, and the TRADE MARK sign.

Even with the "Baltic+" layout excluded, there are 6 Lithuanian layouts to choose from, this is another reason not to include it.

[Rimas Kudelis (rq)]

Note: the most noticeable difference between "Lithuanian" and "Lithuanian Baltic+" layouts is that the latter makes CapsLock act as BackSpace key. Perhaps this feature deserves a separate bug about making it possible to do that for any keyboard layout, like it's already possible to swap Esc and CapsLock, for example?

[Sergey V. Udaltsov (svu)]

To me, replacing variant Baltic+ with XkbOption "Caps as Backspace" makes sense. Mantas, what's your opinion?

[Mantas Zimnickas (sirex)]

Yes, I talked with Rimas before and agree with his suggestion.

[Sergey V. Udaltsov (svu)]

As usual, patches are welcome:)

[Rimas Kudelis (rq)]

Created an attachment (id=21881)
Patch to remove Baltic+ layout

Whoops, for some reason I wasn't getting any mail regarding this bug.

This patch removes the Baltic+ layout, and adds appropriate licencing info to the description of LEKP and LEKPa layouts.

[Rimas Kudelis (rq)]

I've created Bug 19508 proposing the CapsLock as Backspace option.

[Sergey V. Udaltsov (svu)]

Done!