xorg-xorgproto/protocol

                         The XFIXES Extension
			    Version 1.0
			     2002-11-30
			    Keith Packard
			  keithp@xfree86.org

1. Introduction

X applications have often needed to work around various shortcomings in the
core X window system.  This extension is designed to provide the minimal
server-side support necessary to eliminate problems caused by these
workarounds.

2. Acknowledgements

This extension is a direct result of requests made by application
developers, in particular,

 +	Owen Taylor for describing the issues raised with the XEMBED
 	mechanisms and SaveSet processing and his initial extension
	to handle this issue.

 +	Bill Haneman for the design for cursor image tracking.

 +	Havoc Pennington 

3. Basic Premise

Requests in this extension may seem to wander all over the map of X server
capabilities, but they are tied by a simple rule -- resolving issues raised
by application interaction with core protocol mechanisms that cannot be
adequately worked around on the client side of the wire.

4. Extension initialization

The client must negotiate the version of the extension before executing
extension requests.  Behavior of the server is undefined otherwise.

QueryVersion

	client-major-version:		CARD32
	client-minor-version:		CARD32

	->

	major-version:			CARD32
	minor-version:			CARD32

	The client sends the highest supported version to the server and
	the server sends the highest version it supports, but no higher than
	the requested version.  Major versions changes can introduce
	incompatibilities in existing functionality, minor version
	changes introduce only backward compatible changes.  It is
	the clients responsibility to ensure that the server supports
	a version which is compatible with its expectations.

5. Save Set processing changes

Embedding one application within another provides a way of unifying
disparate documents and views within a single framework.  From the X
protocol perspective, this appears similar to nested window managers; the
embedding application "manages" the embedded windows much as a window
manager does for top-level windows.  To protect the embedded application
from embedding application failure, it is reasonable to use the core SaveSet
mechanism so that embedding application failure causes embedded windows to
be preserved instead of destroyed.

The core save set mechanism defines the target for each save set member
window as the nearest enclosing window not owned by the terminating client.
For embedding applications, this nearest window is usually the window
manager frame.  The problem here is that the window manager will not
generally expect to receive and correctly manage new windows appearing within
that window by the save set mechanism, and will instead destroy the frame
window in response to the client window destruction.  This causes the
embedded window to be destroyed.

An easy fix for this problem is to change the target of the save set member
to a window which won't be affected by the underlying window destruction.
XFIXES chooses the root window as the target.

Having embedded windows suddenly appear at the top level can confuse users,
so XFIXES also permits these windows to remain unmapped instead of being
remapped.

ChangeSaveSet

	window:				Window
	mode:				{ Insert, Delete }
	target:				{ Nearest, Root }
	map:				{ Map, Unmap }

ChangeSaveSet is an extension of the core protocol ChangeSaveSet
request.  As in that request, mode specifies whether the indicated
window is inserted or deleted from the save-set.  Target specifies
whether the window is reparented to the nearest non-client window as in the
core protocol, or reparented to the root window.  Map specifies
whether the window is mapped as in the core protocol or unmapped.

6. Selection Tracking

Applications wishing to monitor the contents of current selections must
poll for selection changes.  XFIXES improves this by providing an event
delivered whenever the selection ownership changes.

	SELECTIONEVENT			{ SetSelectionOwner,
					  SelectionWindowDestroy,
					  SelectionClientClose }

SelectionNotify

	subtype:			SELECTIONEVENT
	window:				Window
	owner:				Window
	selection:			Atom
	timestamp:			Timestamp
	selection-timestamp:		Timestamp

SelectSelectionInput

	window:				Window
	selection:			Atom
	event-mask:			SETofSELECTIONEVENT

Selects for events to be delivered to window when various causes of
ownership of selection occur.  Subtype indicates the cause of the selection
ownership change.  Owner is set to the current selection owner, or None.
Timestamp indicates the time the event was generated while
selection-timestamp indicates the timestamp used to own the selection.

7. Cursor Image Monitoring

Mirroring the screen contents is easily done with the core protocol or VNC
addons, except for the current cursor image.  There is no way using the core
protocol to discover which cursor image is currently displayed.  The
cursor image often contains significant semantic content about the user
interface.  XFIXES provides a simple mechanism to discover when the cursor
image changes and to fetch the current cursor image.

As the current cursor may or may not have any XID associated with it, there
is no stable name available.  Instead, XFIXES returns only the image of the
current cursor and provides a way to identify cursor images to avoid
refetching the image each time it changes to a previously seen cursor.

	CURSOREVENT			{ DisplayCursor }

CursorNotify

	subtype:		CURSOREVENT
	window:			Window
	cursor-serial:		CARD32
	timestamp:		Timestamp

SelectCursorInput

	window:			Window
	event-mask:		SETofCURSOREVENT

This request directs cursor change events to the named window.  Events will
be delivered irrespective of the screen on which they occur.  Subtype
indicates the cause of the cursor image change (there is only one subtype at
present).  Cursor-serial is a number assigned to the cursor image which
identifies the image.  Cursors with different serial numbers may have
different images.  Timestamp is the time of the cursor change.

GetCursorImage

	->

	x:			INT16
	y:			INT16
	width:			CARD16
	height:			CARD16
	x-hot:			CARD16
	y-hot:			CARD16
	cursor-serial:		CARD32
	cursor-image:		LISTofCARD32

GetCursorImage returns the image of the current cursor.  X and y are the
current cursor position.  Width and height are the size of the cursor image.
X-hot and y-hot mark the hotspot within the cursor image.  Cursor-serial
provides the number assigned to this cursor image, this same serial number
will be reported in a CursorNotify event if this cursor image is redisplayed
in the future.

The cursor image itself is returned as a single image at 32 bits per pixel
with 8 bits of alpha in the most significant 8 bits of the pixel followed by
8 bits each of red, green and finally 8 bits of blue in the least significant
8 bits.  The color components are pre-multiplied with the alpha component.

8. Future compatibility

This extension is not expected to remain fixed.  Future changes will
strive to remain compatible if at all possible.  The X server will always
support version 1 of the extension protocol if requested by a client.

Additions to the protocol will always by marked by minor version number
changes so that applications will be able to detect what requests are
supported.