Linux Input Expert Peter Hutterer Shows Off "GGKBDD" As Linux Gaming Keyboard Daemon

[F.Ultra]

I have a dream: I want to Alt-Tab out of fullscreen games like on Windows.

From what I understand, the problem is that fullscreen programs fully "grab" the keyboard. Could such a daemon-in-the-middle finally fix this?

I guess a Wayland compositor could do the same, but it surely doesn't work with Weston + Xwayland.

Wait, what? I've never had a problem doing alt-tab out of a full screen game.

edit: or do you mean with Wayland? I've not tested Wayland yet.

[Kemosabe]

Cool, I will use it to let it type my root password when I press Alt+Enter

[tildearrow]

Cool, I will use it to let it type my root password when I press Alt+Enter

Somebody presses Alt+Enter on a text editor and retrieves your root password

[Kemosabe]

Somebody presses Alt+Enter on a text editor and retrieves your root password

Oh, I didn't consider that














Wait ... maybe that's the joke

[ssokolow]

But I do want to ask: Why does this run as root? Why does nobody ever worry about multi-user?

It is perfectly multi-user... in the same way that your keyboard driver is multi-user. You don't seem to understand how low-level a uinput-based solution is.

This works with Wayland because it's a pure-software equivalent of the Tyco Power Plug. (On a logical level, it sits in between the keyboard and anything listening to the keyboard driver... basically the same thing G15Daemon does to rewrite the input from the media and macro keys on Logitech G15 keyboards into standard USB HID.)

Everything at a high enough level to have a concept of "current user" just sees otherwise ordinary keyboard devices generating perfectly ordinary scan codes. (And it would be a horrendous layering violation for a keyboard driver to know which virtual console is currently active and which user is logged in on that virtual console.)

[andreano]

Wait, what? I've never had a problem doing alt-tab out of a full screen game.

edit: or do you mean with Wayland? I've not tested Wayland yet.

It's a 31 year old deficiency of the X11 protocol: Any program can just "grab" the whole keyboard!

I don't know why fullscreen programs need to do this, but since they do, they need to implement common desktop conventions like Alt-Tab to voluntarily leave fullscreen mode. Maybe you won't see the problem if you only play AAA titles, because they implement it…

0ad was a game that used to be impossible to get out of in fullscreen under XWayland. Tried it just now, and lo and behold, it works now. No idea where that fix came from!

[tildearrow]

You don't seem to understand how low-level a uinput-based solution is.

I do know that uinput is low-level, and that the program grabs input devices and rewires their events in a uinput-created device. Otherwise how would I have written my binding application ensuring it will work outside X?

What I actually meant is that since it runs as root I fear it may not support per-user macros or the like... (unless it can watch which user is currently logged in and switch profiles on the fly)

[F.Ultra]

It's a 31 year old deficiency of the X11 protocol: Any program can just "grab" the whole keyboard!

I don't know why fullscreen programs need to do this, but since they do, they need to implement common desktop conventions like Alt-Tab to voluntarily leave fullscreen mode. Maybe you won't see the problem if you only play AAA titles, because they implement it…

0ad was a game that used to be impossible to get out of in fullscreen under XWayland. Tried it just now, and lo and behold, it works now. No idea where that fix came from!

I think that every steam game supports it since the steam overlay uses alt-tab. But I remember playing games before steam (not a lot though so this might be why I haven't stumbled upon the problem) Shadowgrounds, the Penumbra series and Amnesia.

Perhaps the fix for this (like how it was fixed of 0ad in your case) is in sdl2 or similar and the ones with the problem is the ones that is not using say sdl.

[pal666]

I don't know why fullscreen programs need to do this

so you can't switch during fight by pressing wrong key. try going to options or console before alt-tabbing (esc or ~)
otherwise https://unix.stackexchange.com/quest...-mouse-release