Re: [gentoo-user] How the HAL are you supposed to use these files?

Alan Mackenzie wrote:

>> Hi, Iain,
>>
>> On Tue, Feb 09, 2010 at 09:09:14AM +0930, Iain Buchanan wrote:
>> > On Mon, 2010-02-08 at 22:20 +0000, Alan Mackenzie wrote:
>> > [snip to the crux:]
>> > > Can this new-style fragmented XML configuration do anything that a
>> > > good old-fashioned, human-readable and compact xorg.conf can't?  If
>> > > so, what?  What am I missing here?
>>
>> > presumably you're missing the previous conversation on this topic:
>> > http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.linux.gentoo.user/225223/focus=225223
>>
>> Yes, indeed.  I've read up about half of it now.  Have I understood
>> correctly, that if I carry on with this HAL, I need to use a heavyweight
>> window manager (such as Gnome) to be able to configure things with?
>>
>> I "use" Gnome at the moment with an old Debian system, but that "use" is
>> basically confined to starting Firefox and sometimes xpdf, and
>> occasionally gimp, and switching between windows.  So I'm looking to use
>> a less bloated WM now.  I haven't decided which, yet, either xfce or
>> ratpoison, or maybe something in between.  Sometime I'd like to try
>> xmonad, because Haskell is such a sweet language.
>>
>> > > Please, somebody, tell me all this HAL stuff is straightforwardly
>> > > explained in an easily accessible Gentoo document, so that I can hang
>> > > my head in shame and apologise for the noise!  ;-)
>>
>> > isn't it just done for you?
>>
>> I don't know.  It (i.e. startx) didn't work at all until I emerged xterm.
>> Now it starts with 3 working xterms with focus-follows-mouse.  I suppose
>> that counts as "working".
>>

This is the failsafe. I thinks is twm.

>> > $ slocate 10-input-policy.fdi
>> > /usr/share/hal/fdi/policy/10osvendor/10-input-policy.fdi
>>
>> > iain@orpheus ~ $ equery belongs /usr/share/hal/fdi/policy/10osvendor/10-input-policy.fdi
>> >  * Searching for /usr/share/hal/fdi/policy/10osvendor/10-input-policy.fdi ...
>> > sys-apps/hal-0.5.14-r2 (/usr/share/hal/fdi/policy/10osvendor/10-input-policy.fdi)
>>
>> > so why are you copying these files by hand?
>>
>> Because the fine manual "The X Server Configuration HOWTO" encouraged me
>> to do so: "Just find a few that suit your needs most closely and copy
>> them ....";  "Just copy the ones you need, and edit them once they're
>> placed in the proper /etc location.".
>>
>> Actually I hadn't got around to copying them.  I was fuming at the
>> vagueness of the instructions, and the vagueness of everything else to do
>> with HAL.  I've a lot of sympathy with David Bowman.  ;-)
>>
>> So, is there any documentation in Gentoo for configuring HAL?
>>
>> > --
>> > Iain Buchanan <iaindb at netspace dot net dot au>
>>
>> --
>> Alan Mackenzie (Nuremberg, Germany).
>>
>>

You don't need a heavy wm to use hal with xorg. I use blackbox and my
hal works a treat, the only thing I have in my xorg is my video settings
because my monitor is a twat and has forgotten it's own mode lines (or
it won't tell my gcard).

Blackbox is super and lightweight.

The fdi files should be copied over to /etc and reconfigured, the ones
in /usr should remain.

If you have every configured xorg by hand before, the xml syntax in the
fdi files are quite easy to get to grips with, like key=lvalue and type
is the type of data the lvalue will point to, the part inbetween the
tags is the value.

 <merge key="input.xkb.layout" type="string">gb</merge>

So this says insert into my xorg keyboards section the lvalue layout and
its value is "GB", easy, huh?
-- 
Regards,
Roundyz