ASCII or Unicode? (was best text editor for programming Python on a Mac)

[Rustom Mody]

On Tuesday, June 21, 2016 at 6:38:19 PM UTC+5:30, Marko Rauhamaa wrote:
> Rustom Mody :
> 
> > On Tuesday, June 21, 2016 at 2:05:55 PM UTC+5:30, Marko Rauhamaa wrote:
> >> (On the other hand, I have always specified my preferred keyboard
> >> layout with .Xmodmap.)
> >
> > If this is being given as advice
> 
> I never gave it as advice.
> 
> > its bad advice xmodmap is obsolete use xkb
> 
> A coworker of mine went through the trouble of doing the xmodmap
> equivalent with setxkbmap. Thought of interviewing him about it one day.
> 
> How-to's are really hard to come by:
> 
>    <URL: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Keyboard_configuration_i
>    n_Xorg> -- no good
> 
>    <URL: https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=172316> -- no good
> 
>    <URL: http://michal.kosmulski.org/computing/articles/custom-keyboar
>    d-layouts-xkb.html> -- interesting but assumes root access
> 
>    <URL: https://awesome.naquadah.org/wiki/Change_keyboard_maps> -- no
>    good
> 
> etc etc
> 
> > This particularly nasty bug:
> > https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/998310 I believe
> > I witnessed when I tried to use xmodmap
> 
> I do run into that when I place my laptop on the docker. I know to
> expect it, wait for ten or so seconds, and I'm on my way. I'm guessing
> it has to do with the X server sending the keyboard map to every X
> window on the display.
> 
> So Rustom, how do *you* produce, say, Hebrew or Spanish text, or your
> favorite math symbols?

I wish I could say I have a good answer -- ATM dont
However some ½-assed ones:


Emacs:
set-input-method (C-x RET C-\) greek
And then typing
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
gives
αβψδεφγηιξκλμνοπ;ρστθωςχυζ
[yeah that ; on q is curious]

Spanish?? No idea
But there seems to be a spanish input method that
has these éóñá¿

Ive typed Hindi/Marathi/Tamil/Sanskrit/Gujarati and helped others with Bengali
using devanagari-itrans/gujarati-itrans/tamil-itrans/bengali-itrans input
methods. There are also the corresponding -inscript methods for those that
type these fluently -- I am not one of those.

I have some 15-20 lines of elisp that makes these itrans uses easier (for me)

Math: So far Ive used tex input method -- Not satisfactory
Search-n-cut-paste from google is better!
My favorite goto for these are Xah Lee's pages:
Starts here: http://xahlee.info/comp/unicode_index.html

Some neat xah pages: http://xahlee.info/comp/unicode_matching_brackets.html
http://xahlee.info/comp/unicode_arrows.html
http://xahlee.info/comp/unicode_math_operators.html

Some of this is replicatable at setxkbmap level
[Note: these commands are dangerous as you can have a borked X system.
Of course temporarily
One safety catch is to keep
setxkbmap -option
in the bash history
So (assuming up-arrow still works) goofups are correctable 
]

eg Doing
$ setxkbmap -layout "us,apl(sax)" -option "grp:switch"
gives an APL keyboard on shift-rAlt chord
So abcdefghijklmnop
chorded gives
with RtAlt
⍺⊥∩⌊∊_∇∆⍳∘⎕|⊤○*?⍴⌈~↓∪⍵⊂⊃↑⊂
Along with RAlt-Shift
⊖⍎⌊⍷⍫⍒⍋⍸⍤⌻⍞⌶⍕⍥⍟¿⍴⌈⍉↓∪⌽⊃↑⊂

I guess expert APLers may find this neat -- I am not one!

So I use this emacs-mode https://github.com/lokedhs/gnu-apl-mode
when using APL (mostly teaching)

Then there is compose
For this Ive a compose key set
[With laptops and ubuntu-unity ths can get hard
1. Unity appropriates too many keys
2. Laptops have key shortage
 -- Ive just changed to CAPSLOCK to try out]

Then install uim
Then install https://github.com/rrthomas/pointless-xcompose

The whole point of that is to edit that to get it to have those chars that 
one wants accessible and not others... Ive not got round to that!