[vdr] Re: DXR3 support patch for vdr-1.1.5

[Klaus Schmidinger <Klaus.Schmidinger@cadsoft.de>]

Helmut Auer wrote:
> 
> Klaus Schmidinger wrote:
> >>This example shows the current config:
> >># program-key  remote-key
> >>vdr-menu-up     UP
> >>vdr-menu-down   DOWN
> >>mplayer-menu-up 2
> >>mplayer-menu-down       8
> >>
> >>Now Klaus and me could change it to:
> >># program-key  remote-key
> >>vdr-menu-up     UP
> >>vdr-menu-down   DOWN
> >>mplayer-menu-up UP
> >>mplayer-menu-down       DOWN
> >>
> >>That way all the differrent keys in all menus could be changed.
> >
> >
> > Please help me if I'm missing something here: why should the *same* function
> > be assigned to *different* keys in the various parts of a program?
> > Wouldn't the user expect the "Up" function to be always on the same key?
> >
> Surely - most time the same same key should do the same. But there can always be
> a reason why not.
> So wouldn't it be possible to create a config file, where all vdr-relevant keys
> can be assigned to the IR-command the user wants to use for it ? It also should
> be possible to assign more than one IR command to same vdr function.
> e.g. in lircd.conf are UP,DOWN,LEFT,RIGHT...
> then in the lircvdr-conf file you assign:
> vdr-menu-up
>         UP,RIGHT
> vdr-menu-down
>         DOWN,LEFT
> mplayer-menu-up
>         UP
> mplayer-menu-down
> DOWN

Why in the world should the various parts of VDR use different keys for, e.g.,
"menu up" or "menu down"? "Menu up" is "menu up" is "menu up"! If one part
uses the "Up" key while another uses, say, the "Yellow" key for this function,
this makes absolutely no sense. It only helps in confusing users.

Besides, making this arbitrarily configurable would make writing a "VDR User's Manual"
(which I still am planning to do) a virtual nightmare. Instead of simply writing
"Now press the 'Up' button" one would probably have to write things like "Now press the
butten you have configured to be the 'Up' function in this part of VDR (unless you're
in that part of VDR, where it might be a different button that performs the 'Up'
function)..." - not very user friendly IMHO.

> and in your code plugin code you just have to ask for :
> if InputKey() == GetKey( vdr-menu-up ) then ...
> 
> You just need to universal functions for it: one to read the key(InputKey) and
> another one(GetKey) which returns the defintion of key from the conf file.
> 
> So new keys could easily be added, by just entering a new line to the conf file.
> 
> I hope you can understand what I wrote in my kitchen english, but from my point
> of view, this should be the way to go :-)

VDR is designed to work with a very limited number of remote control keys.
Even if a specific RC has a lot more keys, it should still be possible to
use VDR with only the originally defined keys. That way if you get to
use the VDR installation of somebody else, you should be able to find your
way through the menus, because you know the basic key functions. If that RC
has more keys, you can simply ignore them because you don't need them to
operate VDR.

I will define additional (optional) keys like "Play/Pause/Forward/Rewind/Stop"
which may or may not be available on a particular RC. So if you have an RC with
all these keys you can teach VDR to use them. However, a player will still have to
react on the standard keys as well, because that's what's always supposed to work.

The more users use VDR and the various plugins, the more important it is to
have a homogeneous key assignment on the RC. And the fewer keys are actually
necessary, the easier it is to find an RC that works with VDR.

If we start "configuring things to death" at this very central and important
point, we will IMHO only create a constant source of user irritation.

Klaus
-- 
_______________________________________________________________

Klaus Schmidinger                       Phone: +49-8635-6989-10
CadSoft Computer GmbH                   Fax:   +49-8635-6989-40
Hofmark 2                               Email:   kls@cadsoft.de
D-84568 Pleiskirchen, Germany           URL:     www.cadsoft.de
_______________________________________________________________