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

[Helmut Auer <vdr@helmutauer.de>]

Klaus Schmidinger wrote:
> 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.
> 
On my remote contol there are Channel-Up, Channel-Down and also the cursor keys 
up and down, so it surely makes sense to use several keys for the same funktion. 
Also if you want to use more than four keys for navigation ( not only up, down, 
left and right ) it could be better to use the numeric part of the 
remotecontrol, where more keys are available.

> 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.
> 
Thats not right. You have to say now press the 'vdr-menu-up', not the up button. 
You do not even know in the documentation if the user uses the keyboard, or lirc.

> 
>>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 totally agree, but thats no reason not to use additional keys too.

> 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.
> 
I also agree, but it would be helpful to make keyboard handling more flexibel.
You never know what keys a plugin wants to use and with the concept I am 
thinking of, you can easily add new keys without changing any code in VDR.

> 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.
> 
Maybe i could not explain exactly what I think about the design of keyboard/ 
lirc input handling, but in my eyes its not confusing and this would not cause 
any user irritation. Nobody needs to create such an additional config file, the 
standard keys will ever work.

-- 
Helmut Auer, helmut@helmutauer.de