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Sender: a...@carrot.petrofsky.org
From: Al Petrofsky <allop...@petrofsky.org>
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.misc
Subject: How do I use the console mouse with remote applications?
Message-ID: <87puappzez.fsf@carrot.petrofsky.org>
Lines: 33
Organization: http://www.idiom.com
Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2001 01:31:21 GMT
Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.os.linux.misc:47483

Hello,

I'm trying to get lynx, links (another web browser), and emacs to work
with the mouse when I use the linux console.  I'm also planning to add
mouse support to an application I'm hacking.  Reading the
documentation for gpm and console_codes, I'm getting confused.  I'm
using a debian "woody" system, and the gpm info manual (version
1.17.8) describes gpm as a server that application programs must
connect to through a unix domain socket.  This approach seems flawed
to me, because I don't see how it can work if you are telneted to
another host and the application is running there.

The man page for console_chars discusses reporting mouse events in the
console input stream, a la xterm.  This seems to me to be the correct
network-transparent way to do things.  But it says that it needs gpm's
help to do this:

       MOUSE TRACKING

       The  mouse  tracking facility is intended to return xterm-
       compatible mouse  status  reports.   Because  the  console
       driver has no way to know the device or type of the mouse,
       these reports are returned in  the  console  input  stream
       only  when  the  virtual  terminal driver receives a mouse
       update ioctl.  These ioctls must be generated by a  mouse-
       aware user-mode application such as the gpm(8) daemon.

I'm confused because the gpm manual doesn't seem to say anything about
this mode of operation.

What am I missing?

-al