| Line 15: | Line 15: | ||
'''Input method (IM)''': generic name which might cover any of the following: | '''Input method (IM)''': generic name which might cover any of the following: | ||
'''Input method system''': general system for input methods | '''Input method system''': general system for input methods. (Sometimes also called a platform or framework.) e.g. iBus, Scim, IIIMF, uim. | ||
'''Input method engine (IME)''': engine providing a specific input method for one or more languages: | '''Input method engine (IME)''': engine providing a specific input method for one or more languages: e.g. ibus-anthy, scim-pinyin, uim-m17n, etc | ||
'''Input method map''': eg a m17n input map for a particular language, somewhat similar to a xkb layout but allowing more complex input: e.g. Inscritp, iTrans, Phonetic | '''Input method map''': eg a m17n input map for a particular language, somewhat similar to a xkb layout but allowing more complex input: e.g. Inscritp, iTrans, Phonetic | ||
Revision as of 07:32, 29 May 2009
Input Methods
Input Methods (IMs) are used to input Asian and other languages.
- iBus - intelligent input bus: next generation input method framework used in F11
- SCIM is the default input method framework in Fedora 10
- m17n maps for Indic and other languages
- uim, a light multilingual input method framework
- gcin for Traditional Chinese
- kinput2 for Japanese
- nabi for Korean
imsettings and im-chooser provide a modern control mechanism for input methods on the desktop.
Terminology
Input method (IM): generic name which might cover any of the following:
Input method system: general system for input methods. (Sometimes also called a platform or framework.) e.g. iBus, Scim, IIIMF, uim.
Input method engine (IME): engine providing a specific input method for one or more languages: e.g. ibus-anthy, scim-pinyin, uim-m17n, etc
Input method map: eg a m17n input map for a particular language, somewhat similar to a xkb layout but allowing more complex input: e.g. Inscritp, iTrans, Phonetic
Input method table: similar to a map but can be optimized for large tables of Chinese characters or phrases, etc
Toolkits and Input Methods
GTK and Qt load their input method modules dynamically at runtime.
The information below is only intended for advanced users who are comfortable using environments to control their environment. General users are strongly recommended to use imsettings through im-chooser to control their desktop input method usage.
GTK IM modules
The input method module (gtk immodule) used by an GTK application can be overridden on the commandline by setting the environment variable GTK_IM_MODULE.
If there is no gtk input method configuration in place then gtk will choose a default immodule based on /etc/gtk-2.0/*-redhat-linux-gnu/gtk.immodules.
To disable input method usage in a GTK application entirely, set GTK_IM_MODULE=gtk-im-context-simple.
Qt IM modules
The input method module (qt immodule) used by an Qt application can be overridden on the commandline by setting the environment variable QT_IM_MODULE.
Qt defaults to using XIM by default. To disable input method usage in a Qt application entirely, set QT_IM_MODULE=simple.
XIM
An X Input Method server program needs to be running before it can be used in a legacy X application. The XMODIFIERS environment variable needs to be set in a special way to tell an X application which XIM server to connect to. E.g. XMODIFIERS=@im=SCIM would configure using the scim XIM server.
Development
Members of fedora-i18n team are working on development of ibus, imsettings and im-chooser.