This is ../info/external-widget.info, produced by makeinfo version 4.8
from external-widget.texi.

INFO-DIR-SECTION XEmacs Editor
START-INFO-DIR-ENTRY
* External Widget: (external-widget). External Client Widget.
END-INFO-DIR-ENTRY


File: external-widget.info,  Node: Top,  Next: Using an External Client Widget,  Up: (dir)

   An "external client widget" is a widget that is part of another
program but functions as an Emacs frame.  This is intended to be a more
powerful replacement for standard text widgets.

* Menu:

* Using an External Client Widget::
* External Client Widget Resource Settings::
* Motif-Specific Info About the External Client Widget::
* External Client Widget Internals::


File: external-widget.info,  Node: Using an External Client Widget,  Next: External Client Widget Resource Settings,  Prev: Top,  Up: Top

1 Using an External Client Widget
*********************************

There are three different implementations of the external client widget.
One is designed for use in Motif applications and is linked with the
option `-lextcli_Xm'.  Another is designed for non-Motif applications
that still use the X toolkit; it is linked with the option
`-lextcli_Xt'.  The third is designed for applications that do not use
the X toolkit; it is linked with the option `-lextcli_Xlib'.  In order
to use an external client widget in a client program that uses the X
toolkit (i.e. either of the first two options described above), simply
create an instance of widget type ExternalClient and link your program
with the appropriate library.  The corresponding header file is called
`ExternalClient.h'.

   Documentation still needs to be provided for using the raw Xlib
version of the external client widget.

   The external client widget will not do anything until an instance of
Emacs is told about this particular widget.  To do that, call the
function `make-frame', specifying a value for the frame parameter
`window-id'.  This value should be a string containing the decimal
representation of the widget's X window ID number (this can be obtained
by the Xt function `XtWindow()').  In order for the client program to
communicate this information to Emacs, a method such as sending a
ToolTalk message needs to be used.

   Once `make-frame' has been called, Emacs will create a frame that
occupies the client widget's window.  This frame can be used just like
any other frame in Emacs.


File: external-widget.info,  Node: External Client Widget Resource Settings,  Next: Motif-Specific Info About the External Client Widget,  Prev: Using an External Client Widget,  Up: Top

2 External Client Widget Resource Settings
******************************************

The external client widget is a subclass of the Motif widget XmPrimitive
and thus inherits all its resources.  In addition, the following new
resources are defined:

`deadShell (class DeadShell)'
     A boolean resource indicating whether the last request to the
     ExternalShell widget that contains the frame corresponding to this
     widget timed out.  If true, no further requests will be made (all
     requests will automatically fail) until a response to the last
     request is received.  This resource should normally not be set by
     the user.

`shellTimeout (class ShellTimeout)'
     A value specifying how long (in milliseconds) the client should
     wait for a response when making a request to the corresponding
     ExternalShell widget.  If this timeout is exceeded, the client
     will assume that the shell is dead and will fail the request and
     all subsequent requests until a response to the request is
     received.  Default value is 5000, or 5 seconds.

   The shell that contains the frame corresponding to an external client
widget is of type ExternalShell, as opposed to standard frames, whose
shell is of type TopLevelShell.  The ExternalShell widget is a direct
subclass of Shell and thus inherits its resources.  In addition, the
following new resources are defined:

`window (class Window)'
     The X window ID of the widget to use for this Emacs frame.  This is
     normally set by the call to `x-create-frame' and should not be
     modified by the user.

`deadClient (class DeadClient)'
     A boolean resource indicating whether the last request to the
     corresponding ExternalClient widget timed out.  If true, no further
     requests will be made (all requests will automatically fail) until
     a response to the last request is received.  This resource should
     normally not be set by the user.

`ClientTimeout (class ClientTimeout)'
     A value specifying how long (in milliseconds) the shell should wait
     for a response when making a request to the corresponding
     ExternalClient widget.  If this timeout is exceeded, the shell
     will assume that the client is dead and will fail the request and
     all subsequent requests until a response to the request is
     received.  Default value is 5000, or 5 seconds.

   Note that the requests that are made between the client and the shell
are primarily for handling query-geometry and geometry-manager requests
made by parent or child widgets.


File: external-widget.info,  Node: Motif-Specific Info About the External Client Widget,  Next: External Client Widget Internals,  Prev: External Client Widget Resource Settings,  Up: Top

3 Motif-Specific Info About the External Client Widget
******************************************************

By default, the external client widget has navigation type
`XmTAB_GROUP'.

   The widget traversal keystrokes are modified slightly from the
standard XmPrimitive keystrokes.  In particular, `<TAB>' alone does not
traverse to the next widget (`Ctrl-<TAB>' must be used instead), but
functions like a normal <TAB> in Emacs.  This follows the semantics of
the Motif text widget.  The traversal keystrokes `Ctrl-<TAB>' and
`Shift-<TAB>' are silently filtered by the external client widget and
are not seen by Emacs.


File: external-widget.info,  Node: External Client Widget Internals,  Prev: Motif-Specific Info About the External Client Widget,  Up: Top

4 External Client Widget Internals
**********************************

The following text is lifted verbatim from Ben Wing's comments in
`ExternalShell.c'.

   This is a special Shell that is designed to use an externally-
provided window created by someone else (possibly another process).
That other window should have an associated widget of class
ExternalClient.  The two widgets communicate with each other using
ClientMessage events and properties on the external window.

   Ideally this feature should be independent of Emacs.  Unfortunately
there are lots and lots of specifics that need to be dealt with for
this to work properly, and some of them can't conveniently be handled
within the widget's methods.  Some day the code may be rewritten so
that the embedded-widget feature can be used by any application, with
appropriate entry points that are called at specific points within the
application.

   This feature is similar to the OLE (Object Linking & Embedding)
feature provided by MS Windows.

   Communication between this shell and the client widget:

   Communication is through ClientMessage events with message_type
EXTW_NOTIFY and format 32.  Both the shell and the client widget
communicate with each other by sending the message to the same window
(the "external window" below), and the data.l[0] value is used to
determine who sent the message.

   The data is formatted as follows:

   data.l[0] = who sent this message: external_shell_send (0) or
    external_client_send (1) data.l[1] = message type (see enum
en_extw_notify below) data.l[2-4] = data associated with this message

   EventHandler() handles messages from the other side.

   extw_send_notify_3() sends a message to the other side.

   extw_send_geometry_value() is used when an XtWidgetGeometry structure
  needs to be sent.  This is too much data to fit into a
ClientMessage, so the data is stored in a property and then
extw_send_notify_3() is called.

   extw_get_geometry_value() receives an XtWidgetGeometry structure
from a    property.

   extw_wait_for_response() is used when a response to a sent message
is expected.  It looks for a matching event within a    particular
timeout.

   The particular message types are as follows:

   1) extw_notify_init (event_window, event_mask)

   This is sent from the shell to the client after the shell realizes
its EmacsFrame widget on the client's "external window".  This tells
the client that it should start passing along events of the types
specified in event_mask.  event_window specifies the window of the
EmacsFrame widget, which is a child of the client's external window.

   extw_notify_init (client_type)

   When the client receives an extw_notify_init message from the shell,
it sends back a message of the same sort specifying the type of the
toolkit used by the client (Motif, generic Xt, or Xlib).

   2) extw_notify_end ()

   This is sent from the shell to the client when the shell's
EmacsFrame widget is destroyed, and tells the client to stop passing
events along.

   3) extw_notify_qg (result)

   This is sent from the client to the shell when a QueryGeometry
request is received on the client.  The XtWidgetGeometry structure
specified in the QueryGeometry request is passed on in the
EXTW_QUERY_GEOMETRY property (of type EXTW_WIDGET_GEOMETRY) on the
external window.  result is unused.

   In response, the shell passes the QueryGeometry request down the
widget tree, and when a response is received, sends a message of type
extw_notify_qg back to the client, with result specifying the
GeometryResult value.  If this value is XtGeometryAlmost, the returned
XtWidgetGeometry structure is stored into the same property as above.
[BPW is there a possible race condition here?]

   4) extw_notify_gm (result)

   A very similar procedure to that for extw_notify_qg is followed when
the shell's RootGeometryManager method is called, indicating that a
child widget wishes to change the shell's geometry.  The
XtWidgetGeometry structure is stored in the EXTW_GEOMETRY_MANAGER
property.

   5) extw_notify_focus_in (), extw_notify_focus_out ()

   These are sent from the client to the shell when the client gains or
loses the keyboard focus.  It is done this way because Xt maintains its
own concept of keyboard focus and only the client knows this
information.



Tag Table:
Node: Top233
Node: Using an External Client Widget700
Node: External Client Widget Resource Settings2415
Node: Motif-Specific Info About the External Client Widget5159
Node: External Client Widget Internals5974

End Tag Table
