HIDIOCKM[GS]DIRECT ioctls for the USB HID driver [PSARC/2009/329 FastTrack timeout 06/10/2009]

[Aaron Zang]

James Carlson wrote:
> Aaron Zang writes:
>> I guess the keyboard is still usable under Xorg. It is because Xorg also
>> opens /dev/kbd. Whenever a new keyboard is plugged in, it will get plumbed
>> under conskbd, so even Xorg fails to open it directly via /dev/usb/hid%d,
>> it still can get the input via /dev/kbd.
>>
>> That should be minor flaw of Xorg while using HAL.
> 
> That's a bit confusing.  If both /dev/kbd and /dev/usb/hid* work
> properly, but the latter relies privileges that are currently
> mishandled in Xorg, then why bother with the trouble of using those
> HID nodes at all?
> 

It's a new feature of Xorg using the hid nodes. Because if Xorg only
uses /dev/kbd, all keyboards function as the same. If Xorg use each
hid nodes independently, it can configure each keyboard with different
properties such as key mappings. There should be many other benefits
besides that which prompted the Xorg community to adopt the hid nodes.

> (At least there should be a CR filed on this.)
> 

There should be, and I guess there must already have had one.
I will check it, if otherwise I will file one.

Regards,
Aaron