Proposed XI2.3 addition: XIGetSupportedVersion

Update March 7 2013: This addition was not merged into XI 2.3, largely because there is no real need for it. XI 1.x' XGetExtensionVersion() returns the server version without locking in a client version and at this point there was no perceived need for getting the already-requested client version back. I'll leave this here for archival purposes but again, this request was not merged into XI 2.3

Original post below

Posting this here too to get a bit more exposure.

XIQueryVersion(3) is the first XI2 request clients should send to the server. The client announces its supported version and in return receives the server version (which is always less or equal to the client, never higher).

As XI 2.1 - 2.3 progressed, we started using this information in the server. Clients are treated slightly differently depending on their announced version. The current differences are:

• XIQueryPointer will not set the button 1 mask for pointer-emulated events if the client supports XI 2.2 or newer.
• XIAllowEvents will allow XIRejectTouch and XIAcceptTouch for clients supporting XI 2.2 or newer.
• Raw event delivery changes if a client supports XI 2.1 or newer.

The client can issue multiple XIQueryVersion requests, but they need to have the same version numbers to provide for consistent server behaviour.

So far, so good. This works fine as long as the client supports one specific version. However, as toolkits like GTK have come to support XI2, the requirements changed a bit. An application and its toolkit usually look like a single client to the server. However, the client may support XI 2.0, but the toolkit may support XI 2.3. And neither knows of the other's version support. If the client requests XIQueryVersion before the toolkit, the toolkit is locked into the client version. But if the toolkit first requests XIQueryVersion, the client is locked into the version supported by the toolkit. Worst case the client may get a BadValue and quit because it may not be built for this case.

Jasper St. Pierre and Owen Taylor brought this up on #xorg-devel today, and I've send a proposed solution to the mailing list.

A new XIGetSupportedVersion request simply returns the server's major/minor version number. Uncapped, so really what the server supports. And the same request also returns the client version previously announced with XIQueryVersion. Or zero, if the client hasn't called it yet.

This request enables toolkits to query what the client has already set, and of course what the server supports without modifying the client state. The request is currently an RFC, but I do hope we may get this into XI 2.3.

If you're working on XI2-aware clients or toolkits and you have a use-case that requires this or would break by this addition, please speak up now.