DRAW-CONTEXT(2)                                   DRAW-CONTEXT(2)

     NAME
          Context - graphics environment

     SYNOPSIS
          include "draw.m";
          draw := load Draw Draw->PATH;

          Context: adt
          {
             display: ref Display;      # frame buffer on which windows reside
             wm:      chan of (string,
                         chan of (string, ref Wmcontext)); # wmgr connection
          };

          # connection to window manager for one or more windows (as Images)
          Wmcontext: adt
          {
             kbd:     chan of int;         # incoming characters from keyboard
             ptr:     chan of ref Pointer; # incoming stream of mouse positions
             ctl:     chan of string;      # commands from wm to application
             wctl:    chan of string;      # commands from application to wm
             images:  chan of ref Image;   # exchange of images
             connfd:  ref Sys->FD;         # connection control
             ctxt:    ref Draw->Context;
          };

     DESCRIPTION
          The Context type encapsulates the data types and channels
          used by an interactive application, and establishes a con-
          text for graphics output and window management.  A reference
          to the Context is passed as the first argument to an appli-
          cation when it begins execution:

          include "draw.m"

          Command: module
          {
               init: fn(nil: ref Draw->Context; nil: list of string);
          };

          Most programs do not create Contexts but instead inherit one
          from their parent, typically a shell or window system.

        Context interface
          The following elements of Context are used by wm:

          display  The Display adt to which the application is con-
                   nected; may be nil.  See draw-display(2).

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     DRAW-CONTEXT(2)                                   DRAW-CONTEXT(2)

          wm       A shared channel through which a private channel
                   can be set up with a window manager.  A client
                   application sends a tuple containing a request
                   string (of a format defined by the window manager)
                   and a private reply channel.  It receives a tuple
                   in reply on that channel; the tuple contains a
                   string (eg, an acknowledgement or diagnostic) and a
                   reference to a Wmcontext value containing channels
                   by which the application can interact with the win-
                   dow manager.

        Wmcontext interface
          The Wmcontext provides a set of channels and file descrip-
          tors through which the window manager and application inter-
          act.  The elements of the adt are used as follows:

          kbd     A channel of type int that delivers keystrokes from
                  a keyboard.

          ptr     A channel of type ref Pointer that delivers events
                  from a pointing device such as a mouse.  See
                  devpointer(2).

          ctl     A channel of type string that delivers control mes-
                  sages from the window manager to the application.

          wctl    A channel of type string, which if initialised is
                  used by the application to send control messages to
                  the window manager.  It is not used by the current
                  wm(1) or tkclient(2).

          images  A channel of type ref Image that allows the window
                  manager and application to exchange images (eg, when
                  resizing, or to supply a cursor image).

          connfd  A file descriptor that can be used to provide per-
                  client connection control.  For instance, a client
                  can store a file descriptor open on a sys-
                  file2chan(2) provided by the window manager, and the
                  window manager will shut down input to the applica-
                  tion when the connection closes (eg, if the applica-
                  tion exits unexpectedly).  Connfd is also used to
                  write requests to the window manager.  Convention-
                  ally a request is a list of words formatted as by
                  quoted in string(2). A request starting with an
                  exclamation mark  if successful will result in an
                  image being sent down the image channel; the rectan-
                  gle of the image indicates the rectangle that has
                  been allocated on the screen. If only the origin is
                  to be changed by the window manager, a nil image is
                  sent first (giving the application a chance to sus-
                  pend operations on the window), and then the

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     DRAW-CONTEXT(2)                                   DRAW-CONTEXT(2)

                  original image, with its origin set appropriately.

          image   This is used as described above.

          ctxt    Initialised with the ctxt value that provided the
                  initial connection on the wm channel.

     SEE ALSO
          wm(1), wmlib(2), mux(1), draw-intro(2), ir(2), prefab-
          intro(2), tk(2)

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