keyboard functions

["linux user" <sudebian gmail com>]

Every day is more and more necessary to dominate the keyboard,
especially in applications running in a globalized contexts which work
with different languages, so need to switch / change the configuration
of characters (letters) along the keyboard (according those
languages). Or more exactly, with the same keycodes (because usually
the same keyboard) produce different letters according the prefered
layouts of each language.

X Window System foresaw this situation and provide us some
mechanisms... among them, we have the configuration files placed (at
least on my computer) in /usr/share/X11/xkb and /etc/X11. Default
keyboard configurations (layouts & variants, mainly, rigth here..)
-set in /etc/X11/xorg.conf- are defined in /usr/share/X11/xkb/...
Furthermore, if an option like "grp:switch,grp:shift_toggle" or
"grp:switch,grp:alt_shift_toggle" is provided, it's possible to switch
among two, three or four keyboards (= character configurations).

It's also possible, in a graphical console, to use the command
"setxkbmap", and in
Gnome Dektop Environment, we have the gnome-keyboard-properties
application. But... Why the silence in the GTK+ users list when I ask
the way to do it in my GTK+ applications ?

I mean,

* I need the function to get the available keyboards, so the different
options related about, defined in the X System, to configure the
current keyboard  (the physical peripherical)...

* To let (the 2nd function) the GTK+ application reconfiguring the
keyboard semi-automatically...

* All of this, knowing always (the 3rd. one) the current keyboard
complete configuration (maybe an special structure).


I'd like to *talk* you about it.

Especially, know if it's possible to do it now using the GTK+
libraries (GDK,...) and if not, how can I do it to entrust the
development of these functions (since I'm not an expert of the X
Window System, Xlib...) ?