How to change Keyboard Layout (a X11 API solution)

Question

I want to change keyboard layout in Linux by programming, What X11\'s API function does this?

Answer 1

Yesterday I was trying to make auto layuout switcher to EN for Google's xsecurelock. I tryed to find some existing solutions for X11 api, but...

So I decided to write my own with some help from S. Razi. Here is the code: (run with gcc -lX11)

#include 
#include 
#include 

int main(){

Display* _display;
char* displayName = "";
_display = XOpenDisplay(displayName);

int _deviceId = XkbUseCoreKbd;
int i = 0;
int _groupCount = 0;

XkbDescRec* kbdDescPtr = XkbAllocKeyboard();
if (kbdDescPtr == NULL) {
printf("%s\n", "Failed to get keyboard description."); 
return False;
}

kbdDescPtr->dpy = _display;
if (_deviceId != XkbUseCoreKbd) {
    kbdDescPtr->device_spec = _deviceId;
}

XkbGetControls(_display, XkbAllControlsMask, kbdDescPtr);
XkbGetNames(_display, XkbSymbolsNameMask, kbdDescPtr);
XkbGetNames(_display, XkbGroupNamesMask, kbdDescPtr);

         /* count groups */

Atom* groupSource = kbdDescPtr->names->groups;
if (kbdDescPtr->ctrls != NULL) {
    _groupCount = kbdDescPtr->ctrls->num_groups;
} else {
    _groupCount = 0;
    while (_groupCount < XkbNumKbdGroups &&
           groupSource[_groupCount] != 0) {
        _groupCount++;
    }
}

        /* get group names */
Atom* tmpGroupSource = kbdDescPtr->names->groups;
Atom curGroupAtom;
char* groupName;
for (i = 0; i < _groupCount; i++) {
    if ((curGroupAtom = tmpGroupSource[i]) != None) {
        char* groupNameC = XGetAtomName(_display, curGroupAtom);
            if (groupNameC == NULL) {
            continue;

        } else {
            groupName =  groupNameC;
            char *temp = "English";

            if (strncmp(temp, groupName, 7) == 0){
                printf ("%s\n", groupName);
                printf ("%d\n", i);
                XkbLockGroup(_display, _deviceId, i);
                XFree(groupNameC);
                XCloseDisplay(_display);
            }
            return 0;
        }
    } 
}
}

Here you can change char* temp = "English" to name of the group of your layout (exmp: "Russian"), and this simple code will switch your current layout :)