Naming Conventions

ProXL has many primitives that are very similar (though none that are identical) to Xlib functions. Unfortunately, Xlib's naming conventions are not very convenient in Prolog, so ProXL uses different names. ProXL names are all lowercase, with underscores used to separate words. Also, ProXL names do not have prefixes or suffixes to specify the context they are to be used in; in Prolog, context is sufficient to disambiguate. For example, the line style called LineDoubleDash by Xlib is called simply double_dash by Prolog, since the context in which it is used will make clear that it is a line style.

To be a little more formal about it, here's a rough algorithm for translating names:

1. Strip off the X prefix from a function or structure name, or the context prefix or suffix from a #defined symbol.
2. Insert an underscore before the last in any sequence of one or more uppercase letters.
3. Make all letters lowercase.

So XOpenDisplay would become open_display, NorthWestGravity would become north_west, and LSBFirst would become lsb_first.

Note that not all X functions have direct ProXL counterparts. In some cases, a single ProXL procedure fills the role of many Xlib functions. For example, ProXL has no set_fill_rule procedure, instead you use put_graphics_attributes/2. Also, in a few cases, Xlib functions that take boolean arguments have been split into two different ProXL procedures, one for each boolean state.