External keyboard bug on Korean input

[Alex4386]

Your system information

• Steam client version: 1666399660
• SteamOS version: 20221003.100
• Opted into Steam client beta?: Yes
• Opted into SteamOS beta?: Yes
• Have you checked for updates in Settings > System?: Yes

Please describe your issue in as much detail as possible:

Describe what you expected should happen and what did happen.

All of the "intermediate-inputs" are inputted into application if I type Korean with external keyboard.

Screenshots

Expected Results:

Actual Results:

Notice the ㅇ아안 안ㄴ녀녕 녕.
The intermediate inputs for entering 안, (ㅇ 아 안) and 녕 (ㄴ 녀 녕) is all being inputted to the application.

Extra explanations

Korean 2-Set keyboard composes character by getting multiple keystrokes to create a one single character. For example: in order to enter 안:

1. Press ㅇ to make ㅇ
2. Press ㅏ to make 아 This is where input handler comes to play, combining characters, you can use libhangul for implementing this
3. Press ㄴ to make 안
4. When input handler detects that character is complete input handler returns a finalized character
   • Depending on next keystroke that can not compose using previous character (in this case, 안) (Counter example: ㅈ after 안 can compose into 앉)
   • Leaving the input field entirely

The problem here is ibus-hangul has changed default behavior how intermediate inputs (ㅇ, 아, 안) is displayed via application (via ibus's surrounding-text), and since application can not handle it (application only supporting xim only), It inputs into application, inputting all intermediate inputs (ㅇ, 아, 안) and composed input (안), ruining user's input.

Steps for reproducing this issue:

1. Go to Desktop mode
2. Bring up the SteamDeck's on screen keyboard via STEAM+X, and Press the Globe key to change language to Korean Check the input method was changed to ibus-hangul at the status bar.
3. Plug in external keyboard
4. Open up applications that does not support ibus's surrounding-text mode. (e.g. Discord, VSCode (Electron app), Google Chrome, etc.)
5. Type Korean in any input field in
6. See application outputting bunch of:

   IBUS-WARNING **: HH:mm:ss.sss: [Application name] has no capability of surrounding-text feature

   and applications are displaying bunch of "intermediate-input" characters

Related Issue

https://github.com/libhangul/ibus-hangul/issues/69

Notes

• This issue is reproducible outside of flatpak sandbox. therefore, This is NOT a flatpak issue.
• Some applications that support surrounding-text does work properly. But since there are lots of applications that does not support surrounding-text since most of the "Cross-platform apps" are electron based at the moment, This seems to be an issue and developers doesn't seems to be caring about supporting one (https://github.com/libhangul/ibus-hangul/issues/69#issuecomment-441623129) especially since other input handlers works without adding a support.

Possible solution

1. Use ibus-hangul's buggy preedit-mode based implementation by setting dconf /org/freedesktop/ibus/engine/hangul/preedit-mode to "syllable".
   • This will break current Steamdeck's on screen keyboard
   • This implementation has previously known for constant ignoring of keypresses
2. Wait for application developers to implement proper surrounding-text support
   • https://github.com/libhangul/ibus-hangul/issues/69#issuecomment-441623129 as mentioned in this issue, This bug was here for 4 years at this point and wasn't fixed. So this wouldn't be a case.
3. (RECOMMENDED) Use other implementation of Korean input that has proper fallback support for xim.
   • nimf - https://github.com/hamonikr/nimf (Recommended)
   • fcitx - https://github.com/fcitx/fcitx

[Alex4386]

Any updates on this? It seems you are now launching SteamDeck to South Korea in this december.
And It seems the Issue is still persistent.