Bugzilla Bug 180163

As the xorg bundled with gentoo doesn't have hotpluging support yet all the
device nodes must be created before xdm starts. That's why lircmd won't work
without restarting xdm.

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Add lircmd to default runlevel
2. Boot the system
3. Lircmd starts after X

Actual Results:  
xorg can't use the lircmd device

Expected Results:  
Start before xdm

From /etc/init.d/xdm
****************************************************************
# Start X Font Server before X
depend() {
        need localmount

        # this should start as early as possible
        # we can't do 'before *' as that breaks it
        # (#139824) Start after ypbind and autofs for network authentication
        # (#145219) Could use lirc mouse as input device
        # (#70689 comment #92) Start after consolefont to avoid display
corruption
        after bootmisc readahead-list ypbind autofs openvpn gpm netmount lircd
consolefont
        before alsasound

        # Start before X
        use acpid consolekit hald xfs
}
****************************************************************

lircd must be changed by lircmd, note the "m" or added before it.

I think the best option is to substitute it because lircd is there to solve the
problem but it doesn't make nothing to do it. Putting there lircmd is the
solution.

I don't know why isn't solved yet the bug, i also posted the pertinent fix to
it, but the ebuild it remains buggy in this aspect. By now, other solution is
to include support for xorg 7.3 that have ("Input hotplug: Input hotplug allows
hotplugging of input devices, and also adds enhanced support for touchscreens
and tablets.") and also will be needed for the ebuild of 7.3 to remove the
dependecies that rely on daemons that create devices, because 7.3 will have the
posibility to use devices that appears later.

I had the exact same problem. Replacing lircd with lircmd solves it. Probably
it should be changed in the package, so that it won't be necessary to modify
/etc/init.d/xdm each time it gets updated after etc-update.

What's the difference between lircd and lircmd?

(In reply to comment #4)
> What's the difference between lircd and lircmd?
> 

lircd is the daemon that translates the IR signals in names (Example:0x00012 ->
Play) throught a lirc device. With lircd you can send commands to programs that
supoort it translating the name to a key (Example: Play -> SpaceBar). With
lircd you can control programs.

lircMd is another daemon but is different, it needs lircd started. It makes a
"virtual" mouse device and you can asing names of lircd to cursor moves,
(Example: Play -> Right Click). With it you can use the remote as a mouse.

The only problem is that X windows don't have nothing to do with lircd to
control the mouse, the mouse control and the device is done by lircMd and if it
is started after X, X won't find the "virtual" mouse device because it will be
created when lircMd starts. Changing lircd to lircmd solves the problem, the
only thing is that this change has to be commited in the ebuild's config file
because if you change it everytime that xdm is updated etc-update will ask to
replace it with the wrong lircd value.

If you're just using /dev/input/mice as your mouse, then it shouldn't make any
difference, right? Only when you've got the lirc thingy set as a separate input
device.

(In reply to comment #6)
> If you're just using /dev/input/mice as your mouse, then it shouldn't make any
> difference, right? Only when you've got the lirc thingy set as a separate input
> device.
> 

Now a days i haven't got the remote and i think that i always have been the X
core pointer set as /dev/input/mice but not sure, i know that in the device
there are all the mice input. Anyway the problem is there, if someone wants to
have gpm only usable with a mouse and X with an other mouse, or the X screens
with different keyboard, mouse...

This is fixed with xinit-1.0.8-r3.