Fix Belarusian Cyrillic layout & add Łacinka

[lomtjjz]

Hi. This PR fixes some errors with Belarusian Cyrillic layout and introduces an option for a Latin-based script, (Łacinka).

Changes in Cyrillic/belarusian.yaml:

• ў: Added to the layout.
• щ: Removed, as it does not exist in the Belarusian alphabet. Both Xorg and AOSP map ў to this key.
• є, и, and ї: Removed, as these letters are specific to the Ukrainian alphabet and are not part of Belarusian.

Also I renamed the file to Cyrilic/belarusian_cyrillic.yaml.

Łacinka

• See LatinScript/belarusian_latin.yaml

[tenextractor]

Sorry, I forgot to include Ў in the layout. But why remove И Ї Є? They are not top level keys, only long press options, and don't cause any problems. Even in the English keyboard you can get letters like Á even though they are not part of the English alphabet.

[lomtjjz]

"Less is better?"

But yes, you're right. Compatibility across layouts is good... and following this thought, we also need to consider adding щ and ъ

[tenextractor]

Ъ is automatically added in Cyrillic layouts under Ь, so we just need Щ under Ш

[lomtjjz]

Oh, ok. However, I would argue that placing Щ under Ў could be just as intuitive. Maybe the best solution is to map it under both Ш and Ў

[tenextractor]

Yes, it could be under both

[tenextractor]

And about the Latin layout, making it long press based is bad for typing speed, it could be something like this:

ć č ź ž ń ŭ ś š ł
q w e r t y u i o p
a s d f g h j k l
z x c v b n m

This might be too big, but we don't have a proper layer system which could shrink the layout, so this is the best possible layout at the moment.
Once there is a layer system the layout could be like this:

Base layer
q w e r t y u i o p
a s d f g h j k l *
z x c v b n m
(* = switch layer key)

Next layer
q w e r t y ŭ i o p
a ś š f g h j ĺ ł *
ž ź ć č b ń m

[lomtjjz]

I never saw such a thing done before for Łacinka. It will definitely be confusing for the first timers

[lomtjjz]

That said, it's not a bad idea. Typing with an extra row really makes it faster when you get used to it. So, how about two layout options: with and without the fourth row?

I think this is how it should look like:

ź ž ś š ć č ŭ ĺ ł ń 
q w e r t y u i o p
a s d f g h j k l
z x c v b n m

[tenextractor]

Yes this is fine, and we can simplify the layout YAML:

name: Belarusian (Latin)
languages: be-Latn
rows:
  - letters: ź ž ś š ć č ŭ ĺ ł ń
  - letters: 
    - q
    - w
    - e
    - r
    - t
    - y
    - ['u', 'ŭ']
    - i
    - o
    - p
  - letters:
    - a
    - ['s', 'ś', 'š']
    - d
    - f
    - g
    - h
    - j
    - k
    - ['l', 'ĺ', 'ł'] 
  - letters:
    - ['z', 'ź', 'ž']
    - x
    - ['c', 'ć', 'č']
    - v
    - b
    - ['n', 'ń']
    - m

[lomtjjz]

Hi. Are there any further changes needed or is it ready to be merged?

[lomtjjz]

Hi. Can you review it once again? @abb128

[lomtjjz]

Hello again. I fixed the problem mentioned in the latest review. Is there anything else that needs to be addressed before merging?

[lomtjjz]

https://youtu.be/5NnxJ7K8sDQ

[abb128]

Sorry for the delay, I'll try to get through the PR backlog this week

[lomtjjz]

Hi. Could you please make another review?

[lomtjjz]

@abb128

[lomtjjz]

Hi. Here is a brief overview of the changes introduced in this PR:

• Cyrillic/belarusian.yaml: Added the letter ў (short U) in place of щ, which is not used in Belarusian. The щ key can still be accessed via a long press for compatibility with other layouts
• LatinScript/belarusian_latin.yaml and LatinScript/belarusian_latin2.yaml: Introduced two new layouts for Łacinka. The belarusian_latin2 layout includes an additional row with special letters for faster typing, similar to the Czech layout
• mapping.yaml: Introduced a new category, be_Latn

Let me know if there is anything I can do to make it easier for you.

Before merging, I would appreciate discussing a few points. Is there a preferred way to contact you? Email, Discord, Zulip, or perhaps something else?

Awaiting your reply

[tenextractor]

The developer is busy, don't worry, it will be merged eventually.