[MiNT] Keyboard and other IKBD handling drivers

[Standa Opichal <opichals@seznam.cz>]

Hi all!

I've crawled through the FreeMiNT 1.16 sources. Do it really use the ROM 
TOS Bconin() (and related functions) to get the keyboard status? I've 
found some obsolete /dev/mouse sources too.

What it that status of IKBD intercepting in FreeMiNT? What about 
/dev/keyboard, /dev/mouse and /dev/joystick?

Correct me if I'm wrong: All the device /dev/console and others is done 
via the bios_tdevice (bconout()/bconin() functions). If we create a new 
/dev/keyboard for the keyboard than e.g. the /dev/console can be rewritten 
to use it.

best regards

STan

PS: Please read the enclosed conversation with Henk about what he would 
have like to have for XaAES. IMHO this would be a great thing for more 
than only for the XaAES. Many applications uses the NKCC and my idea was 
to write the /dev/nkcc or something similar.

Or... is there any better way to reach this?


---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2003 23:46:10 +0100
From: Henk Robbers <h.robbers@chello.nl>
To: Standa Opichal <opichals@seznam.cz>
Subject: Re: Optional keyboard driver for XaAES
Resent-Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2003 23:51:58 +0100 (CET)
Resent-From: OpichalS@seznam.cz
Resent-To: stop@idoox.com



Standa Opichal wrote:
>
> 
> Good. I just thought that it would be really good to have this in the
> system directly so that other applications might use this as well. So if I
> have some time I'll try to implement such a device (no promisses - I just
> think that it would be really worth it).

It is especially nice because it would be a real 'raw' console. Make sure you dont
do any interpretation (^C (SIGQUIT) and other disasters).

I suppose you must intercept the IKBD completely. (well, I think you must)
There is no danger; Even when XaAES crashes, MiNT will close the device cleanly.

> 
> > Currently, to be able to supply the AES code at all, I must fselect on dev/console
> > and then issue Bconin in stead of fread. This works, but doesnt make me feel comfortable.
> 
> Ehm, and what would be the workflow when you have the /dev/nkcc
> 

If I fread() from device/console, I just get 1 ascii character.
Bconin() returns the keyboard status + the scancode + the ascii code in a long.
With a small rearrangement this is just what the AES needs.


snippet from XaAES

typedef union
{
  long bcon;    /* returned by Bconin */
  struct
  {
    unsigned char
    state,      /* Ensure conterm bit 3 is set, so we get the keyboard status in here. */
    scan,       /* scancode */
    dum,
    code;       /* ascii (if applicable */
  }conin;
} CONKEY;

typedef struct rawkey
{
  CONKEY raw;
  G_u aes,      /* AES keycode */
      norm;     /* mormalized keycode */
} KEY;



/* snippet from xaaes kernel.c */

.......
input_channels |= 1L << C.KBD_dev; /* We are waiting on all these channels */
........
Fselect(timeout,
        (long *)&input_channels,
        0L,
        0L
        );
..........
if (input_channels & (1L << C.KBD_dev))
{                           /* Did we get some keyboard input? */
  KEY key;
  key.raw.bcon = Bconin(2); /* Crawcin(); */
  key.aes = (key.raw.conin.scan<<8) | key.raw.conin.code; /* Translate the BIOS raw data into                                                              AES format */
  key.norm = 0;             /* filled out by nkc_tconv when needed */

  ..........
}



What I would very much like to do in stead of Bconin:

Fread(C.KBD_dev, sizeof(KEY), &key);

if C.KBD_dev is dev/nkcc


and nothing more, so the device supplies key.norm.



-- 
Groeten; Regards.
Henk Robbers.    mailto:h.robbers@chello.nl
                   http://members.ams.chello.nl/h.robbers/Home.html
A free multitasking GEM for MiNT: XaAES   (heavily under construction);
                                              http://xaaes.atari.org
Interactive disassembler:         TT-Digger;  http://digger.atari.org
A Home Cooked teXt editor:        AHCX
The free desktop:                 TERADESK