I know.
> just wants to see what key you pressed, so has to assemble
> these scancodes into the keycode, some arbitrary number
> attached to the keys. If the application does not use VC_RAW
> but VC_MEDIUMRAW then the kernel will do the assembling -
> that is better, this way the application does not need knowledge
> about the scancodes generated by various keyboards.
Right.
> Linux uses the arbitrary numbering 1, 2, ... and reserves 0
> for special purposes. The authors of the non-Intel keyboard
> drivers have not understood that keycodes are completely
> arbitrary and also produce keycode 0 (for scancode 0).
> *That is a bug.*
Hmmm... The only place I found keycode 0 is used is to test the validity of the
arguments of KDSKBENT. Is that really necessary to forbid us using 0?
> > Is there a good reason for keeping the scancode system?
>
> On a kernel list this is a meaningless question.
> The hardware produces scancodes so the kernel has to deal
> with them. It is up to the application to request either
> scancodes or keycodes, so the above question is appropriate
> only on an X list.
Of course the kernel has to know. But the application? I can't have _one_ X
server binary for Linux/PPC because the application has to know whether an ADB
(without prefixes) or a PS/2 (with prefixes) keyboard is connected. Or I have
to use a command line option or a config file option. Autoprobing is difficult
because 0xe0 and 0xe1 may be real keycodes instead of prefixes on some
keyboards.
> > 16 bit keycodes?
>
> We will probably need them sooner or later, but not sooner,
> so for the time being we might as well forget this idea.
> People do not have keyboards with 128 keys or more.
Wrong. I know someone who has.
> The disadvantage of 16-bit keycodes is that keymaps become
> sparse tables, both in the kernel and in the applications
> that do their own decoding. That is definitely inconvenient,
> and there is nothing we win.
Yep. That's a disadvantage.
> Andries - who used to maintain the keyboard/console driver
> before the concept of maintainer was invented, and until 1.3.1 -
> typing from the keyboard of dwguest.
>
> PS - I do not read linux-kernel, that is, only on April 1st.
Oh, this is an April the 1st joke, and I'm so stupid to reply :-)
Greetings,
Geert
--
Geert Uytterhoeven Geert.Uytterhoeven@cs.kuleuven.ac.be
Wavelets, Linux/{m68k~Amiga,PPC~CHRP} http://www.cs.kuleuven.ac.be/~geert/
Department of Computer Science -- Katholieke Universiteit Leuven -- Belgium
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