Re: comments on compose keys

Rick Hohensee (humbubba@smarty.smart.net)
Thu, 7 Oct 1999 15:59:30 -0400 (EDT)

>
> From: Rick Hohensee <humbubba@smarty.smart.net>
>
> ... The reason is I suggest a different arrangement for the default
> compose keys. 256, one more than is available normally, allows a full
> hexadecimal entry method, a Compose key hexpad.
> It has long annoyed me that that directness is absent,
> when it was present on much older machines and "toy" machines like the
> c64. The c64 didn't have an actual hexpad, but there was some key
> combination for all 256 bytes, which does not appear to be the case with a
> stock Linux. A hexpad is utterly general, and regular. The various
> sophisticated interfaces Linux provides other than this are great, but are
> not so great as to validate losing the things they are built on.
>
> But wait, Linux *does* have a hexpad, and also a decimal pad.
> No kernel or other changes required.
>
> Press left Alt, type a number on the keypad, release left Alt, and voila:
> you produced a byte with the specified decimal value.
> Press right Alt, type a number on the keypad, release right Alt, and voila:
> you produced a byte with the specified hexadecimal value.
>
> If you try and fail, you must update your keymap.
> Perhaps "loadkeys linux-with-alt-and-altgr.inc" will do.
> (There are several conventions around about how to get
> the hexadecimal A-F. The nicest one assigns these to
> Keypad keys NumLock, /, *, -, +, Enter, so that you remain
> on the keypad. You can also choose to use the ordinary letters.)
>
> Andries
>

I don't think that's the same. I am in dvorak, and haven't checked with
defkeymap.map, but I'm talking about

Composekey 4 e

produces the byte value 0x4e. Keys 0 - f are *nybbles*. This gives total
generality; all possible bytes. I had to write a program to provide this,
loadkeys Compose syntax prevents it. Or at least that's how things seem to
the extent that I wrote a program to get around it.

This raises another question; I don't suggest anyone document all the
possible actions, but a synopsis of the major classes of actions, 0x000,
0x100, 0x200 etc. that corresponds to the first table in dumpkeys -l is
well worth doing methinxth.

Thanks, aeb

Rick Hohensee
Coming Real Soon...

` v j x q ' lt rt a b c d + bs

alt p u n k y up dn 7 8 9 e e alt

s l i g h t ; 4 5 6 f shft

shft w o r m z , . 1 2 3 enter

ctl tab ---space----- 0 ctl

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