Date: Tue, 22 Oct 2013 12:16:23 +0000 From: Gary Kline <kline@thought.org> To: Polytropon <freebsd@edvax.de> Cc: FreeBSD Mailing List <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org> Subject: Re: howto recognize the Shift and Alt keys when /pressed\ Message-ID: <20131022121555.GA24386@ethic.thought.org> In-Reply-To: <20131022125901.6f3366fd.freebsd@edvax.de> References: <20131021161200.GA18556@ethic.thought.org> <20131022012804.98a017fa.freebsd@edvax.de> <20131021164926.GA19974@ethic.thought.org> <20131022125901.6f3366fd.freebsd@edvax.de>
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Organization: Thought Unlimited. Public service Unix since 1986.
Of_Interest: With 27 years of service to the Unix community.
On Tue, Oct 22, 2013 at 12:59:01PM +0200, Polytropon wrote:
> On Mon, 21 Oct 2013 16:49:26 +0000, Gary Kline wrote:
> > since im using curses/ncurses, I just use getch(0. I.e.,
> >
> > c = getch();
> >
> > which works fine for everything except the modifier keys like ahift
> > and alt and ctl. if there is another way within X11, let's hear
> > it!
>
> In this case I have to remain silent. As far as I know,
> there is no way to capture modifier keys with this means
> as _individual_ key presses.
>
> In case you really want to implement that functionality,
> you'll have to "go down a few levels" and hook directly
> into the keyboard driver which, unlike the ncurses library
> that is tied to the console driver, is able to recognize
> modifier keys as individual keys. In "upper levels", this
> information is fully lost (press and release Shift key) or
> combined with other information (press Shift key, press
> letter 'k', release both, a capital 'K' will be written
> to the keyboard buffer that terminal-based applications
> can then read).
getting dow to the keyboard driver level is what I was going to
do--actually, what I did do way, way back. there was a crash that
cost me a month+ worth of work and I bought a "clicky" keyboard
for $80. I would up buying two of them and both got ruined!
you are right on the money that I can do nothing directly with
the shift, the caps-lock, [[nd alt, and other of the "modifier"
keys ]].
I just *barely* understand this python code that the guy has in
"xlib.py", but I see what he's done (I think) to grab onto the
modifyer keys::
def _setup_lookup(self):
"""Setup the key lookups."""
for name in dir(XK):
if name[:3] == "XK_":
code = getattr(XK, name)
self.keycode_to_symbol[code] = 'KEY_' + name[3:].upper()
self.keycode_to_symbol[65027] = 'KEY_ISO_LEVEL3_SHIFT'
self.keycode_to_symbol[269025062] = 'KEY_BACK'
self.keycode_to_symbol[269025063] = 'KEY_FORWARD'
self.keycode_to_symbol[16777215] = 'KEY_CAPS_LOCK'
self.keycode_to_symbol[269025067] = 'KEY_WAKEUP'
I'll have to look into his code further to see where he's got
the ints from. "65027", "29...62", etc. I'm not going to ask him
because he was a bit steamed about my asking him for the key-click
code. ---long story-short, this is how I'm going to have to do it
to grab the modifiers... .
{more backstory, a bit OT: in school, I hated curses. ken arnold
invented the stuff in 1978 or 1979; ken was lightyears ahead of me
since he was messing with computers as a teenager. }
> The only way I'd see would be to assign a totally different
> keysym to the modifier keys, but that again would prevent
> them from working as they are intended.
>
> Here's an example for a ~/.modmaprc that would map the
> modifier keys to additional PF keys (PF25 to PF33).
>
> ! left control
> keycode 37 = F25
> ! left meta
> keycode 115 = F26
> ! left alt
> keycode 67 = F27
> ! left shift
> keycode 50 = F28
> ! caps lock
> keycode 66 = F29
> ! right shift
> keycode 64 = F30
> ! right alt, alt gr
> keycode 113 = F31
> ! right meta
> keycode 116 = F32
> ! compose
> keycode 117 = F33
>
> Note that I've generated this example from a Sun USB Type 7
> keyboard with has Meta keys, a Compose key, but no right
> Control key, so I can't check that. The keycodes can be
> easily obtained with "xev".
>
> Also consider Num Lock: It's not a modifier key, but does
> not emit anything into the keyboard buffer. It's key code
> in X is 77. :-)
>
Hmmm! interesting. do you see any way that I could set up an
xmod when the computer first boots and the assign the modifiers
to some never-used keys, then make those keys click, or am I
off in the weeds??
gary
>
>
> --
> Polytropon
> Magdeburg, Germany
> Happy FreeBSD user since 4.0
> Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, ...
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--
Gary Kline kline@thought.org http://www.thought.org Public Service Unix
Twenty-seven years of service to the Unix community.
http://www.thought.org/HOPE
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