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  1. Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.system
  2. Path: sparky!uunet!spool.mu.edu!uwm.edu!daffy!uwvax!cs.wisc.edu!tuc
  3. From: tuc@calico.cs.wisc.edu (Brian A. Cole)
  4. Subject: How does KeyCaps know which keyboard was used?  [also: Dvorak]
  5. Message-ID: <tuc.724405827@cs.wisc.edu>
  6. Keywords: KeyCaps keyboard ADB Dvorak
  7. Sender: news@cs.wisc.edu (The News)
  8. Organization: U of Wisconsin Madison - Computer Sciences
  9. Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1992 07:50:27 GMT
  10. Lines: 70
  11.  
  12.  
  13. Try this:  Attach two different models of ADB keyboard to an ADB mac (or
  14. attach an external ADB keyboard to a PowerBook, like I did) and go into
  15. KeyCaps.  Press a key.  Now press a key on the _other_ keyboard.
  16. Presto-Zamboni, the key layout displayed changes to that of the new
  17. keyboard.  Pretty neat, huh?
  18.  
  19. Now, I'm not complaining.  In fact, I think that this is just how I'd
  20. like it to work.  My question is _how_ does it work?  How did it know
  21. that I'd attached an "Apple Keyboard II" and not an "Apple Extended
  22. Keyboard II" (or, for that matter, some relatively unknown third-party
  23. gizmo)?
  24.  
  25. I'd always thought that all a keyboard did was broadcast an ASCII (or
  26. otherwise) code whenever a key is hit, but it seems to me that it must
  27. also be sending some self-identification of some sort.  Or I guess that
  28. the few applications that care (like KeyCaps) could ask the keyboard to
  29. identify itself after every keystroke or something.
  30.  
  31. Either way, it seems like the System must have some list of possible
  32. keyboards somewhere.  If this is the case, how the heck do third-party
  33. manufacturers make Mac keyboards -- do they require a system extension
  34. or something before the keyboard can be recognized?  Will someone in
  35. the know _please_ fill me in?
  36.  
  37. Why do I care so much?  Because I'm looking for true-Dvorak-hardware
  38. keyboard that I can use _in_parallel_ with a normal (qwerty) one.
  39. [note:  a Dvorak keyboard layout thingie doesn't help me here.  I want
  40. to be able to type on one keyboard in Dvorak and the other in qwerty
  41. simultaneously (or in quick succession) without having to use a Control
  42. Panel or macro.]
  43.  
  44. I have been unable to find one anywhere, and in a recent column David
  45. Ramsey says he's never seen one either.  So, being desperate, I've decided
  46. to look into making one myself (but I am woefully ignorant).
  47.  
  48. brian
  49.  
  50. PS.  Mac users in non-English speaking countries, are your keyboards
  51. anything even close to what I'm looking for?  If so, please send me email.
  52.  
  53.   Dvorak keyboard (middle portion):
  54.  
  55. -----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +---
  56.   @  | |  #  | |  $  | |  %  | |  ^  | |  &  | |  *  | |  (  | |  )  | |   
  57.   2  | |  3  | |  4  | |  5  | |  6  | |  7  | |  8  | |  9  | |  9  | |   
  58. -----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +---
  59. -+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ 
  60. "| |  <  | |  >  | |  P  | |  Y  | |  F  | |  G  | |  C  | |  R  | |  L  | 
  61. '| |  ,  | |  .  | |  p  | |  y  | |  f  | |  g  | |  c  | |  r  | |  l  | 
  62. -+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ 
  63. ---+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----
  64. A  | |  O  | |  E  | |  U  | |  I  | |  D  | |  H  | |  T  | |  N  | |  S  
  65. a  | |  o  | |  e  | |  u  | |  i  | |  d  | |  h  | |  t  | |  n  | |  s  
  66. ---+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----
  67.  +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-
  68.  |  :  | |  Q  | |  J  | |  K  | |  X  | |  B  | |  M  | |  W  | |  V  | |Z
  69.  |  ;  | |  q  | |  j  | |  k  | |  x  | |  b  | |  m  | |  w  | |  v  | |z
  70.  +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-
  71. -+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+
  72.  | |                             <space>                                  |
  73.  | |                                                                      |
  74. -+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+
  75.  
  76. -- 
  77. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~     _______    _____     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  78. Brian A. Cole                 |_   _  |  |  ___|    Most people think disc golf
  79.   tuc@cs.wisc.edu               | | | |__| |___     is a joke.    It is not.
  80.   ...!uwvax!cs.wisc.edu!tuc     |_| |__________|    That gives us the element
  81.                                                     of surprise.
  82.