Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!zephyr.ens.tek.com!tektronix!psueea!parsely!bucket!leonard
From: leonard@bucket.UUCP (Leonard Erickson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Extended (101/102 key) Keyboards
Keywords: detection of, extended bios calls
Message-ID: <1793@bucket.UUCP>
Date: 5 Dec 89 07:43:08 GMT
References: <197@sdscal.UUCP>
Distribution: na
Organization: Rick's Home-Grown UNIX; Portland, OR.
Lines: 24

keith@sdscal.UUCP (Keith Jones) writes:


>The problem was that I could figure out (although in perhaps an unportable
>fashion) whether a given computer had an extended keyboard or not by playing
>with INT 16 with AH = 0x11 (check extended keyboard status).  This worked
>fine on a Wyse 386, a Samsung 286, and an IBM/PC AT all with extended
>keyboards.  It also worked on an IBM PC with a normal keyboard, but it
>didn't work on an IBM PC with an extended keyboard.

The reason for this is quite simple. There is no such thing as an
"extended keyboard on an IBM PC". The codes returned by the "extra" keys
are the same as those returned by the other keys. (that is the arrows on
the inverted T return the same codes as do the equivalant keys on the
numeric pad)

The IBM PC BIOS has no support for extended keyboards. So If your
software determines that it is running on a PC or XT, it doesn't need
to check for an extended keyboard.
-- 
Leonard Erickson		...!tektronix!reed!percival!bucket!leonard
CIS: [70465,203]
"I'm all in favor of keeping dangerous weapons out of the hands of fools.
Let's start with typewriters." -- Solomon Short