Path: utzoo!mnetor!tmsoft!torsqnt!lethe!yunexus!ists!helios.physics.utoronto.ca!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!olivea!mintaka!bloom-picayune.mit.edu!athena.mit.edu!acook
From: acook@athena.mit.edu (Andrew R Cook)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Re: Game Controller programming
Message-ID: <1991Jan28.145603.25118@athena.mit.edu>
Date: 28 Jan 91 14:56:03 GMT
References: <11536@helios.TAMU.EDU>
Sender: news@athena.mit.edu (News system)
Reply-To: acook@athena.mit.edu (Andrew R Cook)
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Lines: 39

In article <11536@helios.TAMU.EDU>, rdw2030@venus.tamu.edu writes:
|> Does anyone have any information or know of a source for programming game
|> controllers?  I have a CH Gamecard III-Automatic.  I would like to include
|> joystick capability in some programs.
|> 
|> While on the subject, is there any generally available documentation on 
|> using mice?
|> 
|> Many thanks...
|> 
|> Mark C. "Bro!" Lowe - KB5III

As far as mice go, they are relatively easy . . .  I suggest you go to the
local bookstore, and pick up a copy of Microsoft Press' Programmer's Reference
Guide for the Mouse(title may not be right - don't have the book in front of
me).  This book describes how to use the mouse driver so that a four year old
could do it.  If you use MS C, i would suggest that you rather not use the
library functions that comes with the book, but just use int86 calls.  Its
faster that way.  If you are an experienced programmer, a better reference is
a little book from Microsoft press called MSDOS Extensions (for mouse, 
expanded memory, & CD ROM).  It describes briefly INT 33 (mouse driver) and
all of its sub-functions.  No examples, but an experienced programmer will
have no problems.  There are problems with using the driver, but for most things
it is OK.

As far as gamecard programming, I have never tried that.  You may find that
you will have to contact the manufacturor and get specific hardware info from
them, and write a driver using inp & outp, or even better, go to machine
language.  In this case I don't envy you.  You may also find the the manufacturor 
can just point you to a pre-written driver that you can get for free, or a modest 
charge.  Just call the manufacturor.

If you find you need programming samples for the mouse driver, let me know, I can
post one, or mail you some.

Good Luck !

Andy Cook
acook@athena.mit.edu