Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!samsung!olivea!mintaka!bloom-beacon!eru!hagbard!sunic!isgate!krafla!einari
From: einari@rhi.hi.is (Einar Indridason)
Newsgroups: comp.binaries.ibm.pc.d
Subject: Re: ALED goes to .... (technical answers)
Message-ID: <3273@krafla.rhi.hi.is>
Date: 18 Jun 91 21:29:57 GMT
References: <19965@csli.Stanford.EDU> <1991Jun16.122436.12392@cbfsb.att.com> <1991Jun17.183352.480@sc2a.unige.ch>
Reply-To: einari@rhi.hi.is (Einar Indridason)
Organization: University of Iceland (RHI)
Lines: 60

In article <1991Jun17.183352.480@sc2a.unige.ch> fisher@sc2a.unige.ch writes:
>> ALED supports the same method of entering extended ASCII.  The original
>> complaint was that that method was awkward.
>
>Not Fully.  Some charcters are ignored, some other returen a "Macro not
>defined".  Try chars 128-130, for example.  You were lucky to choose some
>that ALED does support.  Anyway, the ALT-<num pad> is *not* the preferred
>method.

RIGHT!

>The main problem with ALED is that it wants to improve on DOS's keyboard
>driver.  That means that the keyboard interrupt is trapped and the active
>shift state is checked.  Before doing that, you should really look at the

I have not checked it out, but do you meen that ALED takes over INT 9?
If so, then more reason to throw it away.  Int 9 is generally a NO NO if
you want your program to work in other countries.

>FOR PROGRAMMERS:
>If you want to intercept the keyboard interrupt, please call the real
>driver as a sub-function, and check whether the resulting character in the
>buffer is (1) a control character, (2) a "normal" character, including
>those from the higher table, or (3) an extended key.  Then decide if you
>really want to override the user's expected behavior.

And may I add:  Don't Mask the 8th bit.    (I need to get a
'card-of-common-sayings'  :-)

>
>The reason for the virulent attacks is probably a case of "ras le bol" -
>the bowl is full (what is the english equivalent?).  It is true that

Yes, the bowl is full.  It is more than full.  It exploded some time ago
:-)

>   Another big source for misbehavior is the usage of the standard c
>functions/macros islower, toupper, etc.  They are defined only in 7-bit mode.
>(I should clean-up my replacment macros and drop them on Simtel20, I
>know... :-)

I have written my own versions of those macroes.  I call them NLSislower,
NLSisupper, ... etc.  They are only for Icelandic, but the code behind them
is not complicated and if anyone is interested, feel free to email me and
ask for them.

>Enough for today, it seems this *is* a sensible matter for europeans (UK
>possibliy excepted due to relative US-compatibility :-)


(the 'pound' sign is in the upper half in the 'british' alphabeth)


Thank you.  Indeed thank you.  Great.

--
Internet:    einari@rhi.hi.is        |   "Just give me my command line and drag
UUCP:    ..!mcsun!isgate!rhi!einari  |   the GUIs to the waste basket!!!!"

Surgeon Generals warning:  Masking the 8th bit can seriously damage your brain!!