Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!pyramid!voder!apple!tecot
From: tecot@apple.UUCP (Ed Tecot)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: International Macs + new user interface = ?
Message-ID: <7128@apple.UUCP>
Date: 5 Jan 88 02:44:08 GMT
References: <22366@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
Reply-To: tecot@apple.UUCP (Ed Tecot)
Organization: Apple Computer Inc., Cupertino, USA
Lines: 36

In article <22366@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> oster@dewey.soe.berkeley.edu.UUCP (David Phillip Oster) writes:
>Two questions about writing compatible macintosh software:
>
>How do international issues effect <Cmd>-?
>How do international issues effect the function keys on the large 
>	keyboard?
>
>1.) How do international issues effect <Cmd>-?.
><Cmd>-? is an evolving standard for help in the Macintosh environment,
>yet, if the user actually holds down the <Cmd> key and hits the question
>mark key, the system software shows my application a <Cmd>-/ keyDown
>event.  I am capable of writing <Cmd>-/ as a synonym for <Cmd>-?, but 
>what about non-American keyboards? Surely the '?' is not above the '/'
>on every keyboard Apple will ever sell, anywhere in the world?
>How do I do the right thing for all the foreign language keyboards that
>Apple might introduce. (I want my software to work, well into the future.)

You are correct in stating that the '?' is not above the '/' in every keyboard
that Apple might sell, especially when Europe is considered.  This is a
significant problem, and you might argue that command-? should always return
command-?, even when the keys are shifted.  I did.  However, several
applications (e.g. FullPaint) expect to get command-shift-/ and broke when
they were given command-? instead.  So... the correct solution is to accept
BOTH command-? and command-shift-/ to operate any command-? feature.

>2.) How do international issues effect the function keys on the large 
>	Apple Desktop Bus keyboard?
>...

Whenever decoding a keystroke on the Macintosh, always use the character
code first, and only if you need more information, go to the key code.
So, if you see a character code of $1B, and you need to know if it is clear
or escape, then and only then should you examine the key code.  The same
goes for the function keys.  Under no circumstances should you ever modify
the KMAP, as this is intended for the use of the keyboard manufacturer only.

						_emt