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From: LCAMPBELL%dec-marlboro@sri-unix.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.micro
Subject: Re: VT2xx esc, bs, lf keys
Message-ID: <17133@sri-arpa.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 2-Mar-84 07:21:00 EST
Article-I.D.: sri-arpa.17133
Posted: Fri Mar  2 07:21:00 1984
Date-Received: Mon, 5-Mar-84 01:08:31 EST
Lines: 26

From:  Larry Campbell 

I don't know much about the VT2xx, but I do know about the Rainbow, which
uses the same keyboard (the LK201A).  The LK201 is a very smart keyboard
with its own micro.  It does not generate ASCII -- it generates what
are called keycodes, one for each of the 100 or so keys.  And it sends
a keycode when you press the key and a keycode when you release it.
This is true of *all* the keys (even ctrl and shift).  It's up to
the box at the other end of the cord to interpret the keycodes.  That
box could perfectly well pretend the keyboard was a Dvorak keyboard,
or that the backquote key was ESC (for all you vi freaks), or that
the "compose character" key was actually a META key (!).  You can
also program autorepeate information independently for each of several
groups of keys.  The keyboard is divided into a number (7?) of groups,
and each group can point to one of four autorepeate parameter blocks.
These blocks specify the length of time you must hold the key down
before it autorepeats, the interval between successive autorepeat
characters, and whether to autorepeat at all.  It's interesting to
note that while the Rainbow 100 doesn't allow control characters or
the shift key to autorepeate, the Rainbow 100+ does.  It's the same
keyboard, just set up differently by software.

Sorry for the length of this -- just trying to point out that if you
don't like the way the LK201 works (on a micro - Rainbow or Pro), you
can change it.
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