How to detect a non-ascii
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Mike Bessy [IBMNET]
>Subject: Re: How to detect a non-ascii keyp
>Date: Tue, 9 Mar 1993 19:34:01 -0500
>From: Chaim Manaster <mana...@YU1.YU.EDU>
>Sender: JPS...@INDYCMS.BITNET
>Several things I am not clear on:
>How does 4dos differentiate between the extended ascii character
>(say in the IBM set) ord 134 and the "@134" you use in your
>example.
> In c or assembler, you test the first byte for null value then you
> know the second byte (134) is the scan code of the F12 key. Here
> your not told whether this is the first or second byte whose value
> is 134. Does the @ symbol tell you this was the second byte that
> was 134? Thus how do I pass this on to perl? Is it the string of
> four characters "@" "1" "3" "4" that gets passed to perl, or is it
> just the unsigned single byte value of 134 that gets passed. If it
> is the latter then how does perl know if it is the first or second
> byte whose value was 134?
>
> Also, how do I avoid the need for a carriage return after each
> keypress? Is 4dos requiring this, or is this some perl artifact
> that requires the carriage return?
If you have JP software technical support questions, I sure wish you'd
address them to JP software Technical Support! I definitely believe I made
a mistake when I started responding to some of the messages that passs
through this newsgroup/list...
I'm sure you'll have all the answers you're looking for as soon as you
look in your 4DOS manual, but I'll give you a quick "rundown".
1. The "@" in the keyname indicates an "extended" key code, the kind that
returns a '00' byte followed by a non-zero value.
2. I have no idea what perl expects on its command line and can't help
you with that. I suspect 4DOS gives you all the relevant information to
build the command tail in any way you wish.
3. The internal command INKEY does _not_ require any special terminator,
such as CR. It merely captures the keypress, whatever it is (including
'ENTER' if that's what you feed it).
4. See #2 above. You may want to ask perl-specific question in whatever
list/newsgroup is appropriate.
Mike Bessy [IBMNET] 03-09-93
JP Software 21:33 CST
Michael Baum , NIST Public Affairs
> address them to JP software Technical Support! I definitely believe I made
> a mistake when I started responding to some of the messages that passs
> through this newsgroup/list...
Mike, this is kind of a recurring theme with you, and I'd just like to
point out that, to the contrary, JP ought to give you some sort of
employee initiative bonus for undertaking to monitor this newsgroup.
It's widely read, which greatly increases your interface with your user
public, and so maximizes the effect of any technical question you answer
here. That is to say, the answer you post to any technical question (like
the one which occasioned this thread) gets read by any number of other
users who might in fact have the same porblem - or one closely related which
is answered en passant by your reply. Which forestalls them from asking
their question through the oft-cited "official" JPS support channels. Which
saves technical support - _you_, I believe - from dealing with them one at
a time.
Don't take no abacus to figure the increase in employee productivity.
Mike Bessy [IBMNET]
>Subject: Re: How to detect a non-ascii
>From: "Michael Baum (NIST Public Affairs)"
>Sender: JPS...@INDYCMS.BITNET
>Mike, this is kind of a recurring theme with you, and I'd just like to
>point out that, to the contrary, JP ought to give you some sort of
>employee initiative bonus for undertaking to monitor this newsgroup.
>
>It's widely read, which greatly increases your interface with your user
>public, and so maximizes the effect of any technical question you answer
>here. That is to say, the answer you post to any technical question (like
>the one which occasioned this thread) gets read by any number of other
>users who might in fact have the same porblem - or one closely related
> which is answered en passant by your reply. Which forestalls them from
>asking their question through the oft-cited "official" JPS support
>channels. Which saves technical support - _you_, I believe - from dealing
>with them one at a time.
>
>Don't take no abacus to figure the increase in employee productivity.
To set the record straight, my relationship with JP Software is not
exactly that of the typical "employee" and "employer". My main concern is
to make sure that our users get the best technical support we can
provide. Because of the limitations of the method by which I have to
monitor this list/newsgroup, I _know_ I miss some messages, and I suspect
some of my answers fall into a mysterious inter-gateway bit bucket.
The preferred method to reach us is via public messages in our "official"
support section on CompuServe. As an alternative, I have no problem
answering messages sent to me directly at 75300...@compuserve.com for
those people who don't have direct CompuServe access.
The message I see in this list/newsgroup only form a small percentage of
teh total number of technical inquiries dumped on my lap daily. The big
difference is that I can guarantee that every user who asks a question
on CompuServe _will_ get a direct answer or at least an acknowledgement,
typically within a few hours, while I have absolutely no control over the
traffic here.
The few messages from irate users who post angry tirades to "the 4DOS
newsgroup" because they haven't heard from JP Software make me wonder if
we wouldn't be better off _not_ having a presence here at all in order to
avoid building false expectations. They are the main reason why I have to
constantly remind everyone that "this" (whatever "this" is, all Internet
traffic appears to me as CompuServe MAIL) is not the proper place to
contact JP software. Because of my very remote location, I simply
_cannot_ get direct Internet access, even if we could justify the expense
(are all of you _registered_ users of our products? Do all the questions
here related to anything our products can control).
I'm open to suggestions, but keep in mind that there's only one of me (even
with OS/2 2.1 and simultaneous conline sessions), and that I have this
silly habit of dozing off a couple of hours each 24-hour period...
My personal and unofficial opinion on how to best save a lot of tech
support questions: RTFM! :-)
Mike Bessy [IBMNET] 03-11-93
JP Software 00:24 CST
Eric Lindsay
>It's widely read, which greatly increases your interface with your user
>public, and so maximizes the effect of any technical question you answer
>here. That is to say, the answer you post to any technical question (like
>the one which occasioned this thread) gets read by any number of other
>users who might in fact have the same porblem - or one closely related which
>is answered en passant by your reply. Which forestalls them from asking
>their question through the oft-cited "official" JPS support channels. Which
>saves technical support - _you_, I believe - from dealing with them one at
>a time.
Don't know about others, but I've been saving all the "interesting"
solutions Mike (and others) have provided here on the same shelf as my
4Dos manual. There are now a whole heap of things I'll never have to
ask JPS (although, to be honest, I'm not sure I would have asked them
most of these in any case).
--
er...@zen.maths.uts.edu.au Eric Lindsay, Sch of Maths, Uni of Tech
Don't take life too seriously.
It is only temporary.
era eriksson
products (4DOS/4OS2 et al)" <JPS...@INDYCMS.IUPUI.EDU> writes:
> >Mike, this is kind of a recurring theme with you, and I'd just like to
> >point out that, to the contrary, JP ought to give you some sort of
> >employee initiative bonus for undertaking to monitor this newsgroup.
> The preferred method to reach us is via public messages in our "official"
> support section on CompuServe. As an alternative, I have no problem
> answering messages sent to me directly at 75300...@compuserve.com for
> those people who don't have direct CompuServe access.
For European users and others with limited access to Compu$erve +and+
the Internet, allow me to point out that the international Fido amateur
network offers a very lively 4dos support group, with guest appearances
by Rex Conn himself. Any self-respecting Fido BBS should be able to give
you access to the 4DOS echo. Give it a shot.
2:220/851.95
--
/* era */
--
era eriksson .obMantra: Fest alla dagar .obDiscl: I rarely know what I'm doing
David Reeve Sward
c.o.m.4dos by era erik...@klaava.Hels
> the Internet, allow me to point out that the international Fido amateur
> network offers a very lively 4dos support group, with guest appearances
> by Rex Conn himself. Any self-respecting Fido BBS should be able to give
> you access to the 4DOS echo. Give it a shot.
Why not see if some kind Fido<=>Usenet gateway could gate the Fido &
Usenet 4dos groups? *That* would be the best solution, IMO.
--
David Sward swa...@cmu.edu