[Info-vax] PC/VT Keyboarrd Mapping

[Stephen Hoffman]

On 2016-06-25 13:06:18 +0000, Jan-Erik Soderholm said:

> Den 2016-06-25 kl. 14:20, skrev Stephen Hoffman:
>> On 2016-06-25 01:26:25 +0000, David Froble said:
>> 
>>> Why is it that whatever you use is great ... and whatever I use should die?
>> 
>> There are fewer keyboards with keypads, too.
> 
> It's not what I'm seeing. Many new "professional" laptops has larger 
> screens today, and it seems as the manfacturers just as well put in a 
> real keyboard with numeric kaypad also.

Big and heavy laptops, sure.   Some folks have called those 
battleship-class.   For the folks that are unable or unwilling to carry 
around the extra weight that's typically associated with those laptops, 
a different approach for applications is warranted.

> And besides, even if you have an laptop, most professionals will hook 
> up an external keyboard and screen anyway.

Yes, many will.  For those using OpenVMS, ponder why that might be the 
case.   The laptop keyboard might be cramped or might just be a bad 
keyboard — both of those cases certainly exist — or the folks might be 
using keys and keypads and features that don't exist on the laptop 
keyboard.   It's the latter case that I'm referencing.   Which means 
you're adding hardware.  In the case of the LK, hardware which is no 
longer manufactured is a prerequisite for effective use of the 
software.   I've seen more than a few folks using external mice, too.

Watching a typical Windows user arrive at a table, set up the power 
supply and — for those that want or need it — the external keyboard and 
the mouse — is always interesting to watch.   Particularly when 
comparing with folks that don't.    Roller bags or porters can help 
with all that, too.   But I digress.

Keeping application software working is laudable.    But dependencies 
on declining hardware and particularly dependences on hardware that is 
no longer available — such as the DEC LK — not so much.  Best to remove 
those dependencies.

> 
>> Unfortunately what you're using — the keypad-based application...
> 
> You've got to keep applications apart from the editing.
> I use EDT to edit our web based "GUI" applications.

Applications using the keypad are dying out.   EDT is an application.

Applications that use the LK are dead.  That hardware is no longer available.

Applications that use a PC keyboard and a full-size PC keypad are 
certainly preferable to those still using a DEC LK layout, but those 
applications are still reducing what hardware is compatible with the 
applications.

>> and keypad-based editors — is dying out...
> 
> EDT isn't "dying". Or, it is dying at the same pace as VMS is.

EDT was deprecated some twenty years ago.  EVE/TPU and LSEDIT were the 
migration path.

Keypad-based editors and other keypad-based applications are dying out. 
 That's because you can depend on the keyboard being present, but can't 
depend on the keypad — PC extended, or particularly the DEC LK — being 
available.

>> OpenVMS apps either need to forget about the VMS-layout LK and/or provide
>> an alternative to the keypad...
> 
> The keypad works just OK on any standard PC keyboard. With a few small 
> differences that should be easy to learn for any IT professional.

Other than that applications that have dependencies on the keypad, and 
that the traditional extended keypad is becoming less common, and that 
the DEC LK keyboard is no longer manufactured, sure.

Get off the LK.

Reduce your dependencies on the full-sized keyboards, and work to 
eliminate dependencies on DEC LK keyboard layouts.




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