Keys, Keys everywhere and not a Key to press!

Keyboard handling is one of the last main pieces of code that I would like to get working this week. Unfortunately, it is not a straightforward process.

I’m hoping that some of the bits I’ve learned on that series of tubes known as the internet (thank goodness it didn’t get clogged up) will help in most of cases. I definitely don’t want to have to write m own USB keyboard driver! Regardless, the keyboard handling will have to be all new code.

I would also like to be able to put some throttling on the emulator so that it doesn’t run at full speed (cpu cycles) while it waits for you to type something. Deja ][ could suck up 95% of the CPU cycles waiting for you to press a key. Even though the non-debug emulation will eventually be in a thread, it will still need to hang out in a less intense way when waiting for user input.

Some other key items of note:

  1. If anyone ever wrote a Mac plug-in, be warned that it will not work with Deja IIx. I am working on a more modern replacement of the plug-in design.
  2. MouseText isn’t working quite right yet. Still tracking down the specifics on when it is supposed to be used when dealing with Assembly programs. I found the tech note when using BASIC though.
  3. Serial Port native commands will simply be ignored.

Finally, work on Deja IIx will slow down after this week. My focus returns to several ongoing projects that are designed to pay the bills. That’s not to say it won’t get attention. I’m hoping that it won’t necessarily need as much attention.