Re: 2.6.0-test5 vs. Japanese keyboards

Norman Diamond
2003-09-23T11:45:32Z

Andries Brouwer and Norman Diamond:

> > > I think no kernel changes are required to use Japanese keyboards
> > > today.
> > > (But kbd has to be recompiled with NR_KEYS set to 256.)
> >
> > I'm not convinced yet. defkeymap.c_shipped is included in the
> > downloadable .bz2 file and it is inadequate.
>
> But defkeymap is inadequeate for German, it is inadequate for French,
> why would it be adequate for Japanese?

I think that if defkeymap.c_shipped were inadequate for German and French
then you already would have fixed it. I don't have experience with those
keyboards but would guess that defkeymap.c_shipped is probably adequate for
loadkeys to load a working keymap for German or French.

We have already discussed the fact that defkeymap.c_shipped is not adequate
to load a working keymap for Japanese. In order to be capable of loading a
working keymap, defkeymap.c_shipped needs patching. This is why the patch
looked so big. Of course a working defkeymap.c_shipped should be generated
automatically from a different keymap file which doesn't need nearly as big
a patch. Nonetheless defkeymap.c_shipped is part of the kernel, isn't it?
No matter how what method and how small an originating patch are used in
getting this one fixed, it is a part of the kernel that is getting fixed
here, isn't it?

> It is just the random default you get when no keymap was loaded.

It is that plus more. It includes limits that prevent certain keymaps from
getting set when loaded.