Atari ST series Technical Reference Manual page 46

of data. Therefore, the XBIOS contains functions for sending
an entire string of characters to either device. The Midiws()
function sends a string of characters out the MIDI port, and
Ikbdws() writes a string of characters to the IKBD. These
two functions are called like this:
int bytes;
long buffer;
Midiws(bytes, buffer);
int bytes;
long buffer;
Ikbdws(bytes, buffer);
where bytes is a value one less than the length of the charac­
ter string in bytes, and buffer is the address of the memory
buffer that contains the string. More information on the com­
mand set used by the intelligent keyboard device can be
found in Appendix I. The protocol used by MIDI devices is
too complex to include here. Complete details are contained
in the official MIDI specification, a 71-page book published
by the International MIDI Association. This book may be ob­
tained directly from the IMA, 5316 West 57th Street, Los An­
geles, CA 90056 (818)505-8964. Its price is currently $35.
Because initializing the mouse packet mode requires a
number of commands to be sent to the IKBD, the XBIOS pro­
vides a function that lets you send all of them at once. This
function is called Initmous(), and it's called like this:
int mode;
long params, vector;
Initmous(mode, params, vector);
where mode specifies the type of mouse information packets
that the IKBD is to send. Possible values for mode include:
Mode
Number
0
Mouse disabled
1
Mouse enabled in relative mode
2
Mouse enabled in absolute mode
3 Unused
4 Mouse enabled in keycode mode
The params variable points to a data block that contains the
following parameters:
38
CHAPTER 3
Mouse Mode