Using The Keyboards; Understanding The Keyboards - HP b2600 Administration Manual

Printing a Key Map
The -pk option prints a list of the key mappings for the current keyboard.
xmodmap –pk
The list contains the keycode and up to four 2-part columns. The first column contains unmodified key
values, the second column contains shifted key values, the third column contains meta ( )
key values, and the fourth column contains shifted meta key values. Each column is in two parts:
hexadecimal key symbol value, and key symbol name.

Using the Keyboards

There are now two keyboards available for Hewlett-Packard workstations. In addition to the 46021
keyboard, a personal computer-style keyboard, C1429 is also available. This new keyboard is also
known as the "Enhanced Vectra" keyboard.

Understanding the Keyboards

If an application is reading input directly from the keyboard, it receives a keycode when a key is
pressed. Equivalent keys on the two keyboards are those that generate the same keycode. If an
equivalent key does not exist, there is no way to generate the corresponding keycode.
In an X Window System environment, keycodes are mapped into key symbols by the X library. The key
symbols are stored in a keysym table. Application programs then reference these key symbols when
accessing keys.
Figure 12: Keycap, Keycode, and Keysym Relationships
Equivalent keys are those keys that are mapped to the same key symbol. One advantage of this mapping
is that if a key does not physically exist on a keyboard, its equivalent key symbol can be mapped to
some other key through the corresponding keycode.
Page 100
Graphics Administration Guide for HP-UX 10.20