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Re: keyboard autodetection



Hi,

> > > * Is there a way to autodetect (based on hardware IDs) the keyboard type
> > > (eg., when you install Debian, you have to select keyboard layout and
> > > country/ type).

> > Hmm.  What you're asking, I think, is whether the hardware ID implies a
> > layout.  (It's not really autodetection; it's a lookup.)  I don't know.  

I've thought about this extensively at this year's DebConf, however I've
been unable to implement a real solution. I had to install Debian on one
box in Brazil, which of course had a Brazilian keyboard. As there are
two different variants of "Brazilian" keyboards available, I could not
decide for myself which one was appropriate.

The idea I have in mind is to generate a "decision tree" from the
available keymap files (flat tree being optimal) and have the user press
different keys in turn to see what keycode they give. The greatest
hinderance is the fact that I'm not allowed to read data from the
keyboard when using DebConf, which is why I have no real idea how to
implement it in a compatible way for d-i, short of adding a new template
type "single-keycode" (which would probably work on the console, but
require additional work if it is supposed to work together with bterm,
which the installer currently uses, or X, which the installer might use
in the future).

   Simon

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