Re: Standard codes (out of topic !?)

Neil Franklin wrote:
> 
> "Meph" <UZS...@uni-bonn.de> writes:
> 
> > > > (it exists no code   called ANSI !)
> > >
> > > The name ANSI properly refers to a set of terminal control codes
> > > (function key reporting, cursor positioning, font switsching etc)
> > > derived from the DEC VT100 terminal code.
> > >
> > > What is today often misscalled ANSI is the PC/MS-DOS character set,
> > > which is actually pure IBM Codepage 437.
> >
> > I think Microsofts curious usage of the the word 'ANSI' is the reason
> > for this problem.
> 
> Actually this one for once is not even Microsofts fault. Wow!
> 
> Their uses of the term ANSI was in the ANSI.SYS driver, that replaced
> the standard MS-DOS "glass teletype" screen driver with an ANSI terminal.
> 
> How and who the started calling the character set ANSI I do not
> know. But I doubt that to have been Microsoft (its not done so in
> their official docs).
> 
> --
> Neil Franklin, nei...@franklin.ch.remove http://neil.franklin.ch/
> Nerd, Geek, Hacker, Unix Wizzard, Sysadmin, Roleplayer, Mystic
> Computer: a toy, speeds work so that you have more time to play

  Truth:  Neither IBM or MS miscalls "ASCII" "ANSI."  I can't even blame the
Ziff-Davis group or Reader's Digest (who reassigned the term "hacker" in 1989)
for this one.  It appears to be an iggerant public-domain thing.
  All ANSI codes, however, are /sequences of keystrokes/ written entirely in
ASCII, and all are begun with the ^[ "ESC" character.  No extra or replacement
emitted-binary codes result from an ANSI sequence, however the TSRs ANSI.SYS,
NANSI.SYS, and FANSI.SYS translate the sequences into machine functions when
DOS first loads the environment, and all are equivalent to the SET command
save that the variables can't be written in "English."
  A common ANSI function when WordStar was assaulted by IBM's lunatic
reassignment of CAPS LOCK where CTRL belongs (with the PS/2 keyboard), was to
include a short ANSI sequence in the PROMPT= string (the usual place to load
ANSI sequences) that simply switched them back no matter what the keycaps read
(all a key does is close an SPST switch in a polled matrix).
  Even more common is to assign various available machine-state data to appear
in the DOS prompt and other places on the screen, perhaps in attention-getting
colors.
  The only reason ANSI seems to be disappearing is that many sequences require
that the SHIFT-code (high keyboard-controller byte) be known.  These were
always hard to find, and differed with some makes of controller chips.
  Finally, WinDoze ignores ANSI screen assignments in favor of WinDoze video
drivers that load /after/ the environment.

  BTW, if anyone can point me to a list of high-byte SHIFT codes, I'd
appreciate it; this 14-year-old AT keyboard will wear out one of these days,
and I touch-type the CTRL key.  Can't write a TSR without them, either...
-- 
  >^,,^<
The number you have reached is imaginary.
 Rotate your screen 90 degrees and reconnect.
http://blitz.org/fishhook/

Related ASCII art in the Gallery

Explore these categories from our collection of 11,000+ artworks:

[>====]

   ))
 .-#-----.
/_________\
 |[] _ []|
 |  |*|  |

  ,  ,  , , ,
 <(__)> | | |
 | \/ | \_|_/
 \^  ^/   |
 /\--/\  /|
/  \/  \/jgs

     /| __________
O|==|* >__________>
     \|

(    )
|\^^/|
(0::0)
 \\// 
 (oo) 
/ \/ \

(\  _  /)
( \( )/ )
(       )
 `>   <' 
 /     \ 
 `-._.-' 

Make your own ASCII art

Turn images, text or 3D into ASCII, or draw your own – right in your browser.