[PD] labeling buttons for [hid]

[Hans-Christoph Steiner]

The USB HID spec is ugly, classic Microsoft design, so I wouldn't want  
to go with for that reason alone.  I am looking to make this event  
system clear and consistent.  The [hid] object just provides raw data  
in an clear and easy to use format, so you can make your own labels or  
OSC scheme with the [hid] data within Pd.

I think button numbers is probably the way to go.  But with button  
numbers, there is a certain amount of guesswork for knowing which  
button number represents which button.  btn_trigger is quite  
straightforward, btn_1 not as much so.

.hc


On Nov 14, 2004, at 9:14 AM, Macciza Macpherson wrote:

> Hi
> I'd go with the numbering system if that is the USB HID Spec] but I  
> also like the idea of the descriptive names as well. How about using  
> names but translating ultimately into numbers? Can OSC be worked in  
> here somehow so we can deal with descriptive hierarchies and broadcast  
> our actions easily?? Is there any way to query the devices and get  
> them to tell you what the buttons do?? Just a few thoughts.
> Cheers
> Macca
>
> On 14/11/2004, at 4:30 PM, pd-list-request at iem.at wrote:
>>
>> Message: 4
>> To: PD List <pd-list at iem.at>
>> From: Hans-Christoph Steiner <hans at eds.org>
>> Date: Sat, 13 Nov 2004 18:02:43 -0500
>> Subject: [PD] labeling buttons for [hid]
>>
>>
>> --Apple-Mail-12--326803946
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>>
>> So I wanted to throw out an idea to see what people think.  I am
>> working on a cross-platform scheme for naming the buttons on devices
>> like mice, joysticks, tablets, etc.   Each OS has its own scheme, with
>> some similarities.  But I am making a common scheme so that patches
>> that use [hid] will work on all platforms.  Right now, I am wondering
>> how I should label buttons.
>>
>> MacOS X HID Manager simply numbers the buttons, I think Windows does a
>> similar thing since both are based on the USB HID spec.  The Linux
>> input event system uses button names, like btn_left, btn_middle  
>> (mice);
>> btn_trigger, btn_base (joysticks); btn_a, btn_select (gamepads);
>> btn_tool_pen, btn_stylus (tablets);  with a different naming scheme  
>> for
>> each device type.
>>
>> I started out just copying the Linux system outright for a number of
>> reasons, but now I am thinking that button numbers probably make a lot
>> more sense.  Here are some advantages/disadvantages that I see:
>>
>> button numbers:
>> 	advantages:
>> 		more efficient to use floats rather than symbols
>> 		much easier to implement on MacOS X
>> 		patches written for buttons on one device would work for other
>> devices (i.e. a patch written
>> 			for a mouse could be triggered by the buttons of a joystick,  
>> tablet,
>> etc.)
>> 	disadvantages:
>> 		user has to test the device to find the numbering scheme, rather  
>> than
>> reading the label
>> 		slightly harder to implement on GNU/Linux
>>
>> Any thoughts, comments, feedback, etc would be appreciated.
>>
>> .hc
>>
>> ______________________________________________________________________ 
>> __
>> ____
>>
>>                      There is no way to peace, peace is the way.
>> 										-A.J. Muste
>
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