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System Overview
Keyboards
Keyboards
There are two types of Hewlett-Packard keyboards available for use with
your workstation.
• PS/2 Keyboard (P/S2 interface)
• ITF Keyboard (HP-HIL interface)
CAUTION: Only connect devices that conform to the HP-HIL specification with
Hewlett-Packard HIL ports. Devices that are not HP-HIL compatible but
have similar connectors may appear to be compatible, but will damage
your system.
Keyboard Differences
Aside from the obvious difference in the appearance of the PS/2 and ITF
keyboards due to the arrangement of the keys, there is also a difference in
the keys and their output codes. For example, some keys on one keyboard
may not exist on the other keyboard. These keys generate codes that may not
exist as output from the other keyboard (or may be generated by a different
key). Codes that are generated when a key is pressed are called keycodes.
Some applications expect to use keycodes generated by keys existing on one
of the keyboards (the ITF keyboard for example). Since the keys do not exist
on the other keyboard (the PS/2 keyboard for example), an accommodation
must be made if the PS/2 keyboard is to be used. In most cases, it is still pos-
sible to use some other key that is equivalent (generates the same keycode
from a different keycap). To do this, it is necessary to know which keys are
equivalent on the two keyboards. Table 3 compares the equivalent keys of
the ITF and PS/2 keyboards.
NOTICE: Keyboard keys not mentioned inTable 3 are the same on both keyboards.