keyboard polling

I'm starting to understand OpenGL and GLUT pretty well, but I always used the glutKeyboardFunc, glutMouseFunc, glutMotionFunc, etc to handle user input. Someone once told me I'd get better results using keyboard polling methods. I don't have the slightest idea how to do that ;)

Anyone care to enlighten me about it ?

Since no one wants to talk about polling, perhaps someone would just help me use something better than the glut function. Something asynchronous or whatever. Just help me get better response times from the inputs.

well in most cases people use an event loop. It goes someting like this:

main ( )
{

...code...

while ( 1 )
{
bool exit = processMessages ( );
drawObjectsOnScreen();
if ( exit ) break;
}

...code...
}


bool processMessages ( )
{
if ( event occurred )
{
switch ( event )
{
case KEYDOWN: do something...
case KEYUP: do something....
case MOUSEBUTTONCLICK: do something....

}
}
}

Use DirectInput.

You really need to get a book about DirectX though in order to understand it. If you get the DX9 SDK from Microsoft then in the help file they explain quite well how to use DirectInput.

he's using opengl

Quote:

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he's using opengl

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I think Bubba already knows that. He is suggesting for the OP to use DirectInput as it provides a nicer interface to keyboard interprettations and can be easily expanded for multiply devices.

I though DirectInput was a DirectX feature. Sorry

It is.

You can use OpenGL for rendering, but also use DirectInput for, you guessed it, getting input.

Quote:

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You can use OpenGL for rendering, but also use DirectInput for, you guessed it, getting input.

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exactly, sorry for being unclear.

yes... uuuuh. but I've hated DirectX since when I was using a PC, now I'm working with Mac OS X and Linux. So before I get started on DirectX and other Microsoft undocumented APIs, and get myself banned from the forum, does anyone have a non-OS, non-platform based solution ?

Links would be just as much appeciated.

And DavidP, your solution must be great... Can you go into specifics ? I don't quite see an actual implementation.

For those of you whom refuse to use Direct Input for some reason or another, simple system like the one I'm using will probably suit your needs.

Important variables

Code:

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typedef enum KEY_STATE { KS_UP, KS_DOWN, KS_IGNORE };

typedef struct {
        KEY_STATE state;
        long time;
} sKey;

typedef struct {
        int x,y; // position
        int wheelDelta; // wheel change
        int prevx, prevy, prevdelta;
        int button;
} sMouse;

sKey keys[256];
sMouse mouse;

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using variables

Code:

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                case WM_KEYDOWN:                                               
                {
                        keys[wParam].state = KS_DOWN;            // key is in down state                       
                        keys[wParam].time = GetTickCount();  // keypress happend when?
                        return 0;                                               
                }
                case WM_KEYUP:                                                        // Has A Key Been Released?
                {
                        keys[wParam].state = KS_UP;                                // key is in up state
                        keys[wParam].time = GetTickCount();  // keyup happend when?
                        return 0;                                               
                }
                case WM_SIZE:                                                        // Resize The OpenGL Window
                {
                        g_winWidth = LOWORD(lParam);
                        g_winHeight = HIWORD(lParam);
                        ReSizeGLScene(LOWORD(lParam),HIWORD(lParam));                // LoWord=Width, HiWord=Height
                        return 0;                                                // Jump Back
                }
                case WM_LBUTTONDOWN:
                case WM_LBUTTONUP:
                case WM_RBUTTONDOWN:
                case WM_RBUTTONUP:
                case WM_MBUTTONDOWN:
                case WM_MBUTTONUP:
                case WM_MOUSEMOVE:
                {
                        /*
                                MK_CONTROL
                                The CTRL key is down.
                                MK_LBUTTON
                                The left mouse button is down.
                                MK_MBUTTON
                                The middle mouse button is down.
                                MK_RBUTTON
                                The right mouse button is down.
                                MK_SHIFT
                                The SHIFT key is down.
                        */
                        mouse.prevx = mouse.x;
                        mouse.prevy = mouse.y;
                        mouse.x = GET_X_LPARAM(lParam);
                        mouse.y = GET_Y_LPARAM(lParam);
                        mouse.button = wParam;
                        return 0;
                }
                case WM_MOUSEWHEEL:
                {
                        mouse.wheelDelta = HIWORD( wParam ); // wheel rotation
                        //xPos = LOWORD(lParam); // horizontal position of pointer
                        //yPos = HIWORD(lParam); // vertical position of pointer
                        return 0;
                }

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With those variables, you can impliment a lot of functionality. The skys the limmit.

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....started on DirectX and other Microsoft undocumented APIs.....

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Not true. The SDK is very well documented. One tripe over to msdn would show you that or one d/l of the DX9 SDK. The help file, while not written for clarity or instructional purposes, is very extensive.

Keep in mind that ANY solution you use in Windows that does not use DirectInput will be slower as far as games are concerned. Windows API was not designed for low-latency environments, especially in the keyboard functions.

Face it, the days when you could design a game or an engine independent of an OS are gone. You must use the OS in order to access the hardware...hence the design philosophy behind 32-bit operating systems operating in protected mode and thus the near removal of the interrupt driven OS (not entirely but close).

Notice in the above example you must wait for a message to be sent before retrieving key presses. With DirectInput this is not so and no messages are sent, hence it is not a message-based input library, although it does have other features that are.

great.

one last question : what library are : WM_LBUTTONDOWN, WM_KEYDOWN, WM_MOUSEMOVE, etc from ?

um.
uhhhh.
#include <windows.h> and you'll be fine.

um.
uhhhh.

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now I'm working with Mac OS X and Linux

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Ummmm.
Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
If hes developing for mac and linux, he's using GLUT, and they have functions specifically for mouse and keyboard events :(

One word: SDL

www.libsdl.org