Re: [Plib-devel] joystick jungle

[Steve B. <sjb...@ai...>]

Bram Stolk wrote:
> 
> sgHello()
> 
> 
> I'm struggling with the lack of joystick/gamepad/wheel standardization.
> There does not seem to be a manner by which I can get to
> know more about an axis for a linux joystick.
> 
> Maybe this kind of stuff is in directx, but I want this
> kind of info on joystick axes:
> 
> - Is axis part of a 2DOF joystick?
> - Is axis an accelerator pedal?
> - Is axis a brake padel?
> - Is axis combined brake/accel?
> - If axis is up/down joystick, is up positive or negative?
> - Is the axis analog?
>   (Strangely enough, digital pads are treated as axes, not buttons)
> 
> I assume no API exists for getting this info.

Not AFAIK.

> And if this is the case, I think a 'joystick database' indexed
> by the USB device name would be a valuable asset for many projects.

Yes - it would - but only if it was actively maintained.  This would
actually be a fine job for a Wiki.

> Does anyone on this list know whether such a db exists?

Not that I know of.

> And if not, I think I want to start one. I dont care if at first
> it will only contain a handful of the 1000s of current gamepads.

Yep - if it could be EASILY updated by anyone, it would grow at
exactly the rate that people with new joysticks tried to use them.

You could include something like the PLIB 'joytest' program to help
people figure out which functions were on which buttons/axes.

The hard part (I guess) is coming up with a sufficiently rigerous - yet
flexible nomenclature for all of the buttons and axes.  For some people,
a controller with two foot pedals and a lever has 'Brake, Throttle and Shifter',
but for other people, it has two rudder pedals and a throttle lever.  That
could be pretty confusing!

> The alternative is probably to burden the user by configuring
> his joystick which seems ugly to me.

Yes, it is.

---------------------------- Steve Baker -------------------------
HomeEmail: <sjb...@ai...>    WorkEmail: <sj...@li...>
HomePage : http://www.sjbaker.org
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