[Shiunbird]

For the record, closing the loop on the discussion started here:
http://forums.irixnet.org/thread-3274-page-2.html

My C8000 came with a non-US keyboard (German) and runs 11.11.
On Linux, if you set the keyboard to US, the key # ' registers \ | correctly.

Nothing I tried could make the key register anything on HP-UX, it comes blank, so I can't even match it to anything. None of my other keyboards, including an original model M with DIN to PS2 and then PS2 to USB adapter did the trick. This keyboard works with every machine I own except the C8000.

I did some investigation and after checking a few random fonts on xfd, I found out that a few don't include the full pipe at all, only the pipe cut in the middle, which seems odd to me, but doesn't explain the problem.

I ended up assigning the print screen key via

Code:

xmodmap -e "keycode 96 = backslash bar"

 
And now I can live a happy life - the C8000 is now officially my main C learning machine.

With thanks to Tru for suggesting xmodmap.

[robespierre]

Nothing I tried could make the key register anything on HP-UX, it comes blank, so I can't even match it to anything. None of my other keyboards, including an original model M with DIN to PS2 and then PS2 to USB adapter did the trick. This keyboard works with every machine I own except the C8000.

The mapping between scan codes and characters depends on the country code associated with the keyboard, which is sometimes set by DIP switches inside it.
PS2 to USB adapters can be tricky, because they are active devices that draw additional power, have their own vendor IDs, and take longer to initialize than a direct keyboard. In one PC I have, the PS2 keyboard connected through a USB adapter isn't fast enough to stop the boot process unless a positive delay time is set in the BIOS. A directly connected USB keyboard is, however, fast enough. Your C8000 may not like the vendor ID of the adapter or the fact that it draws extra power.

I did some investigation and after checking a few random fonts on xfd, I found out that a few don't include the full pipe at all, only the pipe cut in the middle, which seems odd to me, but doesn't explain the problem.

There is only one ASCII code point for vertical bar. Whether it has a cut in the middle is a font style issue, but it is the same character regardless. The Unicode character set has more code points for vertical lines with dashes, but those aren't used for typing in programs.

[Shiunbird]

I'm aware of the PS2-USB woes - The model M eats a lot of juice. I got 2 adapters that didn't work, the third one lasted for 3 months, but this one is going strong for a few years already, but no dip switches.

Now - when it comes to the vertical bar, I kid you not - if I build code or try ls * | more or whatever - it doesn't work with the cut bar, but it works with the full bar, and aCC also fails with the cut bar - but the same code builds with the full bar. Next time, if you are curious, I can give you more data.

Some fonts in xfd have only the cut bar and others have the full bar. I can go there again and check the codes if you are too curious. =)

edit: I got my C8000 new old stock, and the keyboard I have came in the box with it, so I have no idea why the key doesn't register in HP-UX but registers in Linux. Mind-blowing mystery.

[lunatic]

on the German keyboard, both a somewhat hard to reach combos:

\ = "Alt-Gr" + "<>"
| = "Alt-Gr" + "ß"

Besides this, this is probably what you are looking for to get it working the regular way:

http://student.ing-steen.se/unix/hp-ux/UXL10N-90302.pdf

[robespierre]

On the origins of the IBM PC's "broken vertical bar": http://www.os2museum.com/wp/a-wunderbar-story/

[Raion]

14 months. Holy necromancy batman!

[robespierre]

14 months is nothing. I regularly see Usenet threads reawakened after multiple decades, and web forums with multi-year threads are commonplace.