Get character typed, cross-browser

Simple question -- Does anyone know of a reliable cross-browser function to get the character typed from a keydown event? I can write one from the quirksmode grid but would rather not re-invent the wheel for something so simple yet so non-standard.

Let me clarify:

There is no way to do this simply using event.keyCode or event.which. The overall logic is something like:

• get keycode
• detect shift, ctrl
• if ctrl, ignore
• create map of keycodes with and without shift key
  • example map {186 : ';', 187 : '=', 188 : ',', ....}
  • need a separate map for shift key modifier
  • map needs to change depending on browser (especially Safari Mac which has keycodes like 60,000)
• if keycode is in map, return mapped key
• if keycode is not in map, normalize numbers, apply shift modifier key if necessary, return String.fromCharCode(key)

It's not a simple solution, which is why I'm looking for a pre-made one :)

Are you willing to use jQuery?

$("input").bind("keydown",function(e){ var value = this.value + String.fromCharCode(e.keyCode); }

I believe that switching to the keypress event would solve the issue mentioned in your comment. Would the code below meet your requirments?

$("input").bind("keypress",function(e){ var value = this.value + String.fromCharCode(e.keyCode); }