Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!brutus.cs.uiuc.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!xanth!ames!fxgrp!news
From: grady@fxgrp.fx.com (Steven Grady)
Newsgroups: gnu.bash.bug
Subject: slight readline modification
Message-ID: <1989Nov14.063818.17288@fxgrp.fx.com>
Date: 14 Nov 89 06:38:18 GMT
Reply-To: grady@fxgrp.fx.com (Steven Grady)
Organization: FXDevelopment, Mountain View, CA
Lines: 34

First thing I want to say is that I'm way impressed with the input
editing features of bash (ie the readline library).  I'm very appreciative
of the work that went into making a good vi mode, especially.  And it
even has multiple undo!  Now, on to the suggestions...

I currently use tcsh, and one thing it does that bash's readline doesn't
is put the cursor at the _end_ of the line when you start moving through
the history (in either vi or emacs mode).  Having the cursor at the end
is slightly better since you're more likely to be editing the arguments
of an input line, or adding a redirection, than changing the program itself.
(At least that's true with me.)  Either method fits within the editing 
paradigm (if you look at it as though the cursor is at the end of the
current (empty) line before you start editing).  Perhaps it can be
configurable in the .inputrc?

While I'm here, how about if the display of the '*' at the beginning 
of modified history lines could be turned off.  Emacs users may be
used to it, but vi users aren't, and even when I use the emacs mode,
I find it kind of distracting.  The same goes for the current arg count.

Oh, and one more thing I suggested before but didn't see any response to.
Tcsh's prompt allows you to have something that's like bash's "\W"
(ie show only the tail of the current directory), but it also presents
your home directory as '~' (like the polite_directory_format of "\w"
in bash).  I'd like to see this in bash.  (If you want a new character,
perhaps "\.", which is similar to what tcsh uses ("%.")).

As Bartles and Jaymes say, "Thank you for your support".

	Steven
	...!ucbvax!grady
	grady@postgres.berkeley.edu

"...just when I had you wriggling in the crushing grip of reason, too..."