Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jpl-devvax!lwall
From: lwall@jpl-devvax.JPL.NASA.GOV (Larry Wall)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.perl
Subject: Re: "\x1B" == Escape wanted
Message-ID: <11454@jpl-devvax.JPL.NASA.GOV>
Date: 15 Feb 91 19:08:45 GMT
References: <121552@uunet.UU.NET> <122472@uunet.UU.NET>
Reply-To: lwall@jpl-devvax.JPL.NASA.GOV (Larry Wall)
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA
Lines: 22

In article <122472@uunet.UU.NET> rbj@uunet.UU.NET (Root Boy Jim) writes:
: I want to be able to say: $ESC = "\x1b" rather than "\033".

Maybe.

: And since perl is now a piece of GNU, should we be allowed
: to say such things as "\e", "\^x", and "\M-C-a"?

\e for \033 is a possibility, though there's some interference with
vi's use of it to terminate \L or \U.  However, \E is a better
choice for that, so maybe \e can be escape.  I expect that 4.0 will
support vi's \l, \L, \u, \U and \E (but in any double-quote context, of
course).

\^x will never happen in Perl, simply because it violates the rule that
backslashed non-alphanumerics are always themselves.  Possibly \cx, though.

\M-C-a is not much use unless you're writing an editor.

\a for "audible bell" may appear simply because it's in K&R2.

Larry