Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!ucsd!network.ucsd.edu!barry
From: barry@network.ucsd.edu (Barry Brown)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.comm
Subject: Re: Problems using ZTerm and . . . vi
Message-ID: <5157@network.ucsd.edu>
Date: 9 Apr 91 03:00:49 GMT
References: <1991Apr8.082505.12520@milton.u.washington.edu> <1991Apr8.094729.23422@mintaka.lcs.mit.edu> <hoepfner.671127053@heawk1>
Organization: University of California, San Diego
Lines: 56

In article <hoepfner.671127053@heawk1> hoepfner@heawk1.gsfc.nasa.gov (Patrick Hoepfner) writes:
>dbert@wookumz.gnu.ai.mit.edu (Douglas Siebert) writes:
>
>>In article <1991Apr8.082505.12520@milton.u.washington.edu> tmaddox@milton.u.washington.edu (Tom Maddox) writes:
>>>	Its [Zterm's] vt100 emulation in vi is just awful. 
>
>>I've had this problem as well.  I've also noticed that using the arrow keys
>>will sometimes put me into input mode so I start adding some garbage lines
>>when I'm just trying to move around.  This is highly annoying and caused me to
>>switch to another terminal program.  Any idea if this can be fixed?  Or if the
>>forthcoming ZTerm 0.90 will fix these problems?
>
>
>I don't know if this is a problem with your emulators or that fact that 
>'vi' NEEDS 7 bits, odd parity.  If you don't have this set up properly 
>the unix machines allow you to logon but vi is really fussy about these 
>things.
>
>Because you can logon doesn't mean that you have all your setting correct. 
>I experienced these problems on a Terminal (not a computer) with a hardware 
>VT100 emulator.  And I too thought I was broken.

The problem lies not in ZTerm, but in vi and your terminal server.  You
will see it crop up whether you are dialing in or using a hardwired terminal.
An article from the UCSD help system explains it:


 Problem with Arrow Keys in Vi

 
 If you find that pressing the arrow keys in vi causes garbage to
 appear, and causes vi to switch to text insertion mode, set the editor
 option notimeout:
 
 	:set notimeout
 
 The problem occurs with terminals which follow the ANSI standard. The
 arrow keys send an escape sequence, i.e. a set of several characters
 starting with an escape character.  In the default mode (timeout) the
 editor times the interval between the receipt of each character of the
 sequence.  If there are any lags, the editor infers that the characters
 are not the result of pressing an arrow key and interprets them
 individually.  The data transmission characteristics of the LAN
 sometimes introduce time lags within arrow key escape sequences,
 especially for terminals operating at lower speeds, hence the need to
 set notimeout.
 
 In notimeout mode you must press the escape key twice to ring the
 bell.  Also commands which coincide with the stems of macros will
 not be carried out until a character is typed which does not coincide.

-- 
Barry E. Brown        --        \  Cal-Animage Beta publicity officer
bebrown@ucsd.{edu,uucp,bitnet}   \   Anime Stuff FTP Server administrator
Somewhere in San Diego, CA.....   \    (ftp network.ucsd.edu [128.54.16.3])
"Kaeshite! Kaeshite! Kaeshitekaeshitekaeshite!  -- Azusa (Ranma 1/2)