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From: jallen@libserv1.ic.sunysb.edu (Joseph Allen)
Newsgroups: comp.editors
Subject: Re: Whence vi's hjkl?
Message-ID: <1991Apr15.195110.26378@sbcs.sunysb.edu>
Date: 15 Apr 91 19:51:10 GMT
References: <1991Apr15.021544.19067@umbc3.umbc.edu>
Sender: usenet@sbcs.sunysb.edu (Usenet poster)
Organization: State University of New York at Stony Brook
Lines: 17

In article <1991Apr15.021544.19067@umbc3.umbc.edu> rouben@math16.math.umbc.edu () writes:
>I have always wondered about the choice of the {h,j,k,l} keys for 
>cursor movement in vi.  What was the rational behind it? 
>Wouldn't it have been more natural to adopt the {j,k,l,;} keys
>for cursor movement instead?  Aren't the {j,k,l,;} keys the standard
>left hand's "home" keys for touch-typists?  Does it mean that the
>designer(s) of vi were not touch-typists themselves?

h is from ^H, backspace.  j is from ^J linefeed.  These and the rest are
chosen because on an ADM3A terminal hjkl had arrows painted on them.
--
#define h 23 /* Height */         /* jallen@ic.sunysb.edu (129.49.12.74) */
#define w 79 /* Width */                       /* Amazing */
int i,r,b[]={-w,w,1,-1},d,a[w*h];m(p){a[p]=2;while(d=(p>2*w?!a[p-w-w]?1:0:0)|(
p<w*(h-2)?!a[p+w+w]?2:0:0)|(p%w!=w-2?!a[p+2]?4:0:0)|(p%w!=1?!a[p-2]?8:0:0)){do
i=3&(r=(r*57+1))/d;while(!(d&(1<<i)));a[p+b[i]]=2;m(p+2*b[i]);}}main(){r=time(
0L);m(w+1);for(i=0;i%w?0:printf("\n"),i!=w*h;i++)printf("#\0 "+a[i]);}