Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!mips!dimacs.rutgers.edu!rutgers!njin!uupsi!ficc!peter
From: peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva)
Newsgroups: comp.editors
Subject: Re: Whence vi's hjkl?
Message-ID: <1_QAGTB@xds13.ferranti.com>
Date: 15 Apr 91 17:26:30 GMT
References: <1991Apr15.021544.19067@umbc3.umbc.edu>
Reply-To: peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva)
Organization: Xenix Support, FICC
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? 

The adm3a terminal has arrows on those keys, because ^H, ^J, ^K, and ^L
are their almost-straight-ASCII cursor control characters. The "vi" editor
was developed at Berkeley, where 90% of the terminals were adm3 or 3a.

> Does it mean that the
> designer(s) of vi were not touch-typists themselves?

You'll have to ask them. Given the Sun keyboards, I suspect not. In any
case, give the user population and the available hardware it was a reasonable
choice.
-- 
Peter da Silva.  `-_-'  peter@ferranti.com
+1 713 274 5180.  'U`  "Have you hugged your wolf today?"