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From: neal@denelcor.UUCP (Neal Weidenhofer)
Newsgroups: net.cog-eng
Subject: Re: expert-friendly: are long names a waste of time?
Message-ID: <232@denelcor.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 6-Dec-83 13:00:10 EST
Article-I.D.: denelcor.232
Posted: Tue Dec  6 13:00:10 1983
Date-Received: Fri, 9-Dec-83 03:12:46 EST
References: <4251@umcp-cs.UUCP>
Organization: Denelcor, Aurora, CO
Lines: 31

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	Has anyone else used a console on a CDC-6XXX or Cyber?  They use
an interesting and useful (in my opinion) algorithm.  For each letter you
type:

1.	If the letter doesn't fit a known command, it is ignored and NOT
	echoed to the screen.
	
2.	If the letter does fit, it is echoed, accumulated and either:

2.1.	If more than one letter can immediately follow the given letter,
	the system waits for more to be typed.

2.2.	If the next letter (or the next n letters) can be inferred from
	what has already been typed it is (they are) displayed and assumed
	to have been typed.  Similar to some ideas already suggested but
	WITHOUT needing ESC or whatever to ask the system to look.
	
2.3.	If the letter (including any letters inserted by 2.2.) completes
	the command, the command is displayed in "flash mode" and waits
	for a new-line or parameters.

	This would also take some intelligence in the terminal--probably
comparable to a menu system, but it's an interesting alternative to
consider.

			Regards,
				Neal Weidenhofer
				Denelcor, Inc.
				<hao|csu-cs|brl-bmd>!denelcor!neal