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From: guy@sun.uucp (Guy Harris)
Newsgroups: net.unix,net.unix-wizards
Subject: Re: Can something like Script be done in System V?
Message-ID: <2325@sun.uucp>
Date: Thu, 20-Jun-85 04:23:12 EDT
Article-I.D.: sun.2325
Posted: Thu Jun 20 04:23:12 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 23-Jun-85 00:56:26 EDT
References: <868@enea.UUCP> <11282@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Inc.
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Xref: watmath net.unix:4846 net.unix-wizards:13584

> UNIX processes were not supposed to care whether their input was from a
> terminal or not..

If that's literally true, UNIX programs shouldn't go into (CBREAK/~ICANON)
mode and expect the system to act any differently.  Screen editors, however,
expect their input to be generated by a human being as they run; there's not
much point in running "vi" with its input coming from a program generating
commands or from a file consisting of commands generated by a program.  If
you want an editor that can either be driven directly by a person or by a
program, use "ed" - or "ex".  Screen editors solve a different problem from
"UNIX tools"; not all programs should be UNIX tools.  You can put a screen
front-end on top of an "ed"-style editor, letting the editor program run as
a "UNIX tool" and put the sane user interface in a separate process.

	Guy Harris