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From: lwall@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Larry Wall)
Newsgroups: net.news
Subject: Re: "Return" in "rn"
Message-ID: <2180@sdcrdcf.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 23-Jul-85 12:33:15 EDT
Article-I.D.: sdcrdcf.2180
Posted: Tue Jul 23 12:33:15 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 27-Jul-85 03:57:17 EDT
References: <11641@brl-tgr.ARPA> <9145@ucbvax.ARPA>
Reply-To: lwall@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Larry Wall)
Distribution: net
Organization: System Development Corp. R+D, Santa Monica
Lines: 30
Summary: 

In article <9145@ucbvax.ARPA> metcalf@ucbmiro.UUCP (Chris metcalf) writes:
>In article <11641@brl-tgr.ARPA> wmartin@brl-tgr.ARPA (Will Martin ) writes:
>>Quickie request: the next time "rn" gets updated or modified, could the
>>programmer please change the current process that now echoes
>>"Unnecessary CR ignored" and make a CR do the same thing as a "space"
>
>I'd like to toss in my two cents worth here before anyone does anything
>rash.  Those of us who have multiple accounts and rlogin to another machine
>to read news find an unimplemented return key very convenient, since the
>"~^Z" escape from rlogin needs to have a return before it.
>
>Again, as Mr. Martin says, it's not terribly important, but my vote
>is for the status quo.

As it happens, Mr. Metcalf appears to be running an obsolete version of rn.
The "status quo" changed when rn version 4.3 came out.  The current version
treats carriage return identically to space, except in the pager, where it
scrolls one line.  There are two things you can do if you don't like this:

1) You can define the compiler symbol STRICTCR, which implements the old
    semantics.
2) You can define a keymapping with your macro file that makes carriage
    return do whatever you want, including nothing.

The semantics were changed to the current form because many people wanted to
be able to use macros to reverse the meaning of carriage return and space,
and this wasn't possible when carriage return was outlawed.

Larry Wall
{allegra,burdvax,cbosgd,hplabs,ihnp4,sdcsvax}!sdcrdcf!lwall