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From: wcs@ho95e.UUCP (Bill.Stewart.4K435.x0705)
Newsgroups: net.info-terms
Subject: Re: Please make your programs ignore the "am" capability
Message-ID: <218@ho95e.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 10-Oct-85 23:10:16 EDT
Article-I.D.: ho95e.218
Posted: Thu Oct 10 23:10:16 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 12-Oct-85 21:28:34 EDT
References: <70@druhi.UUCP> <227@epicen.UUCP> <2857@sun.uucp> <186@l5.uucp>
Reply-To: wcs@ho95e.UUCP (Bill Stewart ($HOME/News/.fullname))
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Holmdel NJ
Lines: 18
Summary: Some terminal "features" can't be trusted - Don't use :do=^J:

In article <186@l5.uucp> gnu@l5.uucp (John Gilmore) writes:
>...
>All this could be avoided if programmers would simply avoid assuming anything
>about the cursor position after writing in column 80.  Avoiding that
>assumption means having to send a set-cursor-position after you write
>to column 80.  ....

Another thing to avoid is terminal descriptions or software that ASSUME they
can turn off NL->LFCR translation, so they use control-J to mean
"move straight down".  In a complex environment (e.g. cu, some window programs,
some LAN software), the software on the machine running the editor turns this
off, and the information doesn't get to the mahine controlling the terminal.
So you o "vi /etc/termcap", "set nu",  and half the line numbers are in
column-1 instead of right-adjusted, and the cursor is never in quite the right
place.  PLEASE, FOLKS, write bulletproof terminal handling software!  Even if
it's sometimes a bit slower, it's worth it.
-- 
## Bill Stewart, AT&T Bell Labs, Holmdel NJ 1-201-949-0705 ihnp4!ho95c!wcs