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From: TDTRUE@pucc.Princeton.EDU (Thomas True)
Newsgroups: comp.cog-eng
Subject: Re: Request for human interface design anecdotes
Message-ID: <3911@pucc.Princeton.EDU>
Date: Sun, 22-Nov-87 16:37:32 EST
Article-I.D.: pucc.3911
Posted: Sun Nov 22 16:37:32 1987
Date-Received: Wed, 25-Nov-87 04:36:52 EST
References: <2572@mmintl.UUCP> <1721@spar.SPAR.SLB.COM>
Reply-To: TDTRUE@pucc.Princeton.EDU
Organization: Princeton University, NJ
Lines: 20
Disclaimer: Author bears full responsibility for contents of this article


In article <2572@mmintl.UUCP>, franka@mmintl.UUCP (Frank Adams) writes:
 
>One of my favorite human interface design errors is in VM/CMS, where "i",
>typed on a line by itself, destroys your image.  It stands for "ipl", you
>see.  This happens even if you enter it on the command line of the editor.
 
 
Although VM/CMS has a number of flaws in its user interface, the
one mentioned is not currently one of them.  Within the editor
(XEDIT), 'i' puts you in 'INPUT MODE' to continuously enter lines
of text.  XEDIT also lets you set things so that a user must
explicitly issue a command to the operating system.
 
Outside the editor, 'i' or for that matter 'ipl' will just give
you the error 'OPERAND MISSING OR INVALID'.  Of course, if you
put any text after the I, the system will try to IPL with what
you gave it . . . .
 
Tom True
Princeton University