Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!oodis01!uplherc!esunix!bpendlet
From: bpendlet@esunix.UUCP (Bob Pendleton)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: Input Line Editing
Message-ID: <922@esunix.UUCP>
Date: 21 Jul 88 15:02:27 GMT
References: <1112@ficc.UUCP>
Organization: Evans & Sutherland, Salt Lake City, Utah
Lines: 41

From article <1112@ficc.UUCP>, by peter@ficc.UUCP (Peter da Silva):
> In article <9677@eddie.MIT.EDU>, nessus@wonko.MIT.EDU (Doug Alan) writes:
>> There is another way to guarantee that line editing will be uniformly
>> supported.  (1) Provide an alternate, and better method.  (See my and
>> some other's previous articles on the issue).  (2) Remove line editing
>> completely from the kernal, forcing everyone to use the better method.
> 
> ... Six context switches, at the minimum.
> Plus you execute in user mode. if your program requires swapping or paging
> to wake up, it's even worse.
> 
> Not only that, but all your programs now have to check to see if they're
> in a pipeline and turn this stuff off when they are.
> 
> this isn't that much compared to what you Athena jockeys already do, but
> it'll kill us poor folks with "mere" vax-class machines and terminals, shared
> among a dozen users. Interactive response time will go to hell.
> -- 
> Peter da Silva

What Peter says is true. BUT, it is not a reason to stop looking for
better ways to do things, or for opposing changes that would make
using separate input line editing processes easier. The way things
change in this business, by the time all the details are worked out
the performance/price ratio will have increased by another factor of
2. Some people will still be stuck on ancient, oeverloaded systems,
bot most won't.

I use ile every day on a Sun 3/50 and an ULTRIX VAX-750. Sometimes its
too slow on the 750. I don't notice it on a the Sun.

			Bob P.
 




-- 
Bob Pendleton @ Evans & Sutherland
UUCP Address:  {decvax,ucbvax,allegra}!decwrl!esunix!bpendlet
Alternate:     utah-cs!esunix!bpendlet
        I am solely responsible for what I say.