Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!tektronix!sequent!davest
From: davest@sequent.UUCP (Dave Stewart)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: where to do line editing?
Message-ID: <3827@sequent.UUCP>
Date: 1 Aug 88 20:15:29 GMT
References: <678@gtx.com> <593@blblbl.UUCP> <8263@brl-smoke.ARPA>
Reply-To: davest@crg2.UUCP (David C. Stewart)
Organization: Sequent Computer Systems, Beaverton, OR
Lines: 26

In article <8263@brl-smoke.ARPA> gwyn@brl.arpa (Doug Gwyn (VLD/VMB) <gwyn>) writes:
>Terminal input editing belongs where the input is being done,
>namely the terminal.

	I was talking with a coworker once who described how badly this
was implemented in VMS.  In particular, the tty driver in some version
of VMS allows one to move around on the history list, much as one is
able to do in ksh, ie, strike a particular character and the previous
line typed is displayed.  (One might see history manipulation as a form
of input editing).

	One example of where this failed in VMS was that one could run
a "lock" program, type a passwd at it, and walk away.  Some other user
could then walk up, step back in the history and see exactly what
password was typed, and then be able to "unlock" the terminal.
(I would not be surprised if this same problem is inherent with some
of the input line editing programs I have seen lately on the net).

	I think it is a mistake to make a blanket statement about where
input line editing should be done.  Some input editing should be
closely bound with the applications domain, and some may be allowed
some distance.

-- 
David C. Stewart                       	tektronix!sequent!davest
Sequent Computer Systems, Inc.		davest%sequent.UUCP@tektronix.TEK.COM