Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!seismo!sundc!pitstop!sun!decwrl!labrea!rutgers!mailrus!ames!amelia!olsen
From: olsen@amelia.nas.nasa.gov (Michael E. Olsen)
Newsgroups: comp.editors
Subject: Re: tough bug in vi
Message-ID: <1276@amelia.nas.nasa.gov>
Date: 10 Dec 88 09:22:35 GMT
References: <11500001@uxh.cso.uiuc.edu>
Reply-To: olsen@amelia.nas.nasa.gov (Michael E. Olsen)
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
Lines: 25

In article <11500001@uxh.cso.uiuc.edu> phil@uxh.cso.uiuc.edu writes:
>
>Calling all vi hacks:
>
>This bug works like this:
>I go into insert mode with "i" and type in some new text.  I then backspace
>over that text with ^H (backspace).  The text is no longer in the buffer
>but is still showing on the screen. 

This is my favorite editor, and I have seen various incantations of it in
my travels.  The mapping tricks to get destructive backspace are fine if
they work, but I believe the "elegant" solution is to 
:se redraw
which will either do nothing at all (most versions of the editor) or will
(and I quote) "simulate a smart terminal".  I think this feature is usually
made to do nothing so that (as others have noted) the editor transmits
as few characters as possible.  

On some of the UNIX systems I have seen a version of vi which is invoked 
as "vedit", let you know when you're in insert mode, etc. with prompts 
at the bottom of the screen.  If you're learning, or if you have a limited
memory for editor fine points like I do, I heartily suggest you obtain a
vi "cheat sheet" (mine is titled Ex Quick Reference of course).  I have
used the editor for a while now, and I still am amazed at all the features
I can forget in between perusals of this sheet.