Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bloom-beacon!husc6!cmcl2!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!gaynor
From: gaynor@athos.rutgers.edu (Silver)
Newsgroups: comp.editors
Subject: Re: why do editors "shrink-wrap" the text?
Message-ID: <Apr.5.05.33.55.1989.17014@athos.rutgers.edu>
Date: 5 Apr 89 09:33:56 GMT
References: <1686@wpi.wpi.edu> <97499@sun.Eng.Sun.COM>
Distribution: na
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.
Lines: 22

landauer@morocco.sun.com
> Why is there such a ridiculous notion as "valid position"???  If the cursor
> is out beyond the end of a line and you start typing, then dammit the editor
> should insert enough spaces to allow you to type there!  If it's "in a tab
> field", then the tab should convert to the appropriate amount of spaces!

This action is easy enough to program into reasonable editors.  However,
there's enough whitespace-sensitive shtuff out there that this is a little too
dangerous to make this the default.  White characters are usually `invisible'
in the sense that you can't easily discern the difference between

"   	 " (4 spaces, a tab, and a space)

and

"        " (9 spaces)

In GNU Emacs, I would probably achieve your suggestion by making a minor mode
called White (or something), in which whitespace is assumed to be freely
mungeable.

Regards, [Ag] gaynor@rutgers.edu