[Gllug] bash / go to beginning of line

Nix nix at esperi.demon.co.uk
Thu Feb 21 22:47:31 UTC 2002


On Wed, 20 Feb 2002, David Damerell moaned:
> Three reasons spring to mind. Firstly, vi's a basic editor (powerful,
> but it's not exactly Emacs), and you're likely to have to use it in
> awkward disaster situations. Such as only having a serial terminal
> with a funny keyboard to work with.
> 
> Secondly, on a slow connection, vi can misinterpret the arrow keys.

Note that Emacs doesn't have this problem, because it doesn't treat ESC
on its own magically; it's just part of a key sequence, and a user
typing the same sequence at the keyboard would have the same effect. vi
must use delays to work out if an ESC is part of a terminal control
sequence or not, because a lone ESC is meaningful. Great design, Bill.

(Fun punnish language hack, from Damien Broderick's book
_Transcension_. A large part of this features a society that has
voluntarily given up very high technology to avoid triggering a Vingean
technological runaway, under a set of protocols called the Joyous
Relinquishment. The characters think that it's called that because
you're supposed to joyfully relinquish this high tech.

But the reader knows; the book starts with Bill Joy's quote saying that
people should take part in exactly such a programme of voluntary
high-tech relinquishment... hence `Joyous'. :) )

> Thirdly, the hjkl keys are more efficient once you are used to them,
> since they don't require as much movement of the hands across the
> keyboard.

Foot pedals are good for the same purpose in Emacs. Ctrl on one, Meta on
the other...

-- 
`The classical music makes him feel tranquil and loved so he performs
 regularly. What a life for a guy. He gets to make love every day with
 an artificial cow.'

-- 
Gllug mailing list  -  Gllug at linux.co.uk
http://list.ftech.net/mailman/listinfo/gllug




More information about the GLLUG mailing list