Re: An old unix Issue the Delete key how do you fix it

James K. Lowden skrev:
> Dieter wrote:
>>> But if you're on a PC, then in firefox etc. the backspace key will
>>> delete left, and you can ignore the Delete key, and that's pretty much
>>> the right thing even though the keys are mislabled.
>> Broken broken broken
>>
>> In theory, we should have:
>>   "backspace" -> move cursor one position to the left.  Do not draw
>>   anything.  Do not erase/delete. "delete" -> move cursor one position
>>   to the left, deleting (erasing) whatever was there.
>>
>> I can usually live with the backspace key acting like delete, since the
>> leftarrow key usually provides the backspace function.
> 
> I just consulted 1,000,000 of my closest friends, who all said that that
> key to the right of F12 and above the backslash, usually labelled
> "Backspace", is always without exception expected to do a destructive
> left-delete.  Some even remember a similar key, differently labelled but
> in the same basic position, on the VT-100.  One ancient fellow remembers
> the Letterwriter 100 printed "X \X' when the sequence "X delete" was
> typed, to indicate "X" had been removed from the line.  

You have strange, IBM-PC damaged friends.
Yes, that key exist on a VT100, and is labelled Backspace. And no, 
atleast on any DEC OS that I know of, do backspace do a destructive 
delete left. All of them either echo ^H, or move the cursor one place to 
the left, and adds a ^H to the input buffer.
And yes, lots of DEC OSes echo a destructive delete on a hardcopy 
terminal as \<characters deleted>\.
That's why you also have ^R... :-)
Newer terminals than the VT100 don't even have a backspace, although as 
someone else noted, really new terminals (might be from VT420 and 
forwards, I'd have to check), you can select to have the <X] key send a 
BS instead of a DEL character.

> I suspect that key was put where it is for the same reason ESC is where it
> is: because it's frequently needed, because it's easy to hit and most
> human beings make frequent mistakes when typing.  

Um. That's what you have the key labeled "DEL", "Delete", "RubOut" or 
"<x]" for. And it's usually conveniently placed right next to the enter 
key as well. :-)

> We're not hung up on the label on the keycap and we don't know anything
> about scan codes or whatever; we focus on its position and function.  We
> think that key should only ever cause a destructive backspace.  

Um. Actually, we're only interested in the ascii character received. 
What the label on they key was is less relevant. When you get a DEL 
character, you should delete the last character input, while on a BS 
character, you might do nothing, or move the cursor left, or whatever.

> Don't you want to join us?  C'mon, be a pal!  

Gha!

	Johnny

-- 
Johnny Billquist                  || "I'm on a bus
                                   ||  on a psychedelic trip
email: [email protected]             ||  Reading murder books
pdp is alive!                     ||  tryin' to stay hip" - B. Idol

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