On 2/20/08 15:57 Rob van der Heij said:
On Wed, Feb 20, 2008 at 4:44 PM, Chip Davis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
That way, both the prefix area and the next line are both a single keystroke
away. From anywhere on a line, a CR takes you to the beginning of the next
line, a TAB takes you to the prefix area.
You mean you actually over-type what is already there on the screen
rather than orchestrate changes through the command line and prefix
area? :-)
If that is what I want to do, yes. If I need a fresh line, it's only three
keystrokes (<tab>a<enter>) one less than is necessary if the prefix is on the
left (<cr><up>a<enter>). Add one more character to invoke "SI".
The main point is that with the prefix on the left there is no difference
between a TAB and a CR; you're going to go to the prefix area whether you want
to or not. With the prefix on the right, you have the choice of going to the
prefix area with a TAB, or the beginning of the next data line with a CR.
What good is having the choice if you don't take advantage of it?
You would not if you learned XEDIT on a 300 bps terminal... that's
how you learn the order in which prefix commands, screen updates and
command are processed. And when someone managed to put a FULLREAD ON
in some of our shared macros, you'd have enough time to hit him over
the head before your screen refreshed ;-)
Oh, but I would, Rob. And that's exactly where I learned the editor, only it
was EDIT under VM/370 BSEPP. XEDIT came much later.
But that's the beauty of the design of XEDIT: the user can choose the display
and behavior of the tool that suits the task at hand. You can put the prefix in
the _middle_ of the line if you want to ...
A toast to Xavier de Lamberterie!
-Chip-
