ado@elsie.UUCP (Arthur David Olson) (02/03/86)
> > . . .on 4.1bsd and its predecessors. . .(according to the manual page): > > > > ve . . . Sequence to end open/visual mode > > vs . . . Sequence to start open/visual mode > > The 4.1BSD TERMCAP(5) documentation is very obsolete. > A much improved edition should be distributed with 4.3BSD. I trust that no one will be misled by Doug Gwyn's contribution. The 4.1BSD termcap(5) documentation is utterly up-to-date for those of us running 4.1BSD (and for folks interested in writing programs that will port to 4.1BSD systems); attempts to use 4.3BSD documentation on 4.1BSD systems would be catastrophic. -- Observations about federal government sites that run 4.1BSD may be sent to University of California lawyers. -- UUCP: ..decvax!seismo!elsie!ado ARPA: elsie!ado@seismo.ARPA DEC, VAX and Elsie are Digital Equipment and Borden trademarks
gwyn@brl-smoke.ARPA (Doug Gwyn ) (02/06/86)
>> > ve . . . Sequence to end open/visual mode >> > vs . . . Sequence to start open/visual mode >> >> The 4.1BSD TERMCAP(5) documentation is very obsolete. >> A much improved edition should be distributed with 4.3BSD. > >I trust that no one will be misled by Doug Gwyn's contribution. The 4.1BSD >termcap(5) documentation is utterly up-to-date for those of us running 4.1BSD >(and for folks interested in writing programs that will port to 4.1BSD systems); >attempts to use 4.3BSD documentation on 4.1BSD systems would be catastrophic. ALL termcap terminal descriptions and termcap-using programs should use the up-to-date termcap(5) documentation. The old documentation was, variously: incomplete, ambiguous, confusing, and/or incorrect. The new version incorporates substantial contributions from Mark Horton and Ken Arnold; it describes completely the "official" operation of the termcap database. It even flags "obsolete" (deprecated usage) capabilities. The problem with termcap has always been that, due partly to the poor state of the available documentation, implementors of termcap-using programs would interpret the meaning of various capabilities differently. This means that many existing programs never were correct and disagreed with each other about termcap semantics, although they would work acceptably for certain types of terminals (but not in general). The 4.1BSD termcap(5) documentation is inadequate, even for 4.1BSD systems. Correct termcap descriptions and programs will work according to the revised termcap(5), and all others should be corrected. Termcap should NOT be version-dependent (except to the extent that, as time goes on, additional capabilities could be supported). An additional advantage to following the new termcap(5) documentation are that conforming terminal descriptions can be automatically converted to the newer terminfo form and still maintain the same semantics.
paver@milano.UUCP (Bob Paver) (02/07/86)
Where does one get the revised (current, correct) documentation for termcap(5)? -- ------------------------------------------------------------- Bob Paver ----> paver@mcc.arpa OR sally!im4u!milano!paver Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corp (MCC) 9430 Research Blvd Austin, Texas 78759 (512) 834-3316
gwyn@brl-smoke.ARPA (Doug Gwyn ) (02/09/86)
In article <811@milano.UUCP> paver@milano.UUCP (Bob Paver) writes: > Where does one get the revised (current, correct) documentation for > termcap(5)? You can wait for 4.3BSD or you can get it from me. If you rummage around in the INFO-TERMS archives you can find an intermediate improved version that I posted, but the current version is better. Gwyn@BRL.ARPA
ron@dsi1.UUCP (Ron Flax) (02/10/86)
In article <6012@elsie.UUCP> ado@elsie.UUCP (Arthur David Olson) writes: >-- >Observations about federal government sites that run 4.1BSD may be sent to >University of California lawyers. >-- Arthur, Maybe I'm naive, what's the problem with government sites that run 4.1BSD, or is there a problem at all? I thought that anyone that pays the cost can enjoy the benefits or something like that (;-)> -- Ron Flax (ron@dsi1.UUCP) ARPA: dsi1!ron@seismo.arpa UUCP: ..!{seismo, rlgvax, prometheus}!dsi1!ron USPS: DSI, 2361 S. Jefferson Davis Hwy., St. PL404, Arlington VA 22202
ado@elsie.UUCP (Arthur David Olson) (02/11/86)
> > Where does one get the revised (current, correct) documentation for > > termcap(5)? > > You can wait for 4.3BSD... ...unless your lawyers won't allow signing of the UCB license... > ...or you can get it from me. > ...Gwyn@BRL.ARPA ...if you have the appropriate licenses for the material from which Gwyn@BRL.ARPA derived things. Meanwhile, back at the original point: on 4.1bsd systems, the termcap entries shown at left below have the meanings shown at right: > ve ... Sequence to end open/visual mode > vs ... Sequence to start open/visual mode I've checked the relevant source files, and that *really* is what they're used for. (See the comments in "/usr/src/cmd/ex/ex_tty.c"--and since comments can be wrong, take a look at the C source, too.) Even if the above documentation *wasn't* correct, there are sites out there that have used that documentation in building termcap entries--and that lack the benefit of Gwyn@BRL.ARPA's wisdom. The bottom line: If you're interested in producing code that's portable to all 4.1bsd sites, be aware of differences between 4.1bsd and later bsd releases with respect to termcap's "vs" and "ve" entries. The succinct advise: If at all possible, avoid using "vs" and "ve". Given Gwyn@BRL.ARPA's observation that "vs" and "ve" just change the appearance of the cursor, avoiding their use seems simple. -- UUCP: ..decvax!seismo!elsie!ado ARPA: elsie!ado@seismo.ARPA DEC, VAX and Elsie are Digital Equipment and Borden trademarks