heins@orion.UUCP (Michael T. Heins) (09/24/86)
[] Does anyone regularly use vt240's with UNIX GNU Emacs? I would like to know how to best invoke Meta X (with one keystroke) and how to take advantage of all those wonderful looking keys. Specific details on setting up vt240 function keys and/or setting up GNU key bindings would be appreciated. Thanks much. -- ...!hplabs!sdcrdcf!trwrb!orion!heins We are a way for the universe to know itself. -- Carl Sagan
manheime@nbs-amrf.UUCP (Ken Manheimer) (09/30/86)
> Does anyone regularly use vt240's with UNIX GNU Emacs? I would like to > know how to best invoke Meta X (with one keystroke) and how to take advantage > of all those wonderful looking keys. Specific details on setting up > vt240 function keys and/or setting up GNU key bindings would be appreciated. >[...] > ...!hplabs!sdcrdcf!trwrb!orion!heins > > We are a way for the universe to know itself. -- Carl Sagan I don't know about ESC-x, but for the problem of reaching for the esc key i punted - i just bind the backtick to the ESC-prefix function in my .emacs file: (if (equal (getenv "TERM") "vt100") (progn (global-set-key "\`" 'ESC-prefix) (define-key esc-map "`" 'eval-expression)) [Actually, to get the effect of ESC-x in one keystroke, bind the key you'd like to use to the 'execute-extended-command function.] The backtick is located in *just* the right spot on the keyboard to serve as a standing for escape, and is only rarely necessary as a literal - occasionally in lisp and even less frequently in cshell, perhaps, and then it can be literally inserted by backquoting. Also, some modes can't use the esc-map for escape-prefixed functions, so in those cases you have to reach for the genuine ESC key. (Was dec attacking unix, through vi and emacs, by putting that key way out of the way there:-? Ergh.) Incidentally, i extremely prefer the vt240 lookalike i use to the original. It's a micro-term 420, and has many things going for it. First of all it doesn't have the noisy, inconvenient pedestal unit, and has a much nicer key feel. Most importantly (for me), it provides the means to change the (goddamn) "compose character" key to either do nothing or send an escape character. Perhaps i have peculiar hands, but i can't seem to avoid hitting that (goddamn) key accidentally, so the no-op option is perfect for me. The esc interpretation may be an answer to the misplaced meta-key for some people, but i just keep hitting it accidentally. Oh, btw, i don't have any affiliation with micro-term, didn't even select the terminal myself. I think the vt240 is a travesty, though, and can't recommend this competitor (if you have to have a 240 type terminal) enough. Ken Manheimer, ...!seismo!nbs-amrf!manheime, *soon* to be on arpanet National Bureau of Standards Automated Manufacturing Facility Gaithersburg, MD
jr@CC5.BBN.COM (John Robinson) (10/04/86)
When I used a vt220 for a while, I learned to use control-[ for ESC (they're the same thing in ASCII). Then I could put the 220 into native mode, which enabled some of the extras like insert mode and multi-line line insert/delete (I think this is right; my memory is fuzzy now). >> The backtick is located in *just* the right spot on the keyboard to >> serve as a standing for escape I'm typing on a Mac running versaterm right now; it uses the same mapping (but puts ` onto squiggle-`). Similar reason on placement, but the Mac has no ESC key. (I wish it had its CONTROL [squiggle] key in the right place! One guy I work with took the squiggle key off and rigged up a little prosthesis with a paperclip to make it possible for his pinky to provide control-shifting!) >> (Was dec attacking unix, through vi and emacs, by putting that >> key way out of the way there:-? Ergh.) No, the vt200-family keyboard is an ISO standard. Guess there weren't enough addicts of ESC usage in the standards group. Note that use of ESC goes back to early DEC operating systems, and to its first editor TECO, so I think DEC is shooting itself in the foot by your reasoning. /jr
simon@einode.UUCP@ndmce.uucp (Simon Kenyon) (10/17/86)
>>> (Was dec attacking unix, through vi and emacs, by putting that >>> key way out of the way there:-? Ergh.) > > No, the vt200-family keyboard is an ISO standard. Guess there weren't > enough addicts of ESC usage in the standards group. Note that use of > ESC goes back to early DEC operating systems, and to its first editor > TECO, so I think DEC is shooting itself in the foot by your reasoning. "protecting the innocent by not mentioning names" i spoke to someone in dec working on ultrix he (narrows it down a bit :-)) said he had a vt220 with DIFFERENT proms which gave an escape when you hit F11 (in vt220 mode) would it be possible to get copies of these proms could it be a dec product? might it even generate bs on the backspace key and lf on the linefeed key i'd be interested to hear if anyone knows anything about this -- Simon Kenyon EUnet: simon@einode.UUCP Smail: The National Software Centre, Dublin, IRELAND Phone: +353-1-716255 EUnet is a registered trademark of the EUUG
jr@CC5.BBN.COM@ndmce.uucp (John Robinson) (10/18/86)
>> he (narrows it down a bit :-)) said he had a vt220 with DIFFERENT proms >> which gave an escape when you hit F11 (in vt220 mode) >> would it be possible to get copies of these proms >> could it be a dec product? >> might it even generate bs on the backspace key and lf on the linefeed key >> i'd be interested to hear if anyone knows anything about this The rumor I heard back when the VT220 first came out was that inside DEC you could get a keyboard with VT100 layout (at least on the main keyboard). I assumed that would become an option, but it has never appeared. Surprisingly, none of the aftermarket (as far as I am aware) has produced this keyboard either, though some of the clones do provide it as their standard. Can someone at DEC finish this story for us? Certainly in the case of emacs you can bind ESC [ 1 1 ~ (or whatever F11 generates) to ESC-keymap to get the effect of typing the ESC key, so the new PROMs shouldn't be necessary. Unless, that is, you run at 300 baud or type at programs other than emacs. :-) /jr
jr@CC5.BBN.COM@ndmce.uucp (John Robinson) (10/18/86)
>> he (narrows it down a bit :-)) said he had a vt220 with DIFFERENT proms >> which gave an escape when you hit F11 (in vt220 mode) >> would it be possible to get copies of these proms >> could it be a dec product? >> might it even generate bs on the backspace key and lf on the linefeed key >> i'd be interested to hear if anyone knows anything about this The rumor I heard back when the VT220 first came out was that inside DEC you could get a keyboard with VT100 layout (at least on the main keyboard). I assumed that would become an option, but it has never appeared. Surprisingly, none of the aftermarket (as far as I am aware) has produced this keyboard either, though some of the clone termiinals do provide it as their standard. Can someone at DEC finish this story for us? Certainly in the case of emacs you can bind ESC [ 1 1 ~ (or whatever F11 generates) to ESC-keymap to get the effect of typing the ESC key, so the new PROMs shouldn't be necessary. Unless, that is, you run at 300 baud or type at programs other than emacs. :-) /jr