[net.unix-wizards] Carriage-return vs new-line

johnl (09/06/82)

I think the reason Unix originally used \n instead of \r for the end
of a line is because the newer ANSI definitions of Ascii define \n
to mean new line, e.g. return to the left margin and move to the next
line, and \r just means return to the left.

Admittedly, this is one of the more widely ignored parts of the Ascii
standard, but in the absence of compelling uniformity elsewhere,
and given that terminals are increasingly claiming to adhere to the
Ascii standards for cursor controls, staying with the standard makes
sense.

John Levine, decvax!cca!ima!johnl, harpo!esquire!ima!johnl (uucp)
	     Levine@YALE (Arpa), 617-491-5450 (desperation)

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