[comp.windows.x] vi behaves strangely with xterm

si@socrates.hf.intel.com (Stev) (04/17/91)

xterm seems to behave fine with vi when both vi and xterm are running on 
the local machine. However when I remote login to another machine from
within my xterm window, and subsequently bring up a file on the remote
machine using vi, vi seems to have a problem with the terminal type and
often behaves weirdly. I have tried settng the TERM environment variable on
the remote machine to xterm, xterms & vt100 (all three are in the terminfo
database on the remote machine), but none of them seem to solve this problem.
This behaviour is extremely frustrating since the whole point of having
multiple windows connected to different machines is lost. 
Does xterm need any specific information to solve this problem ?
Any pointers will be appreciated. Please send responses to 
Kumarr@dios.hf.intel.com.

mouse@lightning.mcrcim.mcgill.EDU (der Mouse) (05/02/91)

> xterm seems to behave fine with vi when both vi and xterm are running
> on the local machine.  However when I remote login to another machine
> from within my xterm window, and subsequently bring up a file on the
> remote machine using vi, vi seems to have a problem with the terminal
> type and often behaves weirdly.

It's difficult to say what's the matter because you haven't said just
what goes wrong with vi.  "seems to have a problem with the terminal
type and often behaves weirdly" could mean almost anything.

Two plausible problems come to mind, though.  One is that the remote
login program you are using is, for one reason or another, not copying
the window size information to the remote machine correctly; the other
is that the remote machine has a broken termcap/terminfo description
for xterm in its database.  You should be able to tell which is which
by logging in to the remote machine and start an xterm there, telling
it to display on your local machine, then try vi (on the same file; it
could conceivably be something related to the file you're trying to
edit).  Then speak to your local system types about fixing whatever
this indicates is broken: either the remote-login program, if vi works
OK, or the remote machine's setup, if not.

					der Mouse

			old: mcgill-vision!mouse
			new: mouse@larry.mcrcim.mcgill.edu

pha21@seq1.keele.ac.uk (Braham Levy) (05/03/91)

From postnews Fri May  3 12:35:32 1991

In article <9105021255.AA18081@lightning.McRCIM.McGill.EDU>, mouse@lightning.mcrcim.mcgill.EDU (der Mouse) writes:
> > xterm seems to behave fine with vi when both vi and xterm are running
> > on the local machine.  However when I remote login to another machine
> > from within my xterm window, and subsequently bring up a file on the
> > remote machine using vi, vi seems to have a problem with the terminal
> > type and often behaves weirdly.
> 
> It's difficult to say what's the matter because you haven't said just
> what goes wrong with vi.  "seems to have a problem with the terminal
> type and often behaves weirdly" could mean almost anything.
> 
> Two plausible problems come to mind, though.  One is that the remote
> login program you are using is, for one reason or another, not copying
> the window size information to the remote machine correctly; the other
> is that the remote machine has a broken termcap/terminfo description

maybe not broken but different ! do you run xterm as 80x24 (just like a
VT100) or do you run default xterm (80x60), if so there's the clue. if
you run as 80x24 try this : -

	rlogin to your other machine and tell it you're a vt100.  now
try vi.  if it works there's nowt wrong with your xterm.  alternatively
instead of this try telling the remote machine that you terminal is
`xterms` please include the extra "s".  if this works the above applies. 
if the remote host has X-stuff on it login tell it you're an xterm (no
"s") and then run the resize program (part of X11 dist).  if all works
the answer is in the remote machines xterm termcap/terminfo entry which
probably has #li=60 #co=80 (termcap style) in it. xterms should be
defined with 24 and 80 respectively. 

hope this helps

braham

Mark_T._Phillips.Henr801C@xerox.COM (05/04/91)

> > xterm seems to behave fine with vi when both vi and xterm are running
> > on the local machine.  However when I remote login to another machine
> > from within my xterm window, and subsequently bring up a file on the
> > remote machine using vi, vi seems to have a problem with the terminal
> > type and often behaves weirdly.

I see that the file scrolls up beyond the window and appears to "behave
strangely".  (Only though a telnet connection, not when I xterm pointed back
at my machine....   "rsh xterm -display xxx:0&"

I think it is indeed a function of the window being a different size
than what vi is expecting.   I can fix it with "stty rows 24" before running vi.

=Mark=
phillips@arisia.Xerox.com