ghe@physics.orst.edu (Guangliang He) (04/25/91)
I don't know how many people is still using vi nowadays. But I still am. But today, I just found out the 'vi' on AIX 3.1 doesn't know the -x option at all. I found -x option on all other UNIX machine I've used here, SUN, Ridge, Sequent.... Is there anyone knows why the -x option is lost by IBM? --- Guangliang He ghe@physics.orst.edu
mbrown@testsys.austin.ibm.com (Mark Brown) (04/25/91)
> I don't know how many people is still using vi nowadays. But I still am. > But today, I just found out the 'vi' on AIX 3.1 doesn't know the -x option > at all. I found -x option on all other UNIX machine I've used here, SUN, > Ridge, Sequent.... Is there anyone knows why the -x option is lost by IBM? You can thank the US Commerce Dept and our lawyers for that one. US companies are not allowed to export "encryption" devices/software outside the US, and our lawyers, conservative souls that they are, include "crypt" and "ex -x" in this category. Yeah, the algorithm is already out there. Yeah, this is all old hat. It also seems to be the law. Mark Brown IBM PSP Austin, TX. (512) 823-3741 VNET: MBROWN@AUSVMQ MAIL: mbrown@testsys.austin.ibm.com OR uunet!testsys.austin.ibm.com!mbrown Which came first: The Chicken or the Legba? DISCLAIMER: Any personal opinions stated here are just that.
ken@racerx.UUCP (Ken Hardy) (04/26/91)
In article <1991Apr25.022749.22026@lynx.CS.ORST.EDU>, ghe@physics.orst.edu (Guangliang He) writes: > I don't know how many people is still using vi nowadays. But I still am. > But today, I just found out the 'vi' on AIX 3.1 doesn't know the -x option > at all. I found -x option on all other UNIX machine I've used here, SUN, > Ridge, Sequent.... Is there anyone knows why the -x option is lost by IBM? The encryption algorithm used by crypt and vi -x is, I believe, restricted to domestic use due to "national security" concerns. So many vendors are not putting it into their default distributions. Try "man crypt". I rolled my own crypt, called "krypt" (clever, no?), just for my own uses. I'm sure the Rooskies could crack pretty easily, since it doesn't use any higher-mathematics type algorithms, ala DES. -- Ken Hardy uunet!racerx!ken Bridge Information Systems ken@racerx.com