Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!think!barmar From: barmar@think.uucp (Barry Margolin) Newsgroups: comp.sources.d,comp.emacs Subject: Re: when using emacs, get the keymap right! Message-ID: <5741@think.UUCP> Date: Wed, 24-Jun-87 02:23:07 EDT Article-I.D.: think.5741 Posted: Wed Jun 24 02:23:07 1987 Date-Received: Thu, 25-Jun-87 06:21:39 EDT References: <1283@cullvax.UUCP> <1183@osiris.UUCP> Sender: news@think.UUCP Reply-To: barmar@zarathustra.think.com.UUCP () Organization: Thinking Machines Corporation, Cambridge, MA Lines: 16 Xref: mnetor comp.sources.d:883 comp.emacs:1238 There's a big problem with having Emacs understand function/arrow keys automatically. Most such keys send ESC followed by one or two characters. Emacs already has default bindings for most escape sequences. If you're lucky, all the function keys send a three-character escape sequence, with all of them having the same first two characters, so only one Emacs key binding is used up. However, I'm familiar with a family of terminals (Honeywell VIPs) which sent a different escape sequence for the arrow keys and 24 function keys. Some of the function keys even send ESC! How are users supposed to deal with such incompatibilities between terminals? They would have to know which commands they can't use on each terminal. One person I used to work with actually did set up key bindings for many VIP function keys. It made it impossible for anyone else to sit at his terminal, because he usurped half the standard ESC bindings.