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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>
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Reply-To: barmar@zarathustra.think.com.UUCP ()
Organization: Thinking Machines Corporation, Cambridge, MA
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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.