Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bloom-beacon!mit-eddie!rutgers!cmcl2!nrl-cmf!ames!ucsd!ucsdhub!esosun!seismo!uunet!iscuva!jimc
From: jimc@iscuva.ISCS.COM (Jim Cathey)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: What a joke Emacs is (CTRL-Q/S controversy)
Message-ID: <1717@iscuva.ISCS.COM>
Date: 8 Jul 88 15:21:06 GMT
References: <3601@csvax.liv.ac.uk> <23571@teknowledge-vaxc.ARPA> <3918@csvax.liv.ac.uk>
Organization: ISC Systems Corporation, Spokane, WA
Lines: 36

In article <3918@csvax.liv.ac.uk> sqrkl@csvax.liv.ac.uk writes:
>I find it amazing that an editor (does Emacs deserve such an accolade ?)
>in these so-called modern times actually uses CTRL-Q and CTRL-S as commands.
>This has me dumbfounded (for a change !) and it serves anyone right who
>uses Emacs. All minis/mainframes I know of (no doubt there are exceptions)
>support XON/XOFF as a matter of course and you WOULD be foolish to run a
>terminal emulator at high speeds without XON/XOFF active.

I find it amazing that in these so-called modern times that everyone
and their dog adopted Teletype's paper-tape reader control codes (DC1
and DC3) as flow control!  Emacs (and related editors) have been around
since before this widespread 'adoption'.  Some of us object violently
to the attitude that DC1 and DC3 _must_ be used for flow control even
when we don't want them or need them.  After all, not _all_ terminals
are too damned slow to keep up at 9600 baud -- just DEC's!  (Dare to
tread where the ADM3 has been [19200 baud with no flow]!  For the
record, I've written a terminal emulator for a bit-mapped graphics
machine of power O(mac) that keeps up just dandy at 9600 baud, and yes,
I use it with Emacs daily.)

Supporting XON/XOFF is one thing.  Requiring it is another.

The really sick thing about all this is the pervasiveness of the
XON/XOFF/7-bit-only mindset -- to the point of some Ethernet connections being
unable to be anything else.  Witness rlogin (TCP/IP) over Ethernet.  Suuuure
you need XON/XOFF over a packetized, guaranteed delivery system.  Better clear
that high bit too -- it could be dangerous!

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