Re: That DEL key thing...

[RVP <rvp%SDF.ORG@localhost>]

On Mon, 10 Mar 2025, pl wrote:

> I thought it's wscons' job to process what particular keys mean.

It does basic things like backward-erase-char and line wraparounds, sure,
but, more sophisticated things? No. Take backward-erase-char, in a cat(1)
for example.  Type-in a like >screenwidth and the kernel will wrap to the
next line, or the next screen. even. But, try backspacing to the beginning
of such a line, and the kernel will do it, but, there won't be any _visual_
indication beyond the current line. ie. there's no `reverse wraparound' like
in xterm(1).

Similarly, to provide a forward-erase-char, the kernel would have to have a
backward-char or beginning-of-line functionality first. Then, it would have
to delete the char. and shift the rest of the line (however long) back by
one place. Even the Linux console doesn't do this; nor, I think, did any of
the real terminals wscons is emulating :)

-RVP