Subject: rxvt and <Backspace> (again)
From: "fergus at bonhard dot uklinux dot net" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Cc: <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2002 12:57:20 -0000

I am not dead certain quite what has occurred here. I was rather fed up
after the rxvt version upgrade from 2.7.2-6 to 2.7.2-9 (or 8, as it seemed
to be announced). What was advertised as a "fix" (and presumably really
_was_ some kind of a fix) to <Backspace> key configuration caused me a lot
of grief when as a consequence of the upgrade things that had worked
perfectly well on my system stopped working properly. I briefly mentioned
this on the list but the wall of silence that this comment generated was
deafening. Since then I've fiddled back and forth between the two versions
but would far rather try to cope with the consequences of a full modern
install than stick with an elderly setup just because it works.

So that's what I've got : a full modern install.

Now : if I by-pass all the .bat / bash / login / rxvt stuff and just dive
straight into

    Start -> Run -> "\Cygwin\bin\rxvt" -> OK

then I get the most primitive possible rxvt terminal with a $ prompt (which
is what I want for the purposes of this message, though I appreciate that
it's not in any other sense a very useful shell to be in) . If I then type a
few characters to the command line and then press <Backspace>, that fails:
i.e. nothing is deleted and the cursor stays where it is. <LeftArrow> and
<RightArrow> work. New characters appear on screen not to be "Insert"ed but
instead "Overwrite" what was there, though pressing <Return> reveals that
what apopeared on screen is not what is sent to the command processor.

Whereas, reverting to 2.7.2-6 and trying things in the same ultra-primitive
context : <Backspace> works fine. <Arrowing> the cursor to somewhere in the
middle of the line and then typing new characters "Overwrite"s rather than
"Insert"s, but what gets sent to the command processor now really _is_ the
same as appears on screen.

Conclusion : if this very primitive terminal test is a fair one, then it
seems to me that 2.7.2-6 really _is_ a "better" and even "more correct"
version of rxvt than its replacement 2.7.2-9.

I have provided this account of the test procedure to avoid any complicated
discussions about whether my .setup files are as well-designed as they might
be, etc. Can other users mimic this finding? Do you agree that of the two
versions 2-6 is more correct? Have others found as I have several instances
where <Backspace> used to work but no longer does?

Or is 2-9 "better" just because it is a more accurate mirror of rxvt as it
is currently provided for other platforms than Cygwin?

I am using W98/SE.

Thank you. Sorry for droning on. I don't mind losing the "accidentally
perfect" setup I have under 2-6 if somebody more expert than I am can assure
me that Yes, 2-9 is a "good" upgrade from 2-6. I will just have to fight my
way through the necessary amends to my setup configuration files. Joy.

Fergus

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