Re: Final call for testers: TERM=xterm

> > That may be so. However, I (like others on this list) hate that feature
> > and its default usage in Linux with a passion.
> 
> I don't understand why you are blaming Linux for this.  It's an xterm
> feature that probably goes back twenty years or more (xterm turned 25 a
> few months ago).  We're not talking just xterm, either; searching for
> "ti=" in /etc/termcap reveals that it was available on dozens of
> terminals, including several IBM and TekTronix models, just to drop a
> couple of big names.

Oh, I'm not blaming Linux. I have edited my fair share of termcap
files, even going back to SunOS and early X11, just to get rid of
this (in my view) extremely annoying feature.

> Modern Unix was built on the "mechanism, not policy" principle, and
> there is no reason why we should make an exception in this particular
> instance.  If our termcap hadn't been intentionally sabotaged, those who
> hate this feature (as I used to) could easily turn it off, but as things
> stand, those who like it (as I do now) can't easily turn it back on,
> especially if they work in mixed environments.

You can have your own private termcap/terminfo file, so it is possible
to use the feature if you want to. "mechanism, not policy" is fine, but
there is also a need to choose sensible defaults. In this case I like
the FreeBSD default better than the Linux default. If the FreeBSD
default changes, I'll learn to live with that.

I think we'll have to agree t disagree.

Steinar Haug, Nethelp consulting, sthaug_at_nethelp.no