3 ms·
> Nobody ever wants to be in the middle of a line, then move down to the next line and continue writing in the next column from where you left off. No real-wor
by speerer 2y ago
> Nobody ever wants to be in the middle of a line, then move down to the next line and continue writing in the next column from where you left off. No real-world program ever wants to do that.
I routinely do this while drafting text and tables, and isn't this akin to what multi-cursor input achieves in many text editors?
- johannes1234321 2y agoYou are missing a subtle issue: let's say you want to type the numbers 1-3 above each other. If you send 1NL2NL3 the result will be a set of stairs 1 2 3 Since after typing the digit the writing head is behind that character. You have to add a backspace to go back one column. 1NLBS2NLBS3 which then pushes the Cursor back to the right column. Once you add more than one character per row its all over anyways.
- extraduder_ire 2y agoWouldn't the backspace go back up to the previous line, since the only character between each of those numbers is the newline?
- johannes1234321 2y agoIn there definition control signals position the cursor (typing head) on the screen (paper in typewriter), they don't operate on the command stream.
- speerer 2y agoYou are absolutely right that I didn't consider that. Thank you! The reason is because I have just been typing into a table in a WYSIWYG editor which undoes the problem for me, returning to the beginning of each cell.So I tricked myself, because that is of course not what's being discussed in the article.
- 22c 2y ago> Once you add more than one character per row its all over anyways. Ah, but that can be solved by returning the carriage to the start of the line :) Thus giving you the perfectly valid control sequence: LFCR!
- eviks 2y agoWhich can be easily replaced with a single control sequences since parts never make sense on their own
- anotherhue 2y agoTyping in tables, etc. Is a reasonable use case. Especially on a line feed printer or typewriter from which these movements descended.
- mr_person 2y agoTrue, if you assume a table here has 1 column. If you are printing multiple columns you print a full row at a time.