Return to BSD News archive
Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.carno.net.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!news.cs.su.oz.au!metro!metro!munnari.OZ.AU!news.ecn.uoknor.edu!news.ysu.edu!news.radio.cz!newsbastard.radio.cz!news.radio.cz!CESspool!news.uoregon.edu!arclight.uoregon.edu!su-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.bbnplanet.com!mindspring!realtime.net!news From: Rob Mayoff <mayoff@tkg.com> Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.misc,comp.editors,comp.unix.bsd.misc Subject: Re: What is vi? (Re: Betting on Unix) Date: Mon, 17 Mar 1997 11:10:13 -0600 Organization: Real/Time Communications Internet customer posting Lines: 23 Distribution: inet Message-ID: <332D7AF5.60827DC4@tkg.com> References: <5d3sr2$44n@nntp1.best.com> <330a1d23.2419719@172.15.0.208> <5ef5c8$rgs@arktur.rz.uni-ulm.de> <330B2333.38B6@to.me.please> <5ehglc$lef@innocence.interface-business.de> <330EF0FF.55CE@to.me.please> <5esial$eit@innocence.interface-business.de> <5esunl$9bv@web.nmti.com> <3313B49A.2B42@ibm.net> <331b5865.0@131.162.2.91> <857531709.6661.1@msn-9-16.binc.net> <331D71A4.556B@absyss.fr> <5fto1u$jde$2@peachy.apana.org.au> <pdxvi6z9x8j.fsf_-_@vesuri.Helsinki.FI> <0n_vIm200YUf0Q5OA0@andrew.cmu.edu> <5ggpcj$5sd@clarknet.clark.net> <0n=6zb200YUg0F3Lk0@andrew.cmu.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: westlake.tkg.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-RTcode: 542991b033f42958ad2d7a17 X-Mailer: Mozilla 3.01Gold (X11; I; Linux 2.0.27 i586) Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au comp.os.linux.misc:165017 comp.editors:22359 comp.unix.bsd.misc:2835 Gerry S Hayes wrote: > > T.E.Dickey <dickey@clark.net> writes: > > In comp.editors Gerry S Hayes <sumner@CMU.EDU> wrote: > > : None of the vi clones conform to POSIX yet, AFAIK; vim lacks ex mode > > : (strange, since vi is just the Visual Interface to ex), nvi lacks > > : modelines. Elvis is best for vi compatibility as far as I've seen. > > > > I have a copy of a Posix document from 1993 for vi that doesn't mention > > modelines (which version are you referring to?). The reason that the POSIX spec for vi doesn't mention modeline and that nvi doesn't implement modeline is because Keith Bostic wrote both. If there is any vi that conforms to POSIX, it's almost certainly nvi. > Nvi, in particular, > has said they will never support modelines. This is too bad, since > modelines can be useful when used properly and with a few extra > security checks in the vi implementation. The reason modeline will never be implemented is that it's too hard to be sure they're secure (not impossible, just really hard in a system as complex as vi).