less5 - 2 fixes and an enhancement...

[Brandon S. Allbery]

As quoted from <4300005 at hpcvca.HP.COM> by charles at hpcvca.HP.COM (Charles Brown):
+---------------
| Your response here tells me that I was wrong in thinking that you were
| deliberately ignoring my messages.  Please understand my assumption
| was based upon a lack of response to three messages.  (2 email, 1
| notes)
+---------------

Sometimes we get the messages but replies always bounce.  And some people
don't have time to read ALL of news....

+---------------
| > In regard to the problem with terminals with off-screen memory, I
| > was told that the termcap "ti" string should set up the terminal so
| > that the on-screen memory was the only accessible memory, in effect
| > making these terminals appear like "normal" terminals; and that
| > people who complained had a broken termcap description.
| 
| This is the first time I heard of this.  I did not save this version
+---------------

I am always amized at the number of termcap (and terminfo!) entries which
wee obviously written by someone who never read termcap(4) in the manual.
"ti"/"te" (terminfo: "smcup"/"rmcup") are clearly documented and so is this
usage in particular.

THE CARDINAL RULE OF PROGRAMS USING SMART I/O:

If a program known to work on many terminals doesn't work on yours, CHECK
THE TERMCAP/TERMINFO DESCRIPTION FIRST!!!  It's absolutely amazing how many
terminal descriptions are absolute trash!  (I've got Wyse 50 termcaps that
have "DL=/EW" (notice the FORWARD slash) in them.  And ncoast's sysop, on
seeing the result of this, claimed that the *terminal* had to be broken.)

++Brandon
-- 
Brandon S Allbery uunet!hal.cwru.edu!ncoast!allbery allbery%ncoast at hal.cwru.edu
(LAST RESORT ONLY:  allbery at uunet.uu.net)			DELPHI: ALLBERY
comp.sources.misc is moving off ncoast -- please do NOT send submissions direct
	  "So many articles, so little time...."  -- The Line-Eater