Bug 819588

Summary: xterm man page conflicts with fedora patches xterm app-defaults
Product: [Fedora] Fedora Reporter: Jim Helm <perlguy>
Component: xtermAssignee: Miroslav Lichvar <mlichvar>
Status: CLOSED ERRATA QA Contact: Fedora Extras Quality Assurance <extras-qa>
Severity: low Docs Contact:
Priority: unspecified    
Version: 16CC: dickey, mlichvar, pertusus
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Last Closed: 2012-11-26 16:42:24 UTC Type: Bug
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Description Jim Helm 2012-05-07 16:06:32 UTC
Description of problem:

The F16 xterm man page states:

       backarrowKey (class BackarrowKey)
               Specifies whether the backarrow key transmits a backspace (8) or delete (127) character.  This corresponds  to
               the DECBKM control sequence.  The default (backspace) is “true”.  Pressing the control key toggles this behav‐
               ior.


However, Fedora ships with 

/usr/share/X11/app-defaults/XTerm:

*VT100*backarrowKey: false


^H is my personal preference, mainly because I like begin able to use BS and SPACE to move back/forward in vi and vi-mode line editing - Fitt's Law - they are easier to hit than h/l.  I understand that ^? is the "correct" behavior for VT* emulation, but I should be able to set my personal preferences, using the man page as a reference, and get the expected behavior, without having to check the distro's changes.  Please patch the man page to change the documented default, or at the very least, mention that Fedora changes the default to false.

Thank you.

Comment 1 Thomas E. Dickey 2012-05-09 00:40:09 UTC
For what it's worth, the manpage describes the compiled-in defaults.
In cases where packagers have modified the manpage to describe
customizations, that's usually done in a paragraph near the end
of the manpage.

Comment 2 Thomas E. Dickey 2012-06-04 09:56:44 UTC
In patch #280, I'm adding configure-script options to control this
setting and a few related one (so that patching the app-defaults
file will be unnecessary).  That will also update the manpage.

Comment 3 Thomas E. Dickey 2012-06-27 11:41:00 UTC
from #280 (#281 is current):

add configure options to predefine the most commonly customized resources for terminal-settings, use those to substitute into the manpage the corresponding compiled-in values: altSendsEscape, backarrowKey, backarrowKeyIsErase, deleteIsDEL, metaSendsEscape (Redhat #819588).

Comment 4 Fedora Update System 2012-10-10 16:10:17 UTC
xterm-283-1.fc18 has been submitted as an update for Fedora 18.
https://admin.fedoraproject.org/updates/xterm-283-1.fc18

Comment 5 Fedora Update System 2012-10-10 16:14:01 UTC
xterm-283-1.fc17 has been submitted as an update for Fedora 17.
https://admin.fedoraproject.org/updates/xterm-283-1.fc17

Comment 6 Fedora Update System 2012-10-11 01:00:03 UTC
Package xterm-283-1.fc17:
* should fix your issue,
* was pushed to the Fedora 17 testing repository,
* should be available at your local mirror within two days.
Update it with:
# su -c 'yum update --enablerepo=updates-testing xterm-283-1.fc17'
as soon as you are able to.
Please go to the following url:
https://admin.fedoraproject.org/updates/FEDORA-2012-15860/xterm-283-1.fc17
then log in and leave karma (feedback).

Comment 7 Fedora Update System 2012-10-15 11:18:04 UTC
xterm-284-1.fc18 has been submitted as an update for Fedora 18.
https://admin.fedoraproject.org/updates/xterm-284-1.fc18

Comment 8 Fedora Update System 2012-10-15 11:19:34 UTC
xterm-284-1.fc17 has been submitted as an update for Fedora 17.
https://admin.fedoraproject.org/updates/xterm-284-1.fc17

Comment 9 Fedora Update System 2012-11-08 06:11:16 UTC
xterm-284-1.fc18 has been pushed to the Fedora 18 stable repository.  If problems still persist, please make note of it in this bug report.