F8(1) vs multimedia production(0)

[Les Mikesell]

Patrick O'Callaghan wrote:

>> I did say that things written in the last 2 decades use the standards 
>> that mostly started with IBM's 1987 CUA (common user interface) work. 
>> Emacs and vi predate that and don't follow any standards.
> 
> Well I've been using Unix since 1975 and never even heard of this (or
> have long forgotten it, who knows?). It would be interesting to have a
> straw poll on this list to see how many people know what it is. Does the
> GNU documentation make any reference to it?
> 
> I've just had a look at the Wikipedia article
> (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_User_Access), where we find the
> following gem:
> 
>         "CUA has never had significant impact on Unix terminal
>         applications."

Unix 'terminal' applications were mostly written before there was a 
standard terminal keyboard, much less a standard for using key modifiers 
along with cursor motion keys.  Before the IBM PC you could barely count 
on having a control key, and if you had arrow keys, shift and control 
weren't likely to work with them.

But, we aren't talking about terminal applications.  GUI applications 
have an evolving human interface standard that most things follow to one 
extent or another, and most of the current versions inherited their 
design from Motif which followed CUA.  I spend about equal amounts of 
time in windows/linux/mac apps and they mostly use the same 
motion/selection methods.  I think these days you'd learn them in early 
grade school or in a 'keyboarding' class required before high school.

-- 
   Les Mikesell
    lesmikesell at gmail.com