Re: ESC vs Meta for shifted keys

[Bob Proulx <bob@proulx.com>]

Emanuel Berg wrote:
> Does anyone use the actual ESC key instead of
> Meta ("Alt" or whatever the keyboard
> manufacturer puts on the key) these days?

I use both interchangeably all of the time.  And so does anyone using
an XTerm with "Meta sends ESC" configured even if they never hit the
ESC key themselves.  Because there is no character sent for a meta key
event, just escape sequences for the subsequent key.  Therefore Meta
with that setting on XTerm sends ESC and it all works mostly seemlessly.

> I've heard, and seen picture of how the
> keyboards once looked, and then it made more
> sense to use it.

I think you mean more sense to use meta-key using such keyboards?
Because it certainly makes sense to use Alt-f for example for M-f
forward-word and the rest of the meta characters.  Current popular
keyboards all have an Alt key.

> Perhaps those keyboards didn't have the arrow
> keys, and that's why it doesn't work :)

The symbolics keyboard actually had a *different* arrow set than has
become standard.  The current "standard" comes from the ADM-3a.

  https://deskthority.net/keyboards-f2/lear-siegler-adm3a-terminal-keyboard-t11780.html

Compare the arrow keys on the h, j, k, l on the ADM-3a to the
Symbolics Space Cadet keyboard and you can see that the ADM-3a is the
one that set the standard and the space cadet keyboard has been
forgotten.

> Monnier knows what to Google Image to find such
> a keyboard image. If he does, I promise not to
> lose it :$

How about this one?

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space-cadet_keyboard

Bob