[aplusdev] where is the meta key?

[Colin Rafferty]

Brian Redman wrote:

> If we take a simpler example - a PC style keyboard with only two
> keys to the left of the space bar, Ctrl and Alt...

> Holding Alt and pressing "[" puts a left arrow in the text.

This is exactly what the users expect from the Meta key.  The Meta key
is just a modifier like Control or Shift.

> In XEmacs 20.4 (in Irix) in an A+ buffer (A A: run), holding Ctrl
> and pressing "[" gives "C-[ not defined."

This is a bug in a.el, and should never happen.  I'd love to figure
out how someone managed to break it.

In every version of emacs ever (unipress, gnu, lucid), C-[ should send
ESC.  When anyone mentions `M-x', that could also be `ESC x', as well
as `C-[ x'.

A+ mode is a horrible hack from the early 90's when there was only a
Meta key on keyboards.  I have a version that uses A-b for  and M-b
for `backward-word'.  I should really clean it up and make it
backwards compatible with the existing a-mode.

-- 
Colin