[IPython-dev] [IPython-user] bug in coloured prompt

Fernando Perez fperez.net at gmail.com
Wed Apr 4 12:36:35 EDT 2007


On 4/4/07, Thorsten Kampe <thorsten at thorstenkampe.de> wrote:

> > If I was in a snotty mood, I'd say that the bug is not /in/ Windows,
> > but that Windows /IS/ the bug.  But that would be mean :)
>
> Yes, and incorrect. I guess it's a readline issue (even though rxvt
> doesn't have the problem) because the Windows Terminals work fine with
> "your" pyreadline.

Well, it works fine *now*, after enormous amounts of time were spent
on accomodating their limitations.  One reason I'm particularly
allergic to win32 is because it has cost us (and mostly others than
myself, but I've spent my fair share in the past) a lot of effort to
get the most basic ANSI terminal support that ipython needs working
under Windows terminals.  So they may work today, but not exactly
thanks to windows being any good, believe me.  If it weren't for Gary
Bishop (original pyreadline author) and Jorgen, today we'd still  have
the old message saying "ipython works under windows, but in a very
limited fashion, without coloring or much line editing support of any
kind".

> > We do have enough Win32 users that if you can find a patch that makes
> > all combinations of terminals and environments under win32 work
> > correctly, I'm sure it will be very welcome.
>
> To be honest I don't think a patch to IPython would make sense. Other
> applications have the same problem (lftp and yafc for instance) - and
> probably the same cause for the problem. It wouldn't make sense to
> patch all these apps. The only thing these applications have in common
> is that they use Cygwin readline. I guess we have to patch readline.

Well, IPython already has tons of workaround code to make sure users
get the right experience even in the face of limitations in
third-party code (bugs in python itself, windows, etc.).  So I would
not be against including something similar to help here, if it can be
made robustly.

But obviously if you can have Cygwin fixed for good, that's even better :)

Regards,

f



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