Re: rlwrap as alternative to readline linking

[Mike Miller]

On Wed, Jun 5, 2013 at 12:01:56 -0400, Przemek Klosowski wrote:
> I don't know if it's useful or not, but I stumbled onto the utility 'rlwrap'
> that intercepts stdin/out of commandline programs and provides readline
> capabilities. This way the wrapped program doesn't have to worry about the
> intricacies of readline libraries/language support/etc.
>
> This is how maxima handles command line editing---the underlying maxima
> executable uses the simplest commandline I/O, and rlwrap provides advanced
> editing functionality for the rmaxima version. I am pretty sure that works
> on Windows as well, so maybe using it would simplify the Octave build
> process.

Yeah, rlwrap is a nice utility for getting keybindings, history, and
completion for free. I agree it might be useful with Octave as a
workaround for cases where readline can't be built in for whatever
reason.

Note though that Octave takes advantage of a few other readline
features that you won't get from rlwrap:
- listing and editing history in the Octave shell
- add_input_event_hook (used by fltk, java, and the new GUI)
- terminal size handling

-- 
mike