bash suggestion

[Brian Limketkai]

Hi,

I'm a bash user and would like to make a suggestion. Is there a way to add
reverse history searches on the command line after some text has been typed?
I LOVE the up arrow feature, but it would be even better if up arrow would
continue to work after a few characters have been typed, allowing the user
to scroll through previous commands starting with the same phrase.

I know that the CTRL-R command exists, but it does not let you scroll up once
a few letters have been typed. You just have to continue typing until you find
your desired command.

If you have used Matlab before, you'll know what I'm talking about.
A feature like that would make bash the ULTIMATE shell...

thanks for any help,

brian