Re: Readline-8.2-beta available

[Karl O. Pinc]

On Wed, 13 Apr 2022 14:41:40 -0400
Chet Ramey <chet.ramey@case.edu> wrote:

> The first beta release of the GNU Readline library, version 8.2,
> is now available

> g. There is a new option: `enable-active-region'. This separates
> control of the active region and bracketed-paste. 
> ... Users can now
> turn off the active region while leaving bracketed paste enabled.

Apologies for the delayed feedback.  I jut got to looking through
the release announcement and tried some testing.

Thanks for work here, but this is not the feature I was trying
to implement when I sent in my request for help.

I'm unclear what it means, operationally, to turn off the
active region in the way you have implemented.  As near
as I can tell, it means turning of the highlighting.
(I could be wrong, but that's what I've been able to
determine is the effect of having an active region.)
I have not tested, but believe that turning off the
hilighting can already be done by setting the on/off
terminal strings to empty so I see no reason for the
enable-active-region feature as-implemented.

The feature I was trying to implement would let newlines
take effect in pasted text with bracketed paste on.
This would not impair security.  Newlines are clearly part
of selected/copied text; it is no surprise when they
are pasted.  And becausee bracketed paste disables all other 
readline commands, there is no "hidden manipulation"
of pasted text and so no opportunity for malicious actors.

My proposed separation between bracketed paste and the
active region enhances usability by removing the need
to press the keyboard's enter key when pasting.  It would
remove the awkwardness of having to reach back and forth
between mouse and keyboard when pasting and, to my mind,
remove any reason for wanting to degrade security and
turn off bracketed paste.  Pastes containing newlines
would "paste and run", just like with brackted paste mode off.

I intended this be clear from the documentation included
in my patch.

If you release the new enable-active-region as-is, I will
need a new name for the feature I am looking for.  I chose
the enable-active-region name because the behavior involving
the active region was undocumented, so I could define it's
interaction with bracketed paste as I desired.

At this point, I'd appreciate help getting the feature I'd like.
If there's anything the active-region does besides "get
hilighted" I'd like to know more so I can write good documentation.
Any help regarding how to keep brackted paste mode on,
except in the case of newlines, would also help me code.
(I thought I had a proof-of-concept before starting real
work on a patch.  But apparently I mis-tested, so the feature
in the patch I wound up with didn't work.)

Again, thanks for the work.

Regards,

Karl <kop@karlpinc.com>
Free Software:  "You don't pay back, you pay forward."
                 -- Robert A. Heinlein