[Pkg-zsh-devel] Bug#772985: In Vi mode, show whether "insert" or "command" state is active

[Jason Spiro]

Package: zsh
Version: 4.3.17-1
Severity: wishlist

Zsh includes a Vi emulation feature.  This feature lets you use the Vi
keys at the zsh command prompt.  Zsh's Vi emulation includes a
"command mode" and an "insert mode".

Zsh's Vi emulation does not show the user which mode is active.  This
is frustrating and confusing.  (It's like an electric oven with no
indicator to show whether the oven is on or off.)

The current state-of-the-art Vi implementation is gVim, maintained by
Bram Moolenaar.  gVim provides a few indicators to tell you which mode
you're in.  One of these indicators is the cursor.  gVim uses a
blinking block cursor in command mode, and a blinking bar in insert
mode.

It would be very good if zsh, too, would show the user which mode was
active.  You can do this any way you like.  I would like it if you did
this by setting the cursor style, just as gVim does.

Here is how to set the cursor style (in supported terminals):

Set cursor to blinking bar:  echo -en "\e[5 q"
Set cursor to blinking block:  echo -en "\e[1 q"

The above commands definitely work in recent versions of iTerm2 (for
Mac OS) and xterm.  I haven't tested them in any other terminal
emulators.  Surely some terminal emulators do nothing at all in
response to the above control sequences.  Luckily, since Debian is
open source, their users can submit patches to fix this.

P.S.  Thank you very much for helping to maintain zsh.  It's perhaps
the most featureful shell out there, and I like it.

Kind regards,
-- 
Jason Spiro:  computer consultant.
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