Busybox vi and aterm warning

[PDP-8]

I love both of these - don't get me wrong, but there's a warning if you use busybox vi inside aterm:

On *some* occasions, and depending on how you use vi, you may end up leaving hidden whitespace at the end of certain file configurations.  It doesn't happen all the time, but if you are doing quick manipulations of deleting words, characters, inserting and appending and so forth, this can happen and cause certain configuration files to become cranky.

For instance, the very first thing I do is change my terminal font from "fixed", to the already onboard alias of 10x20 in .Xdefaults

Code: [Select]

Aterm*font: 10x20
What can happen if this extra whitespace happens is this:

Code: [Select]

aterm: can't load font "10x20 "
And of course it can't, because if you look closely, aterm tips you off to the whitespace at the end.

If one uses busybox vi in a virtual terminal and goes with flying fingers, no problem.  Same with other terminals - it just seems that Aterm and busybox vi *may* at times insert that extra whitespace character.

I have checked for years, and no, it's not my flying fingers.

Pretty sure that most newbs are using the gui editor for this, which doesn't have this issue.  But this very-specific use case was hard to track down over the years.

Not a big deal.  I just check configuration files and such that are VERY picky about *exact* options, not to have mistakenly barfed on a cleverly seen whitespace in the vi / aterm combo.  99.999% of the time it's ok.