Re: cat /usr/X11R6/bin/xmodmap

[Bob Proulx]

Alexander Orlov wrote:
> If I type "cat /usr/X11R6/bin/xmodmap" I get into cryptical mode which can't 
> be canceled in the normal way (Ctrl+C).

Thank you for your report.  But you are not seeing a bug.  The
terminal emulator you are using apparently is a "smart" terminal and
reacts to escape sequences.  One example would be xterm.  The binary
sequences of characters in the xmodmop binary are probably putting
your terminal to graphics mode or something.  Don't cat binaries to
the terminal.  It will only annoy you.

Paul Jarc previously wrote (thanks Paul!):

  Binary files typically contain certain character sequences, purely
  by chance, that tell the terminal to do strange things.  The
  terminal has this capability because occasionally it is genuinely
  useful, but the terminal cannot distinguish between cases where the
  special characters were intended to change the terminal's behavior
  and cases where they were only meant to be printed.  You may be able
  to fix the terminal with the "reset" command.  To keep it from
  happening, simply don't print random binary data to your terminal.
  You can safely view it using a pager like "less", though, with the
  appropriate options

In an 'xterm' you can use control-middle-button dragging down to "Do
Full Reset" to tell the terminal emulator to reset back to a known
state.  That usually works well when the terminal has gotten into a
bad state.  The screen will be clear.  A keyboard 'enter' will usually
find yourself back at the command prompt.

Bob