[issue18444] IDLE: Mac OS X pressing ctrl-A in Python shell moved cursor before the prompt, which then makes the keyboard unresponsive.

[Ronald Oussoren]

Ronald Oussoren added the comment:

IIRC the key bindings that are currently used on OSX basicly are partially based on the key bindings on "classic macos", and partially on using the CMD key instead of the ALT key.

It would be nice to have a clean set of key bindings for OSX that's based on the default key bindings for text widgets in Cocoa[1], with "logical" additions for IDLE-specific functionality.

It would also be nice if the key bindings for the various platforms could be kept in sync [2], that makes it easier to switch between platforms and is easier for educators. 

BTW. I don't think it using function keys for key bindings is necessarily a good idea on OSX. I'm pretty sure that the default keyboard settings on OSX require two key presses to use a function key on OSX laptops (the "fn" key and the actual function key) because the keys are used for their hardware control role without the "fn" key (that is, "fn" + "f8" is F8, while just "f8" is "play/pauze"). A number of function keys also have system-wide shortcuts (such as "show desktop"), I'm not sure if those shortcuts are still enabled by default on new installs.


[1] More or less documented here: <https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/#documentation/cocoa/Conceptual/EventOverview/TextDefaultsBindings/TextDefaultsBindings.html>, the file "/System/Library/Frameworks/AppKit.framework/Resources/StandardKeyBinding.dict" is a (binary) plist that contains the default keybinding.

[2] With the obvious differences, such as using the CMD key on OSX and ALT on Windows.

----------
nosy: +ronaldoussoren

_______________________________________
Python tracker <report at bugs.python.org>
<http://bugs.python.org/issue18444>
_______________________________________