GNU nano 8.0 released

Version 8.0 of the terminal text editor GNU nano has been released. This update includes several changes to keybindings to be more newcomer-friendly, such as remapping Ctrl-F to forward-search and adding an option for modern bindings:

Command-line option --modernbindings (-/) makes ^Q quit, ^X cut, ^C copy, ^V paste, ^Z undo, ^Y redo, ^O open a file, ^W write a file, ^R replace, ^G find again, ^D find again backwards, ^A set the mark, ^T jump to a line, ^P show the position, and ^E execute.

The release also provides access to 14 levels of gray scale in xterm (up from four), as well as many bug fixes.

2024.05.01 - GNU nano 8.0  "Grus grus"

• By default ^F is bound to starting a forward search, and ^B to
   starting a backward search, while M-F and M-B repeat the search
   in the corresponding direction.  (See the documentation if you
   want the old bindings back.)
• Command-line option --modernbindings (-/) makes ^Q quit, ^X cut,
   ^C copy, ^V paste, ^Z undo, ^Y redo, ^O open a file, ^W write a
   file, ^R replace, ^G find again, ^D find again backwards, ^A set
   the mark, ^T jump to a line, ^P show the position, and ^E execute.
• Above modern bindings are activated also when the name of nano's
   executable (or a symlink to it) starts with the letter "e".
• To open a file at a certain line number, one can now use also
   `nano filename:number`, besides `nano +number filename`.
• <Alt+Home> and <Alt+End> put the cursor on the first and last
   row in the viewport, while retaining the horizontal position.
• When the three digits in an #RGB color code are all the same,
   the code is mapped to the xterm grey scale, giving access to
   fourteen levels of grey instead of just four.
• For easier access, M-" is bound to placing/removing an anchor,
   and M-' to jumping to the next anchor.
• Whenever an error occurs, the keystroke buffer is cleared, thus
   stopping the execution of a macro or a string bind.
• The mousewheel scrolls the viewport instead of moving the cursor


GNU nano is a simple and easy-to-use editor for on the terminal.
   https://nano-editor.org/manual.html

A concise overview of nano's shortcut keystrokes:
   https://nano-editor.org/cheatsheet.html

The tarball and its signature are here:
   https://nano-editor.org/dist/v8/nano-8.0.tar.xz
   https://nano-editor.org/dist/v8/nano-8.0.tar.xz.asc


Specific issues that were addressed in this release:

   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?63520  (nano could crash when linting)
   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?63691  (wrong Replace-With help text)
   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?63702  ("{verbatim}" in a bind failed)
   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?63964  (format string vulnerabilities)
   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?64019  (flashing filename with --zero)

   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?64125  (nonstandard synopsis in man page)
   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?64168  (replacing gave unwanted feedback)
   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?64226  (misleading "Unbound key" message)
   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?64340  (URL in C was colorized as comment)
   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?64465  (vanishing folder could cause crash)

   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?64578  (spurious error with --mouse)
   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?64632  (X11 F13 symbol was not understood)
   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?64945  (poor wrapping with long words)
   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?64996  (pasting 39 bytes could hang)
   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?65193  ("specified" was misspelled)

   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?65196  (empty formatter string would crash)
   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?65204  (empty linter string would hang)
   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?65278  (crash after nested search)
   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?65279  (use-after-free during undo)
   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?65289  (heap-buffer-overflow during undo)

   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?65301  (macro could insert unwanted text)
   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?65317  (undoing justification could eat line)
   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?65334  ([wish] recognize also .mjs extension)
   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?65365  (uninitialized value during verbatim)
   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?65369  (crash after search during replace)

   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?65381  (searching overwrote replace string)
   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?65394  (invalid read when typing M-: fast)
   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?65396  ("Missing multidata" when justifying)
   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?65407  (overlong include path could crash)
   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?65426  ("Missing" when undoing justification)

   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?65428  ("Misplaced cursor" for Bsp at EOF)
   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?65435  ("Missing" when justifying a region)
   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?65445  (mis-sized indicator with --softwrap)
   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?65482  ("Missing" when justifying a region)
   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?65501  (no light background on Linux VT)

   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?65505  (setting a color twice leaked memory)
   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?65516  ("Missing" during macro replay)
   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?65560  (confusing feedback when converting)
   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?65565  (reading from stdin was undoable)
   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?65586  (misadjusted mark with --autoindent)

   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?65591  (new Makefile did not use syntax)
   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?65604  ("Span underflowed" for a hard-wrap)
   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?65611  ("Span underflowed" for redo of wrap)
   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?65636  (--break with --zap could crash)
   https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/?65649  (on laggy machine macro could hang)

   Almost half of these issues were reported by `correctmost`, who has
   been generating scripts that hammer nano with random keystrokes.


Changes between v7.2 and v8.0:
------------------------------

Andy Koppe (2):
       input: scroll on mousewheel events instead of moving the cursor
       rcfile: map the gray #rgb codes (#111 to #EEE) to the xterm grayscale

Benjamin Valentin (1):
       new feature: interpret also <filename>:<linenumber> when opening a file

Jordi Mallach (1):
       docs: fix "availabilty" typo in the manual and the nanorc manpage

Matteo Raso (1):
       syntax: python: colorize decorators specially

Mike Frysinger (2):
       build: link in $(GETRANDOM_LIB) from gnulib
       gnulib: import canonicalize-lgpl for realpath

Benno Schulenberg (156):
       bindings: allow speller and friends to be rebound also in restricted mode
       bindings: in the tiny version, bind M-6 only in main, not at the prompts
       bindings: let <Alt+Home/End> move the cursor to top/bottom of viewport
       bindings: let M-" place/remove an anchor, and let M-' jump to one
       bindings: let M-& show the ncurses version+patch, as a small Easter egg
       bindings: make ^F start a forward search by default
       bindings: make ^F start a forward search by default
       bindings: set up modern bindings also when binary's name starts with "e"
       bindings: show ^- instead of ^/ for 'flipgoto' when on a Linux console
       bindings: with --modern, do not let ^Q^Q quit nano without saving
       bindings: with --modern, use ^H for Help when the terminal allows it
       browser: report an error instead of crashing when the folder disappears
       browser: restore typing position at prompt after "^R name ^T ^F ^V ^C"
       bump version numbers and add a news item for the 8.0 release
       chars: add a helper function for stripping leading blanks from a string
       copyright: update the years for the FSF
       display: add a wnoutrefresh() call for NetBSD, to force a cursor update
       display: do not attempt to draw a line that is outside the viewport
       display: draw a new magic line rightaway when there are multiline regexes
       display: show the help lines down to the tiniest possible terminal size
       docs: add a caveat in the FAQ about bracketed pastes
       docs: add a clarifying note to the description of --tabstospaces
       docs: add an example binding for normalizing Unicode to the sample nanorc
       docs: add a reference to the 'help-nano' mailing list
       docs: add M-C and M-Z to the cheatsheet, and reshuffle for balance
       docs: add ^T^S (spell check) and M-S (softwrap) to the cheatsheet
       docs: add two examples of custom key bindings to the nanorc manpage
       docs: adjust an example help line in the README to the current state
       docs: adjust the cheatsheet for the changed meanings of ^F, ^B, M-F, M-B
       docs: clarify that a fileregex is matched against the absolute filename
       docs: delete a remark about libvte that is no longer relevant
       docs: describe nano more specifically as a text editor
       docs: document the <filename>:<linenumber> thing for cursor positioning
       docs: document the new bindable functions 'toprow' and 'bottomrow'
       docs: document the new --modernbindings option
       docs: fix a ten-year-old typo, reported by `correctmost`
       docs: improve the description of the 'flipexecute' bindable function
       docs: in a synopsis, use braces around a choice of required parts
       docs: in the sample nanorc, set the guidestripe to a soft grey
       docs: mention backreferences (for replacements with regular expressions)
       docs: mention how to get the old behavior of ^F, ^B, M-F, and M-B back
       docs: mention that a restricted nano does not access the history files
       docs: mention that 'light' background colors do not work on Linux console
       docs: mention that --modernbindings overrides --preserve
       docs: mention the changed meanings of ^F/^B and also in the texi manual
       docs: mention the missing two options that override --bold
       docs: say "mini bar", not "minibar", when referring to the actual bar
       docs: trim stuff that is more than five years old from the changelog
       docs: use a space after #, like everywhere else in the sample nanorc
       editing: adjust the mark before trimming redundant blanks
       execute: show "Older" and "Newer" in the help lines, to allow rebinding
       feedback: drop an unnecessary warning, to not bother the user
       feedback: lowercase a letter, as the phrase is not a full sentence
       feedback: raise the level of "Macro is empty", to match similar messages
       feedback: suppress filename and linecount when --zero is active
       feedback: suppress format-conversion messages for --zero and --mini
       files: do not allow M-U to remove text read from standard input
       files: run `chmod` and `chown` on the descriptor, not on the filename
       formatter: do not crash when the formatter command is empty
       general: include the Copy function (M-6 or ^C) into the tiny version
       general: let the constant-show toggle override the zero-interface mode
       gnulib: update to current upstream state, to make a fresh checkout work
       gnulib: update to its current upstream state
       help: give the "Replace with" prompt its own help text
       help: mention M-Home and M-End in the help text and help lines
       help: rebalance the help items when --preserve is used
       help: restore ^H and ^D as the primary shortcuts for Backspace and Delete
       help: show ^F/^B as primary shortcuts for search, not as secondary
       indicator: do not oversize the scroller when softwrapping
       input: avoid hanging after a 39-character paste on a VSCode terminal
       input: flush the keystroke buffer upon any kind of error condition
       input: for one bump of the mousewheel scroll two lines, not three
       input: intercept a spurious keycode and say what the actual problem is
       input: let the handler of string binds return a byte whenever possible
       input: neutralize two spurious keycodes from VTE terminals
       input: prevent 'macro_length' from underflowing when hammering M-:
       input: recognize certain escape sequences for F13 to F16 again
       input: snip the `recordmacro` and `runmacro` keystrokes in a better way
       input: store key codes in the macro buffer as they come in from ncurses
       justify: keep as much of the marked region onscreen as possible
       justify: keep the cursor at the original end of a marked region
       justify: recompute the multidata for paragraphs larger than the viewport
       justify: set the correct starting point also with --cutfromcursor
       justify: set `x = 0` for the undo item, for when using --cutfromcursor
       linter: do not mess up the input stream when the linter command is empty
       linter: use a format string, to deflect format-string attacks
       memory: prevent a leak by freeing a possibly already existing color combo
       minibar: mention the file format when it's DOS or Mac
       moving: preserve horizontal position when jumping to top or bottom row
       new feature: functions that jump to the top or bottom of the viewport
       new feature: option --modernbindings sets up more widespread key bindings
       options: make --modernbindings actually override --preserve
       po: update translations and regenerate POT file and PO files
       rcfile: add bindable functions for moving the cursor to top or bottom row
       rcfile: avoid crashing on an include path that is way too long
       replacing: stash the string to be replaced while asking for replacement
       revert the previous commit -- forget about -? as a synonym for --help
       screen: recalculate the multidata when detecting the need for it
       search: avoid a crash after a nested search, reported by `correctmost`
       search: avoid crashing after searching a help text during a regex replace
       shutdown: ignore a modified buffer when in view mode
       softwrap: adjust start-of-screen when the 'edittop' line is hard-wrapped
       softwrap: realign start-of-screen when redoing an automatic hard-wrap
       softwrap: remember the actual breaking point when wrapping at blanks
       startup: use a format string, to deflect format-string attacks
       syntax: c: require a preceding blank when a line comment contains a quote
       syntax: javascript: recognize also the .mjs extension
       syntax: makefile: ensure that the <Tab> key always produces a tab
       syntax: makefile, sh: recognize also a fresh Makefile and fresh .profile
       syntax: nanorc: colorize {toprow} and {bottomrow} for string binds
       syntax: sh: recognize more shells than `sh` on a shebang line for busybox
       tweaks: add a comment that refers to the VTE spurious-code issue
       tweaks: add a missing 'type' attribute to a <style> tag
       tweaks: add an extra variable, to avoid reusing one for another purpose
       tweaks: add another translator hint, to help avoid overlong key tags
       tweaks: adjust a comment for the changed handling of gray #rgb codes
       tweaks: avoid calling isblank()/isalpha() on what could be a signed char
       tweaks: condense the code that searches for a colon plus line number
       tweaks: delete a redundant fragment of code from do_replace_loop()
       tweaks: elide a redundant variable
       tweaks: express an 'if' more concisely, and add two blank lines
       tweaks: implement the fix of the previous commit somewhat differently
       tweaks: improve three translator hints
       tweaks: make two strings equal to a third, to slightly ease translation
       tweaks: move two static declarations to the only function that uses them
       tweaks: normalize the indentation after the previous change
       tweaks: normalize the indentation after the previous changes
       tweaks: pull a fragment of code a bit forward, to enable the next commit
       tweaks: remove two pairs of unneeded braces, and normalize a line
       tweaks: rename a function and variable, to describe better what they do
       tweaks: rename a function, for contrast, and update antiquated comments
       tweaks: rename a struct element, to avoid a theoretical name collision
       tweaks: rename a symbol (to be clearer), and add three missing comments
       tweaks: rename a variable, away from an abbreviation
       tweaks: rename a variable, away from an abbreviation
       tweaks: rename a variable, to be a bit more indicative
       tweaks: rename a variable, to be clearer when seen in context
       tweaks: rename a variable, to be more readable
       tweaks: rename a variable, to better indicate what it represents
       tweaks: rename two variables, to be clearer and to match others
       tweaks: reshuffle four lines, to allow folding some #ifdefs together
       tweaks: reshuffle three fragments of code, moving related things together
       tweaks: rewrap a comment, and reshuffle seven declarations
       tweaks: rewrap two old news items
       tweaks: shrink the set of characters recognized as line-column separator
       tweaks: slightly improve a comment, to be more accurate
       tweaks: slightly reword the help text for the Replace-With prompt
       tweaks: ungettextize three strings, to make a translator hint right again
       tweaks: use a pair of parentheses to clarify the order of operations
       undo: force a screen refresh also for the special case Bsp-at-EOF
       undo: prevent a use-after-free, reported by `correctmost`
       undo: recompute the multidata when a piece of text is replaced
       undo the prelast commit in order to redo it with a fuller commit message
       verbatim: avoid referencing an uninitialized value
       wrapping: delete only single characters, not a possibly marked region


-- 

Benno