Vi fails on a Sun-4

[Bertrand Meyer]

Has anyone run into the following problem, which
is becoming an increasing nuisance for me?

Vi (on a Sun-4, running SunOS 4.0) fails
according to totally unpredictable patterns.

For example (vg is an alias that uses vi):

>   [Rome] bm 592 - vg instruction
>   Illegal instruction (core dumped)
>   [Rome] bm 593 - vi Grammar/instruction
>   Illegal instruction (core dumped)
>   [Rome] bm 594 - vi Grammar/instruction
>   Illegal instruction (core dumped)
>   [Rome] bm 595 - cd Grammar
>   [Rome] bm 596 - vi instruction
>   Illegal instruction (core dumped)

	I have experienced similar problems for a long
time, but it used to be only when calling vi with
several file arguments (I have many scripts which do
this, based on grep searching). Now, as the above shows,
it's occurring even with just one file!

Another example occurred as I was trying to send mail
(describing the problem!) and the ~v command of mail
failed with ``Fatal error in "usr/ucb/vi"''.

The problem does not occur identically in different
windows. Usually command windows fail less often than
shell windows. Yesterday, I experienced a situation
with two windows, where vi would work in window A
(a command window) except if the number of file arguments
was equal to 2, and would work in window B (a shell
window) for 1 or 2 arguments, but apparently for no
other number of arguments!

I would be grateful if anyone has any suggestion about
what is going on (other than ``switch to Emacs'').
A text editor seems a pretty basic tool to me, and
after all these years one might hope that vi would
work. I don't suspect Bill Joy reads this, however.

I would appreciate mail replies to bertrand at eiffel.com.
If I receive anything of general interest I will post a
summary.

Thanks in advance.

-- Bertrand Meyer
Interactive Software Engineering, Santa Barbara, CA.

bertrand at eiffel.com