Setting (HPOS stream) w/o getting blank characters

[Jonathan A Rees <JAR@MIT-MC>]

    Date: Fri, 5 Apr 85 11:32:42 EST
    From: Charles Martin <Martin at YALE.ARPA>

    Is there a nice way to set (HPOS stream) {\it without} having $n$ blank
    characters output to get the stream to that position?

    The problem is in dealing with user i/o, where the user supplies a CR
    which doesn't affect the position of (TERMINAL-OUTPUT).

That the system gets the terminal's HPOS wrong is a bug and should be
fixed at the source.  If the operating system maintained that
information (some do, but I don't think any of the ones T runs on do),
the right thing would be to make the HPOS method query it.  Otherwise
you have to link standard input and output together, do line-at-a-time
input (with buffering), and so forth; this being so complex, it hasn't
been done, even though it's the right thing.

So the answer is: no.  Sorry.  If you dredge deep enough I'm sure you
can come up with an un-nice way to do it, however.

Jonathan