If you're experiencing these behaviors in your Mac OS X Terminal (particularly on 10.5.8):

• Text doesn't properly wrap to the next line when reaching the edge of the terminal window
• Backspace, arrow keys, or control sequences (like ^U) don't work as expected
• Partial line erasure or inability to backspace beyond certain points

The issue stems from incorrect ANSI escape sequence handling in your bash prompt (PS1) configuration. The terminal gets confused about character positions when escape sequences aren't properly delimited.

# Problematic PS1 example:
export PS1='\$$\\033[1;34m\$$\\$\\]\\033[0m\\] '
# Note the mismatched brackets around the color codes

Ensure all ANSI escape sequences in your PS1 are properly wrapped with \$$ and \$$:

# Corrected PS1:
export PS1='\$$\\033[1;34m\$$\\$\$$\\033[0m\$$ '

To test if your prompt is correctly configured:

1. Type a command that exceeds your terminal width
2. The text should wrap cleanly to the next line
3. Try backspacing through the entire line
4. Use up-arrow to recall previous commands

Here's a more robust PS1 configuration that handles colors properly:

export PS1='\$$\\033[01;32m\$$\\u@\\h\$$\\033[00m\$$:\$$\\033[01;34m\$$\\w\$$\\033[00m\$$\\$ '

To make the changes persistent:

echo "export PS1='\$$\\033[1;34m\$$\\$\$$\\033[0m\$$ '" >> ~/.bash_profile
source ~/.bash_profile

If issues persist, consider resetting your terminal's behavior:

stty sane
reset

Many Mac OS X users (particularly on older versions like 10.5.8) encounter frustrating terminal behavior where:

• Long command lines don't properly wrap to the next line
• Backspace operations fail to erase characters correctly
• Cursor navigation becomes unstable

These display issues typically stem from improperly formatted PS1 environment variables. The terminal relies on ANSI escape sequences for formatting, and when these aren't properly delimited with $$ and $$, bash loses track of the cursor position.

To check your current prompt configuration:

echo $PS1

Look for color codes or formatting sequences that might not be properly enclosed.

The solution involves properly enclosing all ANSI escape sequences in your PS1 variable:

# Broken version (causes display issues)
export PS1='\$$\\033[1;34m\$$\\$\\]\\033[0m\\] '

# Fixed version (properly delimited)
export PS1='\$$\\033[1;34m\$$\\$\$$\\033[0m\$$ '

After making changes, test with:

1. Type a command that exceeds your terminal width
2. Verify proper line wrapping
3. Test backspace functionality
4. Check cursor movement with arrow keys

For more complex prompts, ensure all non-printing characters are properly enclosed:

# Example of a well-formatted multi-line prompt
export PS1='\$$\\033[1;32m\$$\\u@\\h\$$\\033[0m\$$:\$$\\033[1;34m\$$\\w\$$\\033[0m\$$\\n\\$ '

To make changes persistent, add the corrected PS1 to your ~/.bash_profile or ~/.bashrc:

# Add to your shell startup file
echo "export PS1='\$$\\033[1;34m\$$\\$\$$\\033[0m\$$ '" >> ~/.bash_profile
source ~/.bash_profile