From: utzoo!decvax!harpo!npoiv!npois!cbosgd!mark
Newsgroups: net.unix-wizar
Title: Re: linking between users - (nf)
Article-I.D.: cbosgd.2460
Posted: Sun Jul 25 19:27:11 1982
Received: Wed Jul 28 05:58:13 1982
References: harpo.891

Well, as long as ber's pointing people at me, let me give credit where due.
The talk program was written by Kipp Hickman (arpavax.hickman@Berkeley)
and I just happen to have a copy of it.  It uses mpx and curses, and
puts two windows on the screen - you're in the top half and the other
person is in the bottom half.  Either of you can type whenever you
want, as it's totally full duplex.  Nice concept.

Unfortunately, the program likes to go into weird states sometimes.
I strongly suspect the problem is in mpx, since now that we have a
fixed version of mpx in our 4.1BSD (no, I can't give it to anybody,
it's part of the Blit software and quite proprietary) I haven't noticed
it weirding out (but it doesn't get used heavily).  Weird things may
also happen if you or the other person don't have $TERM set properly.

As I understand it, Kipp has rewritten talk to use 4.2BSD IPC instead
of mpx.  I have no idea how solid that version is.

The talk program does not allow more than two people, and both people
must be on one system.  However, I see no reason why it couldn't be
enhanced along these lines.

There is another program here (also called "talk") by Alan Hewett which
uses the top line as a buffer for you to type into, and the rest of
the screen scrolls by with a script of the conversation, entered one line
at a time as return is hit.  Each clump of lines is labelled with the
speaker, and several people can be in on the conversation.  It uses a
local virtual terminal protocol and cannot be distributed.

What I really want, and what I haven't seen in anything except bitmapped
workstations, is to have a conversation with someone in one window on
the screen and be able to get work done at the same time in another window.
Most people are very slow typists, and I get bored waiting for them to
type something.  Many people have modified "write" to run in raw mode,
so you don't have to wait for each return, but I know at least one person
who won't answer any person who links to him with such a raw write,
because it makes it nearly impossible to work in the foreground while
the person is typing to him!  (He ^Z's out of his write and works when
the other person is typing.)

	Mark