Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site umd5.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!bonnie!akgua!sdcsvax!dcdwest!ittvax!decvax!genrad!mit-eddie!godot!harvard!seismo!umcp-cs!cvl!umd5!zben From: zben@umd5.UUCP Newsgroups: net.unix-wizards Subject: Re: Call for Opionings (Virtual Terminal) Message-ID: <287@umd5.UUCP> Date: Sun, 6-Jan-85 00:23:28 EST Article-I.D.: umd5.287 Posted: Sun Jan 6 00:23:28 1985 Date-Received: Tue, 8-Jan-85 04:42:13 EST References: <32300011@smu.UUCP> Reply-To: zben@umd5.UUCP (Ben Cranston) Organization: U of Md, CSC, College Park, Md Lines: 26 Summary: Proposed Improvements to TermCap In the context of this, let us consider improvements to the TermCap system. One real inadequacy of TermCap is its less than adequate support for *INPUT* translation. The Unix editors and such finesse the issue by refusing to support terminal capabilities such as arrow keys, built-in insert/delete modes, and other features. From a "User Friendlyness" point of view this is a real loss, although a cogent argument can be made for the current scheme of providing a terminal-independant input language (I,J,K,L, etc in VI, etc). Other issues, such as "what happens when you type backspace in column one?" and "what happens when you type linefeed in row 24?" are finessed by using smart echoing to avoid the need to know. Long before finding out about TermCap I wrote a screen editor for really dumb systems, using a dedicated procedure for each terminal to translate both input and output to a program-specific internal language. It will work on systems that do not provide raw, or even rare terminal access. Right now it works on both Univac 1100 (Exec 8) and IBM 4341 (VM/CMS) systems. To make the scheme work from a TermCap system one would need input translations. There also exists a "TN3270" program that does TelNet into IBM systems from Vaxen. Unfortunately, TermCap does not provide enough for doing this, so the program has its own database of terminal types. An expanded TermCap system could obviate the need for Yet Another Terminal Database.... What say ye? Ben Cranston ...seismo!umcp-cs!umd5!zben zben@umd2.arpa