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From: dhp@ihnp3.UUCP (Douglas H. Price)
Newsgroups: net.micro
Subject: Re: Wyse WY-50 Block Editing
Message-ID: <155@ihnp3.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 17-Sep-85 16:56:56 EDT
Article-I.D.: ihnp3.155
Posted: Tue Sep 17 16:56:56 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 19-Sep-85 03:53:23 EDT
References: <427@aero.ARPA>
Reply-To: dhp@ihnp3.UUCP (Douglas H. Price)
Organization: ATT Bell Labs
Lines: 20
Keywords: block mode terminal
Summary: block mode and UNIX don't mix

What you are suggesting is reasonable exept for one thing, block mode
transmission and UNIX don't mix very well.  I was once called in to fix
a block mode terminal application on a microcomputer based UNIX installation,
only to find out that the terminal overran UNIX's buffering when transmitting
the screen back to the host.  This was the case with a Televideo 925.  
I don't have the specs for a WYSE-50 in front of me, but I would suggest
that you:

	1. transmit only the changed fields back to the host.

	2. option the terminal to honor flow control (i.e., ^S/^Q).

The TVI925 wasn't smart enough to do the second item, and a moderate load
on the machine (like daily tape backups) would just about guarantee lost
characters.
-- 
						Douglas H. Price
						Analysts International Corp.
						@ AT&T Bell Laboratories
						..!ihnp4!ihnp3!dhp