Columbia Kermit/kermit.zip/newsgroups/misc.19981211-19990422/[e-mail] _Sat Mar 20 11:45:41 1999.msg

Internet Message Format | 2020-01-01 | 4KB

Return-Path: <[e-mail]>
Received: from newsmaster.cc.columbia.edu (newsmaster.cc.columbia.edu [128.59.59.30])
    by watsun.cc.columbia.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) with ESMTP id LAA22094
    for <[e-mail]>; Sat, 20 Mar 1999 11:45:41 -0500 (EST)
Received: (from news@localhost)
    by newsmaster.cc.columbia.edu (8.8.5/8.8.5) id LAA27051
    for [e-mail]; Sat, 20 Mar 1999 11:24:37 -0500 (EST)
X-Authentication-Warning: newsmaster.cc.columbia.edu: news set sender to <news> using -f
From: [e-mail] (Frank da Cruz)
Subject: Re: In need of VT320 terminal emulation on Linux
Date: 20 Mar 1999 16:24:36 GMT
Organization: Columbia University
Message-ID: <7d0i44$qd8$[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]

In article <7cuco1$m9n$[e-mail]>,  <[e-mail]> wrote:
: In article <jijrc7.77n.ln@localhost>,
:   [e-mail] wrote:
: > Are you sure that you need a VT320 emulator?  Most software of this ilk is
: > happy with a VT200 emulator, or even a VT100 emulator.  The VT320 is a
: > superset of the VT100/200, but most software on VMS is geared toward the
: > 100 or 200.  Actually, most software on VMS is geared toward ANSI
: > compilant terminals, which the 100/200/300 are.
: >
: > If you're using the X Window System, then "xterm" is probably sufficient
: > for your needs.  Just start up an xterm, and telnet from there.  I believe
: > that the Linux console is also sufficient.
:
:  The VAX I'm connecting to specific states it runs VT320 emulation. I
: believed that simple VT100/200/200/etc would work as well, but the
: maintenance software for the card catalog system involves the use of the
: "PF1" key to navigate menus as well as the keyboard keys. Using VT220 and
: pressing the plain F1 key on the PC keyboard it reacts as if you pressed
: "PF1" in the telnet session. After using, the menuing interface for a while,
: however, the emulation stops working and the PF1 and arrow keys stop working.
: It's a very old VAX system run by the government (surprise) to manage
: school's library, grading, etc. systems. Perhaps there is a way to emulate
: the keyboard or load another key map? I have found surprisingly few
: commercial VT320 emulation packages too, though that would work if one
: existed.
:
There are several aspects to VT terminal emulation:

 1. To format the screen according to the incoming escape sequences (and to
    perform other escape-sequence driven operations, like printing, sending
    reports to the host, etc).

 2. To map the PC keyboard to the VT terminal keyboard and then send what
    the PC keys would have sent.

 3. To transmit and receive data to/from the host.

On PC operating systems like DOS and Windows, these functions are handled by
the same program (such as MS-DOS Kermit or Kermit 95).  In UNIX (including
Linux), however, items 1 and 2 are handled by your console driver or terminal
window; item 3 is handled by a communication program like C-Kermit, cu, telnet,
rlogin, etc (Kermit combines the functions of cu, telnet, and rlogin and adds
scripting, file transfer, and character-set translation).

Most PC UNIX console drivers are "ANSI" rather than VT.  Most xterm windows
are VT100 rather than VT220 or higher.  Both ANSI and VT100 lack the keys
of the VT220 / 320.

However it is not clear that your VMS application needs them.  Most VMS
applications support any VT terminal, VT100 or higher, and sometimes also
lower (VT52, VT50, etc, not to mention hardcopy terminals like LA34, LA36).
Most VMS systems send a "what are you?" escape sequence when you log in to
find out your terminal type.  In case this didn't happen, you can also use
SET TERMINAL /DEVICE=blah to tell it what kind you actually have.

Note that VT100 and higher have PF1-4 keys.  VT220 adds a bunch of other
keys (F keys, editing keys, etc).

A VT220 xterm is available from:

  http://www.clark.net/pub/dickey/xterm/xterm.faq.html

Kermit is available from:

  http://www.columbia.edu/kermit/

- Frank