Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!gem.mps.ohio-state.edu!ginosko!uunet!mcsun!hp4nl!star.cs.vu.nl!ast
From: ast@cs.vu.nl (Andy Tanenbaum)
Newsgroups: comp.os.minix
Subject: Re: Virtual consoles (was: job control)
Message-ID: <3675@ast.cs.vu.nl>
Date: 11 Oct 89 19:44:08 GMT
References: <091089A6393@syntel.mn.org>
Reply-To: ast@cs.vu.nl (Andy Tanenbaum)
Organization: VU Informatica, Amsterdam
Lines: 21

In article <091089A6393@syntel.mn.org> dal@syntel.mn.org (Dale Schumacher) writes:
> I _HAVE_ implemented a virtual console scheme on the ST version
>of Minix.  The interface is very simple, just CTRL+ALT+HOME to switch
>to the next virtual console.  The number of consoles is compiled into
>the kernel, and each needs it's own screen image, but it works great.
>I didn't have much trouble controlling the "tentacle" problem.

If it is indeed relatively simple to do, I am all for it.  I think the
appropriate course of action is to wait for 1.4b (please be patient), and
then see how hard it is to modify that version to add virtual screens.
Since multiple user's are already supported, my naive assumption is that
multiple screens will not be hard.  Input should be trivial.  There are
already multiple input queues for multiple real terminals, so when a
character arrives from the keyboard, the only change is adding a variable
telling the tty driver which "line" it came from, not just assuming line 0.

It is my hope that MINIX-PC and MINIX-ST will begin converging again at
or after 1.4b.  Things like multiple screens are really pretty device
independent.

Andy Tanenbaum (ast@cs.vu.nl)