Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!decwrl!wuarchive!swbatl!texbell!ssi600!vernon
From: vernon@ssi600.lonestar.org (Vernon E. Hurdle)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ncr
Subject: Re: Printer setup on a 32/300
Message-ID: <4979@texbell.sbc.com>
Date: 6 Aug 90 14:45:44 GMT
Lines: 30
Resender: towers@texbell.sbc.com (NCR Tower Mailing List)

> 
> The task: we want to connect an HP II-D laser printer to port
> tty07 on the Tower.  We do not want spooling since this is a
> data-processing only system and our software must be able to
> address the printer directly.
> 
> Problems:
> 
>      1. Printer Setup - The old way: We used to set up the
> printer through the LPR options off of the sa menu (R.I.P. - took
> me four years to learn it and now its gone!).  After setup, there
> was a process running for the printer that used the gettydef
> entry specified from the inittab file. This let us set the
> protocol to 8-bit which is what the HP lasers look for.  We
> could address the printer directly from our software or with a  
> simple 'cat.'
> 
>      2. Printer Setup - The new way: We try to set up the printer
> with va according to the on-screen instructions.  What we get is
> no printer deamon and a situation where the system apparently
> opens the port only when data is being sent to the device. The
> real problem is that the gettydef entry in inittab appears to be
> ignored, and the protocol is the default 7-bit/even. How do I 
> send data directly (i.e. not spooled) to the printer?
> 
> 
What you need is a demon process that keeps the port open all the time.
After this process has been started, the stty parameters that you set
will stay in effect until the process is stopped.  If you are familiar
with C, you can write one fairly quickly.