Xref: utzoo comp.terminals:2695 comp.unix.programmer:1326
Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!maytag!xenitec!sco!seac!van-bc!ubc-cs!uw-beaver!mit-eddie!wuarchive!usc!apple!agate!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!ncoast!allbery
From: allbery@NCoast.ORG (Brandon S. Allbery KB8JRR)
Newsgroups: comp.terminals,sco.opendesktop,comp.unix.programmer
Subject: Re: Why magic cookies? (was: Alternate character modes...)
Message-ID: <1991Mar15.045055.3702@NCoast.ORG>
Date: Fri, 15 Mar 91 04:50:55 GMT
References: <9103100202.aa16074@xenitec.on.ca>
Reply-To: allbery@ncoast.ORG (Brandon S. Allbery KB8JRR)
Followup-To: comp.terminals
Organization: North Coast Public Access Un*x (ncoast)
Lines: 27

As quoted from <9103100202.aa16074@xenitec.on.ca> by :
+---------------
| In article <1991Mar09.215153.27776@eecs.wsu.edu> rnelson@yoda.UUCP (Roger Nelson) writes:
| >1. Why did terminal manufactures go with magic cookies?  The magic cookies
| >   make display attributes useless.
| 
| Because memory was expensive, and saving memory by making the attributes
| take up a screen position helped the situation.  (They got one byte per
+---------------

That, and the fact that Televideo licensed their terminal emulation ROMs to
just about anyone for relatively cheap.  Why invent another VT100 emulation
when you could buy Televideo's inexpensively and get a product out the door
cheaper and faster?

Alas, in these days of programs that want screen attributes to play with, it's
become a problem.  We have customers who don't understand why we won't sell
them Wyse 50s to use with MS Word... until we show them the two possible
lossages.  (1:  program fails to start with an error message about magic
cookies.  2:  use the protect attribute... no on-screen underline, bold, etc.)

++Brandon
-- 
Me: Brandon S. Allbery			    Ham: KB8JRR on 40m, 10m when time
Internet: allbery@NCoast.ORG		      permits; also 2m, 220, 440, 1200
America OnLine: KB8JRR // Delphi: ALLBERY   AMPR: kb8jrr.AmPR.ORG [44.70.4.88]
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