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From: geller@rlgvax.UUCP (David Geller)
Newsgroups: net.micro.pc
Subject: Re: ANSI.SYS & emulation
Message-ID: <400@rlgvax.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 28-Jan-85 21:25:05 EST
Article-I.D.: rlgvax.400
Posted: Mon Jan 28 21:25:05 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 2-Feb-85 09:01:13 EST
References: <24700097@uiucdcs.UUCP>
Organization: CCI Office Systems Group, Reston, VA
Lines: 39

> If this is a dumb question, please excuse my ignorance.

That's what the net is for - the promulgation of information.

> Does the ANSI.SYS device driver that comes with IBM DOS resemble
> anything else?

I believe that the IBM ANSI driver provides the same terminal character-
istics and capabilities as a DEC VT-52. Please check the DOS manual to
make sure - mine isn't handy. On the same subject there is a program
called FANSICON floating around on some of the PC bulletin boards that
fully replaces the ANSI driver provided with DOS as well as the screen
ROM BIOS code. You should seek this product out (freeware, I think).

> (What I really want to know is, is there a termcap around which will
> let an IBM PC running say, PC-TALK III, emulate some common terminal 
> so I can use vi or whatever?) 

The termcap facility in Unix was designed to allow the system as well
as the application code to know the characteristics of your terminal
and be able to know what paramters need passing to terminal to accomplish
a particular task. Unless PC-TALK can recognize sequences to CLEAR the
screen, ERASE a character in a line, MOVE to col,ro, etc., then the
best you could do would be to create a termcap for the most basic of
functions - backspace - etc. However - it would be far easier to just
use PC-TALK with your Unix system assuming it is a dumb terminal. If you
do have TERM set to, say, VT-100 just make sure you don't try to run
any applications which you know will need to do things with the screen
that PC-TALK can't control/understand. You might consider purchasing
such terminal programs as CROSSTALK or InterConnect for they both provide
VT-100 emulation. I have PC-TALK - I even contributed to the author -
I don't use it though because it is only good for dial-up and its slow.
But we can't be picky with freeware - it still has its merits.

					David P. Geller
					{seismo}!rlgvax!geller

(its all mine - even the mistakes - don't even think for a minute that
I'm representing the opinions of my employer or anyone else - so there)