Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!cmcl2!nrl-cmf!ames!ncar!acdpyr!pack
From: pack@acdpyr.ucar.edu (Dan Packman)
Newsgroups: comp.os.vms
Subject: Re: Using non-DEC terminals with VMS
Message-ID: <178@ncar.ucar.edu>
Date: 5 May 88 15:45:22 GMT
References: <274@ksuvax1.cis.ksu.edu>
Sender: news@ncar.ucar.edu
Reply-To: pack@acdpyr.UCAR.EDU (Dan Packman)
Organization: Atmospheric Chemistry Division/NCAR, Boulder, CO
Lines: 101
Keywords: VMS Terminals wyse50 smg
Summary: Limited support from DEC

In article<274@ksuvax1.cis.ksu.edu> tar@ksuvax1.cis.ksu.edu (Tim Ramsey)...
>I've recently acquired the task of managing a MicroVax running MicroVMS 4.6.
>We have a whole bunch of non-DEC terminals that we'd like to use with it...
============
>Will VMS support non-DEC terminals?
Unfortunately, only limited support.
============
>Is there any facility for a terminal attribute database
>(like terminfo and termcap under UNIX)?
Look in sys$system:smgterms.txt  This is the ascii form of the DEC terminal
database.  The three types of entries (boolean, numeric, and string)
describe each terminal.  There are a series of screen management library
routines (starting with smg$) that are a lower level analogue to the
UNIX curses package.  
  The file sys$system:termtable.txt  normally has as its first line
the line "REQUIRE 'SMGTERMS'".  This includes and "compiles" the smgterms.txt
file to describe the DEC terminals.  You can add descriptions for other
terminals there.  Can anyone on the net improve on this entry for the wyse50?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~cut here~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
NAME = "WYSE50"
	BOOLEAN
	advanced_video = 1,
	ansi_crt = 0,
	auto_margin = 1,
	backspace = 1,
	dec_crt = 0,
	scope = 1,
	physical_tabs = 1

	NUMERIC
	columns = 80,
	rows = 24,
	wide_screen_columns = 132

	STRING
	begin_blink = "$A02",
	begin_line_drawing_char = "$H^B",
	begin_normal_rendition = "$G00",
	begin_reverse = "$G04",
	begin_underscore = "$G08",
	bottom_t_char = "=",
	clear_tab = "$2",
	cross_char = "8",
	cursor_down = "^J",
	cursor_left = "^H",
	cursor_right = "^L",
	cursor_up = "^K",
	end_blink = "$G00",
	end_line_drawing_char = "$H^C",
	end_reverse = "$G00",
	end_underscore = "$G00",
	erase_to_end_display = "$y",
	erase_to_end_line = "$t",
	erase_whole_display = "$Y",
	erase_whole_line = "$R",
	home = "^^",
	horizontal_bar = ":",
	index = "^J",
	key_down_arrow = "^J",
	key_left_arrow = "^H",
	key_right_arrow = "^L",
	key_up_arrow = "^K",
	left_t_char = "4",
	lower_left_corner = "1",
	lower_right_corner = "5",
	reverse_index = "^K",
	right_t_char = "9",
	set_cursor_abs = "$a!ULR!ULC",
	set_tab = "$1",
	top_t_char = "0",
	truncation_icon = "$H>",
	upper_left_corner = "2",
	upper_right_corner = "3",
	vertical_bar = "6",
	width_narrow = "$`:",
	width_wide = "$`;"

	END
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~cut here~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
After you have added what you wanted to termtable.txt in sys$system,
then run smgbldtrm.  This will "compile" the termtable.txt (and the
included sgmterms.txt) and produce a termtable.exe  Although there is
probably a better way, after rebooting this information will be available
to the system and one can do a set term/dev=wyse50 with the above information
added.  For completeness, the help file for set term/dev should be modified
as well to include this new device as a legal entry for the command.
=============
>Can you use full screen applications (like EDT) on non-DEC terminals?

No.  The rumor I heard was that an SMG based driver was written so that
edt and tpu would work from non-dec terminals but it was decided to drop
the project since it was inefficient.  Poor people like us with non-ansi
terminals are somewhat limited.  I use emacs (with its own database
instead of using the smg stuff) with non-dec terminals.  I really wish
DEC would use SMG for the one line dcl editing window.  I can't believe
efficiency is all that critical for such a small window.  Mail seems to
use smg to clear the screen but most of the dec products that you wish
would use SMG don't.

Of course the whole issue will gradually become moot as we argue over the
best windowing system.  In the meantime though....