Path: utzoo!yunexus!maccs!dan
From: dan@maccs.McMaster.CA (Dan Trottier)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re: using set term in the .login file
Keywords: vt52
Message-ID: <1542@maccs.McMaster.CA>
Date: 27 Oct 88 12:20:00 GMT
Article-I.D.: maccs.1542
References: <1139@fredonia.UUCP> <140@iquery.UUCP> <76@usl-pc.usl.edu> <14180@mimsy.UUCP>
Reply-To: dan@maccs.UUCP (Dan Trottier)
Organization: McMaster U., Hamilton, Ont., Can.
Lines: 31

In article <14180@mimsy.UUCP> chris@mimsy.UUCP (Chris Torek) writes:
>In article <76@usl-pc.usl.edu> jpd@usl-pc.usl.edu (DugalJP) writes:
>>tset is fine when each port has a known terminal type connected to it.
>>The file (in BSD4.2) /etc/ttytype gives the correspendence, which tset
>>can test.  However, at USL we have a network that randomly picks a port
>>such that we don't know in advance which terminal type is going to be
>>used. ...
>
>This is one reason we bought Annex terminal servers rather than (eg)
>Bridge boxes:  Annexes support the rlogin protocol, and that protocol
>allows the terminal type to be passed in.  The Annex boxes can be
>configured to pass a particular terminal type by default.  Thus, the
>information that was once in /etc/ttytype for direct lines is now in
>configuration files for the Annexes serving our building.

This still doesn't really solve the problem. Being a university there
is no way we can tell what terminals people will be using. To solve the
problem we prompt at login for the terminal type. To make life easier
the terminal type is saved in a file and is displayed as the default the
next time the user logs in. Once a user becomes familiar enough with the
system they usually add a tset command at the beginning of their .login
file that sets the proper terminal type. If the term variable is set to
a known terminal type then the user is not prompted.

Do your Annex boxes also provide rudementary name service? We have a
Develcon box that works quite well but it doesn't name serve.

-- 
Dan Trottier                                            dan@maccs.McMaster.CA
Dept of Computer Science                       ...!uunet!utai!utgpu!maccs!dan
McMaster University                                      (416) 525-9140 x3444