06-03-05 10:53 PM
"Jeff" <jeff@falsepart.com> wrote:
>I am trying to learn about Linux.
>
>I have some left over old Wyse dumb terminals in my basement. They were in
>used in a Unix office system as a small network.
>
>Can they also be similarly used to create a small network on a Linux system
?
>If so, would it be just a text interface or is Linux able to send it the
>necessary signals for a graphic interface?
Linux will do far more than the terminals will be capable of,
and in fact what the terminals will/won't do will be a major
problem.
Assuming these are RS-232 terminals, not Xterminals that have
ethernet connectivity, you need a serial port, with some form of
getty running on it, for each terminal.
Then, once you can login, you need to set the TERM variable to
match whatever these terminals actually are. If they really are
"dumb terminals", you're out of luck because by definition that
means they don't do graphics... or even cursor motion! But most
likely they aren't actually dumb terminals, just sort of stupid
ones... :-)
If they are typical Wyse terminals that are similar to VT100's,
most things will work just fine. You'll find a few odd things
that Wyse does differently and any program that has hard coded
escape sequences (instead of using TERMINFO) will be a problem.
How much of a problem depends on the exact terminal and the
exact program.
Generally what all of that means is that you can run console
applications, and the graphics are what curses can do. You can't
run X, and you won't get bitmapped graphics so anything that
displays images is not going to work.
Do "ls /usr/share/terminfo/w" to see the long list of 200+
TERMINFO definitions for various Wyse terminals...
--
Floyd L. Davidson <http://web.newsguy.com/floyd_davidson>
Ukpeagvik (Barrow, Alaska) floyd@barrow.com
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