The structure and uses of the edinburgh remote terminal emulator
J. C. Adams, W. Scott Currie, B. A. C. Gilmore · Software Practice and Experience · 1978
Abstract Remote Terminal Emulation is an approach to the testing and evaluation of multi‐access computer systems in which a workload driver is implemented external to and independent of the system being tested. Remote Terminal Emulators may be used in many stages of system development, e.g. initial checkout, acceptance tests and tuning. The Edinburgh Remote Terminal Emulator (ERTE) is a system designed to exert a specified interactive workload on a multi‐access system such that it appears to the system that it is connected to live terminal devices. The emulator runs on a PDP 11/40 computer under the control of the DEIMOS operating system, which like the emulator is written in the high‐level language IMP. We describe the structure and development of ERTE with particular emphasis on its modularity, the use of a message‐based operating system and the IMP language, which provide a flexible and easily modified tool. Experiments, both current and projected, using ERTE are discussed and our experience of developing and using a terminal emulator is reviewed.