Generic terminal support
Bruce Light Hillsberg · ACM SIGOPS Operating Systems Review · 1981
Modern computing trends attempt to raise applications programming to a level where the programmer need know very little, if anything, about the hardware being used. This trend has been quite successful in the area of I/O support. Applications programmers rarely need be concerned with the details of differences about the hardware they use. However, with the advent and growing popularity of "smart" CRT terminals, programmers that desire to use the features of these smart terminals must learn the protocols that invoke the desired functions. This problem is compounded by the fact that [almost] every terminal vendor has a different protocol for each function. For example, to clear the screen on the IBM 3101 [1] the sequence ESC "L" is used, while on the Lear Siegler ADM-3A [2] a Control/Z is used. The purpose of this paper is to propose a solution to this problem and describe a partial implementation of the ideas presented. The solution consists of three levels: (i) the level visible from application, (ii) the host system support level, and (iii) the front-end support level.