Interdata_v6/usr/source/troff/tests/fnt.x
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Head title 1
Today's increasing
abundance of dif-
ferent types of com-
puter terminals(1)
bodes well for the
satisfaction of the
diverse needs and
desires of computer
terminal users.(2)
__________
(1)See attached
list.
(2)Footnote...
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Head title 2
Before any new ter-
minal can be connec-
ted to a computer
system, however, an
appropriate inter-
face must exist.
This interface,
inevitably involving
both system hardware
and software, must
cope with the
terminal's speed,
character set, line
discipline, special
features, lack of
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Head title 3
features, and other
idiosyncrasies.(3)
In many cases, the
physical association
of such an interface
__________
(3)See
reference (3)
for a more
complete
description of
terminal
differences.
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Head title 4
with a terminal is
dynamic; most
general-purpose
time-sharing systems
are accessed via
switched telephone
lines. Although
dedicating certain
access lines to each
terminal type is the
simplest approach,
economy dictates
that as many ter-
minal types as pos-
sible be served by
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Head title 5
each group of dedi-
cated lines. The
greatest economy oc-
curs when all ter-
minals can use the
same group of lines.
If different ter-
minal types are to
use the same access
lines, it is neces-
sary for the system
to be able to iden-
tify the terminal
type. This paper
addresses the
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Head title 6
terminal-type iden-
tification problem.
TERMINAL PROPERTIES
While it is the dif-
ferences between
types that brings
about the need for
identification, it
is often these dif-
ferences that permit
identification. The
properties and abil-
ities of terminals
may be classified
and examined for
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Head title 7
their effect on the
necessity for and
the possibility of
type indentifica-
tion. The concern
here is with
typewriter-like ter-
minals employing
asynchronous charac-
ter communications.
The first properties
to be enumerated are
fundamental ones; i.
e, properties that
cannot be ignored
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Head title 8
when communicating
with the terminal.
Character code and
format. In addition
to the character -
bit-pattern rela-
tionship, this
includes(end)
extra line
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Head title 9
another extra line.
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