[KLUG Members] Re: [Speakers] I think I'm Terminal

[Adam Williams]

>I guess I could have put this thread on the members.  I wanted this
>message to be more of a request for a presenter when I first started it.

Well,  it wouldn't be until 2002.  But it is something I could certainly
demo.  I still use terminals (love them), but does anyone else?

>>>I would really appreciate a little background on terminal definitions,
>>>termcap, terminfo, $TERM.  My understanding is that $TERM is the
>>>environment variable that an application checks to determine how it should
>>>behave.  The ap then assumes it is being run from a terminal of this type
>>>and consults terminfo or termcap to determine that behavior.  The TERM
>>>variable and has nothing to do
>>>with the behavior of the shell or the xterm that shell is running in.  I
>>>have two machines whcih are RH 7.0 machines.  When I backspace from a login
>>>prompt or from within vi or from within the business application we have
>>>recently purchased it prints ^H and drives me up a wall.  When I read
>>Mmmmm, yes.  Had that.  Lots of fun.
>>>http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/mini/BackspaceDelete/index.html I feel
>>>like I have not taken the prerequisite coursework.
>>>I was hoping I would be able to solve this issue without spending an
>>>entire weekend reading and attempting to learn from the documentation.  I
>>Ha!
>>>already have spent more time trying to solve this issue than I desired.  I
>>>can now add terminals to the things I love about information systems  ..
>>>right up there with modems initialization strings and printer escape codes.
>> What is your client (a term emul on win32)?
>> What is your $TERM value?
>baipro= our new business software
>me:
>gnome-terminal on workstation rh7.1 ssh into server rh7.0

Your TERM should be "xterm".  But I can honestly say I have never seen a
term emul problem linux to linux.

>	vi: only thing noticed is backspace key gives ^H

In termcap :bs: designates that ^H performs a backspace.  Make sure that
this is "enabled" in your termcap.  The bc tag designates the backspace
string if it is not ^H.

In terminfo kb or kbs specifies the backspace string

The command infocmp will dump your terminfo definition to stdout  (as they
are stored as compiled binary).


>	biapro: from an xterm no response from backspace.  baipro changes my
>$TERM variable to vt100 when initializing.

Ah,  software should not be changing TERM values.  Possible that baipro
uses its own termcap?  AcuCOBOL, IQ, Uniplex UBS, Informix 4gl, etc...
many UNIX apps do implement their own termcap instead of using the system one
(REALLY STUPID!!!)

If so it may not know xterm and thus force the value to the default vt100.

>my users
>	use wintegrate terminal emulation software (telnet), when they log in
>with name and passwd backspace yeilds ^H and they must type username and
>passwd without error.

This is "normal".  Most systems don't let you "fix" your username or
password.

>wintegrate is set to emulate wyse60

Ah.  There are no wyse60 emulators for Linux,  at least that I have found
(and believe me, I've looked).

>>Often times the term emul isn't sending the right bksp value and can be
>>adjusted.
>>Have you identified if you are using terminfo or termcap?  For vim I'd assume
>>terminfo.

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