Re: vt100

[Glenda Jeffrey <jeffrey -at- HKS -dot- COM>]

James Perkins (perkins -at- tele -dot- nokia -dot- fi) wrote:
: I need a definition for VT100, and it would also be helpful if I had some
: kind of origin of the term.  Any help much appreciated!

The VT100 was a terminal originally made by DEC (Digital Equipment
Corporation). One of the distinguishing features of the VT100
was the numeric keypad. When not in numeric mode, this keypad
could generate escape sequences which were used to control
Digital's text editors (edt, eve, lse, etc.). For example, the
0 key moved the cursor to the next line, the 2 key moved to the
end of the line, etc.

Adept users of DEC editors were said to have this keymap "implanted
at the wrist" -- that is, very experienced users had such facility
with the keypad that they really never had to think about which
key to press.

Many vendors made terminals that emulated the VT100, in the
sense that the keyboard had the same layout, and the numeric
keypad had a mode other than numeric that could be made to
generate the correct escape sequences. There were also many
terminal emulation packages for PCs that promised VT100 emulation.

After the VT100 (which was a pretty clunky looking terminal), Digital made
the VT200 and VT300. (They might be up to VT400 by now.) The VT200
was, I believe, the first generation that had the current, streamlined
look.

Hope this is what you're after...
--
Glenda Jeffrey                                     Email: jeffrey -at- hks -dot- com
Hibbitt, Karlsson & Sorensen, Inc                  Phone: 401-727-4200
1080 Main St.                                      Fax:   401-727-4208
Pawtucket, RI 02860