From owner-freebsd-arch@FreeBSD.ORG Fri Feb 21 18:44:32 2014 Return-Path: Delivered-To: arch@FreeBSD.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2001:1900:2254:206a::19:1]) (using TLSv1 with cipher ADH-AES256-SHA (256/256 bits)) (No client certificate requested) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id CEA3553C; Fri, 21 Feb 2014 18:44:32 +0000 (UTC) Received: from mho-01-ewr.mailhop.org (mho-03-ewr.mailhop.org [204.13.248.66]) (using TLSv1 with cipher DHE-RSA-AES256-SHA (256/256 bits)) (No client certificate requested) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 9C3AD1FAF; Fri, 21 Feb 2014 18:44:32 +0000 (UTC) Received: from c-24-8-230-52.hsd1.co.comcast.net ([24.8.230.52] helo=damnhippie.dyndns.org) by mho-01-ewr.mailhop.org with esmtpsa (TLSv1:AES256-SHA:256) (Exim 4.72) (envelope-from ) id 1WGv5L-0001S6-51; Fri, 21 Feb 2014 18:44:31 +0000 Received: from [172.22.42.240] (revolution.hippie.lan [172.22.42.240]) by damnhippie.dyndns.org (8.14.3/8.14.3) with ESMTP id s1LIiSkR033148; Fri, 21 Feb 2014 11:44:28 -0700 (MST) (envelope-from ian@FreeBSD.org) X-Mail-Handler: Dyn Standard SMTP by Dyn X-Originating-IP: 24.8.230.52 X-Report-Abuse-To: abuse@dyndns.com (see http://www.dyndns.com/services/sendlabs/outbound_abuse.html for abuse reporting information) X-MHO-User: U2FsdGVkX180a2knOGvCsBRTW/Yx0o5M Subject: Re: terminfo From: Ian Lepore To: John-Mark Gurney In-Reply-To: <20140221183512.GP34851@funkthat.com> References: <5304A0CC.5000505@FreeBSD.org> <1392997589.1145.91.camel@revolution.hippie.lan> <20140221183512.GP34851@funkthat.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2014 11:44:27 -0700 Message-ID: <1393008267.1145.117.camel@revolution.hippie.lan> Mime-Version: 1.0 X-Mailer: Evolution 2.32.1 FreeBSD GNOME Team Port Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Cc: arch@FreeBSD.org, Ed Schouten , Bryan Drewery X-BeenThere: freebsd-arch@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.17 Precedence: list List-Id: Discussion related to FreeBSD architecture List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2014 18:44:32 -0000 On Fri, 2014-02-21 at 10:35 -0800, John-Mark Gurney wrote: > Ian Lepore wrote this message on Fri, Feb 21, 2014 at 08:46 -0700: > > On Fri, 2014-02-21 at 13:05 +0100, Ed Schouten wrote: > > > It's a shame I am so short on time nowadays, but I think it would make > > > so much sense to just come up with some kind of document that > > > standardizes the intersection of the features supported by most common > > > terminal emulators and get it rubber stamped by the maintainers of > > > various terminal emulators. If it turns out some kind of terminal > > > emulator does something in a non-standard way, we can just slap this > > > document in the author's face. That would not only benefit FreeBSD, > > > but also most of the other flavours of UNIX. > > > > > > $TERM should die. > > > > > > > All of that seems to assume that every terminal actually being used in > > the world today is either xterm or something that emulates it. Try > > using vi on a serial console on an embedded ARM board and you'll get a > > quick frustrating lesson in how not-xterm a serial console is. I've yet > > to find a combo of serial comms program and TERM setting that actually > > works well and lets you edit a file with vi. > > Have you used screen? > > screen /dev/ttyXXX 9600 > > It's pretty much the only serial console program I use because I use > screen, and remebering how to use tip/cu w/ a new random USB serial > device is anoying... > screen is what I finally settled on as the least-horrible option, but it barely works for anything except scrolling text and typing command lines. Anything fullscreen works a bit and fails a bit in different ways with different TERM= values. I've never used cu, forgot it even exists, but several people have mentioned it, so I'll give it a try. I tend to shy away from 1980s-vintage tools because they're so... 1980s. (tip, for example, is just an abomination). -- Ian