[nfbcs] Honeywell VIP 7813 terminal emulator?

[Steve Jacobson]

Leslie,

Since you are writing to a computer list, you probably have already accepted that there isn't a simple answer.  <smile>  However, I think it is likely that this 
can be worked out.  It could be necessary to learn more, though.  Please be patient if I explain things you already know.

In the old days, Unix systems were able to have multiple terminals connected to them.  These terminals were usually a keyboard and a monitor.  There were 
a number of popular terminals that were used, and each terminal had "control sequences" that made them do certain things.  For example, When one 
presses the RIGHT ARROW when in a full-screen editor, the terminal sends special characters that tells the system that a "Move Cursor Right" command 
was issued, and the system then knows to move the cursor and send the correct characters back to the terminal so that the cursor on the screen moves 
one character to the right.  Different terminal types used different sets of characters to accomplish this, so Unix, and some other systems, had to know which 
terminal you were using for the terminal and the Unix system to talk to each other appropriately.

Over time, using specific terminals became less common because PC's were cheaper and could run programs that would make them look like terminals to 
larger systems.  Software became available that could be run on a PC and other computers that emulated a terminal and thus the "Terminal Emulator".  
Reflection is one series of terminal emulators, and I am guessing that SOFTTERM is another.  There are others as well, and some work better with screen 
readers than do others.  I have used the Reflection series for many years to connect to IBM MainFrames, Unix systems and even some DEC quipment, and 
it has generally been accessible.  However, the very latest versions of Reflection that I have seen have gotten more complex, and while they worked, took 
a good deal of configuring.  Unfortunately, I have not seen the very latest version of Reflection for Unix, but if you are having trouble with SoftTerm, it is 
worth trying to use Reflection to see if it works any better.

There is yet another hoop, though, once you get a terminal emulator working.  To your screen reader, you are simply running terminal emulator software.  
The screen reader doesn't know automatically when you might be working at a Unix command line, in a full screen editor such as PICO, or when you are 
working in a database.  Depending upon the database, you may need to have some scripts written to use the database efficiently.  That is something that is 
hard to know without experience with that database.  Also, there is a sort of GUI that can run on Unix, and this may be difficult to get to work.  Some of the 
Unix experts here will have to comment on that.

Finally, it is worth trying to find out if the database was written specifically for the Honeywell terminal type that you mentioned or whether it might support 
others.  If the database could be used with other terminal types, it is possible that you might be able to use other terminal emulators and you might find 
something that works better with a screen reader, that is, if you have trouble with Reflection or SoftTerm.  For example, the DEC VT-100 and other terminals 
in that series were extremely common and were supported by most terminal emulators.  It seems unusual for a database to specifically support a less 
common terminal type, but of course it is not impossible.

On a separate note, the fact that a database is a Unix database doesn't mean that you have to connect to Unix at all.  For example, Teradata is a common 
database and hardware system that uses Unix, as I understand it, as it's operating system, but one can connect to it in a number of ways that does not 
mean logging into Unix, including software that connects from a personal computer through the network.  

I hope that something here is helpful and at least assists in helping you know what might be worth asking.  Good luck.

Best regards,

Steve Jacobson

On Thu, 1 Sep 2011 22:44:19 -0400 (EDT), Leslie Fairall wrote:

>Please forgive me if I get some terms mixed up, since I don't know much 
>about this subject.

>My new job is requiring me to use a Unix-based database for their records. 
>I think the program they are using is called Softerm. The It guy told me 
>the terminal emulation is Honeywell VIP 7813. I've tried to configure 
>Softerm, but I cannot do this unless I log onto the system. 
>Unfortunately, there are so many graphic symbols that I cannot navigate 
>the screen. It eventually locks up on me. We also have another program to 
>our disposal called Reflections that seems to have different flavors, so 
>to speak. My questions are:

>1. Can anyone give me a better understanding of what I am dealing with 
>here? Clarification of terms would be extremely helpful.
>2. Can either Softerm or a form of Reflections be used to access this 
>database? If so, how do I configure it?

>Thanks.



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