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<span id="openzim-page-title" class="mw-page-title-main"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Computer terminal</span></span>

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<p>A <b>computer terminal</b> is an electronic or <a href="Electromechanical" class="mw-redirect" title="Electromechanical">electromechanical</a> <a href="Computer_hardware" title="Computer hardware">hardware</a> device that can be used for entering data into, and transcribing data from, a <a href="Computer" title="Computer">computer</a> or a <a href="Computing" title="Computing">computing</a> system. Most early computers only had a <a href="Front_panel" title="Front panel">front panel</a> to input or display bits and had to be connected to a terminal to print or input text through a keyboard. <a href="Teleprinter" title="Teleprinter">Teleprinters</a> were used as early-day hard-copy terminals<sup id="cite_ref-:0_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:0-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-flexowriter-whirlwind_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-flexowriter-whirlwind-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and predated the use of a computer<sup id="cite_ref-:0_1-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:0-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> screen by decades. The computer would typically transmit a line of data which would be printed on paper, and accept a line of data from a keyboard over a <a href="Serial_communication" title="Serial communication">serial</a> or other interface. Starting in the mid-1970s with <a href="Microcomputers" class="mw-redirect" title="Microcomputers">microcomputers</a> such as the <a href="Sphere_1" title="Sphere 1">Sphere 1</a>, <a href="Sol-20" title="Sol-20">Sol-20</a>, and <a href="Apple_I" title="Apple I">Apple I</a>, display circuitry and keyboards began to be integrated into <a href="Personal_computer" title="Personal computer">personal</a> and <a href="Workstation" title="Workstation">workstation</a> computer systems, with the computer handling character generation and outputting to a <a href="Cathode-ray_tube" title="Cathode-ray tube">CRT display</a> such as a <a href="Computer_monitor" title="Computer monitor">computer monitor</a> or, sometimes, a consumer TV, but most larger computers continued to require terminals.

</p><p>Early terminals were inexpensive devices but very slow compared to <a href="Punched_card" title="Punched card">punched cards</a> or <a href="Punched_tape" title="Punched tape">paper tape</a> for input; with the advent of <a href="Time-sharing" title="Time-sharing">time-sharing</a> systems, terminals slowly pushed these older forms of interaction from the industry. Related developments were the improvement of terminal technology and the introduction of inexpensive <a href="Video_display" class="mw-redirect" title="Video display">video displays</a>. Early Teletypes only printed out with a communications speed of only 75 baud or 10 5-bit characters per second, and by the 1970s speeds of video terminals had improved to 2400 or 9600 <span class="nowrap">2400 bit/s</span>. Similarly, the speed of remote batch terminals had improved to <span class="nowrap">4800 bit/s</span> at the beginning of the decade and <span class="nowrap">19.6 kbps</span> by the end of the decade, with higher speeds possible on more expensive terminals.

</p><p>The function of a terminal is typically confined to transcription and input of data; a device with significant local, programmable data-processing capability may be called a "smart terminal" or <a href="Fat_client" class="mw-redirect" title="Fat client">fat client</a>. A terminal that depends on the host computer for its processing power is called a "<a href="Dumb_terminal" class="mw-redirect" title="Dumb terminal">dumb terminal</a>"<sup id="cite_ref-DicDumb_3-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-DicDumb-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> or a <a href="Thin_client" title="Thin client">thin client</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In the era of serial (<a href="RS-232" title="RS-232">RS-232</a>) terminals there was a conflicting usage of the term "smart terminal" as a dumb terminal with no user-accessible local computing power but a particularly rich set of control codes for manipulating the display; this conflict was not resolved before hardware serial terminals became obsolete.

</p><p>The use of terminals decreased over time as computing shifted from <a href="Command_line_interface" class="mw-redirect" title="Command line interface">command line interface</a> (CLI) to <a href="Graphical_user_interface" title="Graphical user interface">graphical user interface</a> (GUI) and from <a href="Time-sharing" title="Time-sharing">time-sharing</a> on large computers to personal computers and <a href="Handheld_device" class="mw-redirect" title="Handheld device">handheld devices</a>. Today, users generally interact with a server over high-speed networks using a <a href="Web_browser" title="Web browser">Web browser</a> and other network-enabled GUI applications. Today, a <a href="Terminal_emulator" title="Terminal emulator">terminal emulator</a> application provides the capabilities of a physical terminal – allowing interaction with the <a href="Operating_system" title="Operating system">operating system</a> <a href="Shell_(computing)" title="Shell (computing)">shell</a> and other CLI applications.

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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="History">History</h2></div>

<p>The console of <a href="Konrad_Zuse" title="Konrad Zuse">Konrad Zuse</a>'s <a href="Z3_(computer)" title="Z3 (computer)">Z3</a> had a keyboard in 1941, as did the <a href="Z4_(computer)" title="Z4 (computer)">Z4</a> in 1942–1945. However, these consoles could only be used to enter numeric inputs and were thus analogous to those of calculating machines; programs, commands, and other data were entered via paper tape. Both machines had <a href="Blinkenlights" title="Blinkenlights">a row of display lamps</a> for results.

</p><p>In 1956, the <a href="Whirlwind_I" title="Whirlwind I">Whirlwind Mark I</a> computer became the first computer equipped with a keyboard-printer combination with which to support direct input<sup id="cite_ref-flexowriter-whirlwind_2-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-flexowriter-whirlwind-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> of data and commands and output of results. That device was a <a href="Friden_Flexowriter" title="Friden Flexowriter">Friden Flexowriter</a>, which would continue to serve this purpose on many other early computers well into the 1960s.

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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Categories">Categories</h2></div>

<div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Hard-copy_terminals">Hard-copy terminals</h3></div>

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</style><div class="thumb tmulti tright"><div class="thumbinner multiimageinner" style="width:312px;max-width:312px"><div class="trow"><div class="tsingle" style="width:154px;max-width:154px"><div class="thumbimage" style="height:114px;overflow:hidden"><span typeof="mw:File"></span></div><div class="thumbcaption">A <a href="Teletype_Model_33" title="Teletype Model 33">Teletype Model 33</a> ASR teleprinter, usable as a terminal</div></div><div class="tsingle" style="width:154px;max-width:154px"><div class="thumbimage" style="height:114px;overflow:hidden"><span typeof="mw:File"></span></div><div class="thumbcaption">Closeup of an IBM 2741 printing terminal, which used a changeable <a href="Selectric" class="mw-redirect" title="Selectric">Selectric</a> "golfball" typing element and was faster than the earlier teletype machines</div></div></div></div></div>

<p>Early user terminals connected to computers were, like the Flexowriter, electromechanical <a href="Teleprinter" title="Teleprinter">teleprinters</a>/teletypewriters (TeleTYpewriter, TTY), such as the <a href="Teletype_Model_33" title="Teletype Model 33">Teletype Model 33</a>, originally used for <a href="Telegraphy" title="Telegraphy">telegraphy</a>; early Teletypes were typically configured as <a href="Teletype_Corporation#KSR" title="Teletype Corporation">Keyboard Send-Receive</a> (KSR) or <a href="Teletype_Corporation#ASR" title="Teletype Corporation">Automatic Send-Receive</a> (ASR). Some terminals, such as the ASR Teletype models, included a <a href="Paper_tape" class="mw-redirect" title="Paper tape">paper tape</a> reader and punch which could record output such as a program listing. The data on the tape could be re-entered into the computer using the tape reader on the teletype, or printed to paper. Teletypes used the <a href="Digital_current_loop_interface" title="Digital current loop interface">current loop</a> interface that was already used in telegraphy. A less expensive <a href="Teletype_Corporation#RO" title="Teletype Corporation">Read Only</a> (RO) configuration was available for the Teletype.

</p><p>Custom-designs keyboard/printer terminals that came later included the <a href="IBM_2741" title="IBM 2741">IBM 2741</a> (1965)<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and the <a href="DECwriter" title="DECwriter">DECwriter</a> (1970).<sup id="cite_ref-Phil.DECw36_7-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Phil.DECw36-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Respective top speeds of teletypes, IBM 2741 and the LA30 (an early DECwriter) were 10, 15 and 30

characters per second. Although at that time "paper was king"<sup id="cite_ref-Phil.DECw36_7-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Phil.DECw36-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> the speed of interaction was relatively limited.

</p><p>The DECwriter was the last major printing-terminal product. It faded away after 1980 under pressure from video display units (VDUs), with the last revision (the DECwriter IV of 1982) abandoning the classic teletypewriter form for one more resembling a desktop printer.

</p><p>Printing terminals required that the print mechanism be away from the paper after a pause in the print flow, to allow an interactively typing user to see what they had just typed and make corrections, or to read a prompt string. As a dot-matrix printer, the DECwriter family would move the print head sideways after each pause, returning to the last print position when the next character came from the remote computer (or local echo).

</p>

<div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Video_display_unit">Video display unit</h3></div>

<p>A <b>video display unit</b> (VDU) displays information on a screen rather than printing text to paper and typically uses a <a href="Cathode-ray_tube" title="Cathode-ray tube">cathode-ray tube</a> (CRT). VDUs in the 1950s were typically designed for displaying graphical data rather than text and were used in, e.g., experimental computers at institutions such as <a href="MIT" class="mw-redirect" title="MIT">MIT</a>; computers used in academia, government and business, sold under brand names such as <a href="Digital_Equipment_Corporation" title="Digital Equipment Corporation">DEC</a>, <a href="Engineering_Research_Associates" title="Engineering Research Associates">ERA</a>, <a href="IBM" title="IBM">IBM</a> and <a href="UNIVAC" title="UNIVAC">UNIVAC</a>; military computers supporting specific defence applications such as <a href="Ballistic_Missile_Early_Warning_System" title="Ballistic Missile Early Warning System">ballistic missile warning systems</a> and radar/air defence coordination systems such as <a href="Back-Up_Interceptor_Control" title="Back-Up Interceptor Control">BUIC</a> and <a href="Semi-Automatic_Ground_Environment" title="Semi-Automatic Ground Environment">SAGE</a>.

</p>

<p>Two early landmarks in the development of the VDU were the <a href="Univac_Uniscope" class="mw-redirect" title="Univac Uniscope">Univac Uniscope</a><sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and the <a href="IBM_2260" title="IBM 2260">IBM 2260</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> both in 1964. These were block-mode terminals designed to display a page at a time, using proprietary protocols; in contrast to character-mode devices, they enter data from the keyboard into a display buffer rather than transmitting them immediately. In contrast to later character-mode devices, the Uniscope used <a href="Synchronous_serial_communication" title="Synchronous serial communication">synchronous</a> serial communication over an EIA <a href="RS-232" title="RS-232">RS-232</a> interface to communicate between the multiplexer and the host, while the 2260 used either a channel connection or <a href="Asynchronous_communication" title="Asynchronous communication">asynchronous</a> serial communication between the <a href="IBM_2848" class="mw-redirect" title="IBM 2848">2848</a> and the host. The 2265, related to the 2260, also used asynchronous serial communication.

</p><p>The <a href="Datapoint_3300" title="Datapoint 3300">Datapoint 3300</a> from <a href="Datapoint" title="Datapoint">Computer Terminal Corporation</a>, announced in 1967 and shipped in 1969, was a character-mode device that emulated a <a href="Teletype_Model_33" title="Teletype Model 33">Model 33 Teletype</a>. This reflects the fact that early character-mode terminals were often deployed to replace teletype machines as a way to reduce operating costs.

</p>

<p>The next generation of VDUs went beyond teletype emulation with an addressable cursor that gave them the ability to paint two-dimensional displays on the screen. Very early VDUs with cursor addressibility included the <a href="VT05" title="VT05">VT05</a> and the <a href="Hazeltine_2000" title="Hazeltine 2000">Hazeltine 2000</a> operating in character mode, both from 1970. Despite this capability, early devices of this type were often called "Glass TTYs".<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Later, the term "glass TTY" tended to be restrospectively narrowed to devices without full cursor addressibility.

</p><p>The classic era of the VDU began in the early 1970s and was closely intertwined with the rise of <a href="Time-sharing" title="Time-sharing">time sharing computers</a>. Important early products were the <a href="ADM-3A" title="ADM-3A">ADM-3A</a>, <a href="VT52" title="VT52">VT52</a>, and <a href="VT100" title="VT100">VT100</a>. These devices used no complicated <a href="Central_processing_unit" title="Central processing unit">CPU</a>, instead relying on individual <a href="Logic_gate" title="Logic gate">logic gates</a>, <a href="Large_Scale_Integration" class="mw-redirect" title="Large Scale Integration">LSI</a> chips, or microprocessors such as the <a href="Intel_8080" title="Intel 8080">Intel 8080</a>. This made them inexpensive and they quickly became extremely popular input-output devices on many types of computer system, often replacing earlier and more expensive printing terminals.

</p><p>After 1970 several suppliers gravitated to a set of common standards:

</p>

<ul><li><a href="ASCII" title="ASCII">ASCII</a> character set (rather than, say, <a href="EBCDIC" title="EBCDIC">EBCDIC</a> or anything specific to one company), but early/economy models often supported only capital letters (such as the original <a href="ADM-3" class="mw-redirect" title="ADM-3">ADM-3</a>, the <a href="Data_General" title="Data General">Data General</a> model 6052 – which could be upgraded to a 6053 with a lower-case character ROM – and the Heathkit H9)</li>

<li><a href="RS-232" title="RS-232">RS-232</a> serial ports (25-pin, ready to connect to a modem, yet some manufacturer-specific pin usage extended the standard, e.g. for use with 20-mA <a href="Digital_current_loop_interface" title="Digital current loop interface">current loops</a>)</li>

<li>24 lines (or possibly 25 – sometimes a special status line) of 72 or 80 characters of text (80 was the same as <a href="IBM" title="IBM">IBM</a> punched cards). Later models sometimes had two character-width settings.</li>

<li>Some type of cursor that can be positioned (with arrow keys or "home" and other direct cursor address setting codes).</li>

<li>Implementation of at least 3 control codes: <a href="Carriage_return" title="Carriage return">Carriage Return</a> (Ctrl-M), <a href="Line_feed" class="mw-redirect" title="Line feed">Line-Feed</a> (Ctrl-J), and <a href="Bell_character" title="Bell character">Bell</a> (Ctrl-G), but usually many more, such as <a href="Escape_sequence" title="Escape sequence">escape sequences</a> to provide underlining, dim or reverse-video character highlighting, and especially to clear the display and position the cursor.</li></ul>

<p>The experimental era of serial VDUs culminated with the <a href="VT100" title="VT100">VT100</a> in 1978. By the early 1980s, there were dozens of manufacturers of terminals, including <a href="ADM-3A" title="ADM-3A">Lear-Siegler</a>, <a href="Applied_Digital_Data_Systems" title="Applied Digital Data Systems">ADDS</a>, Data General, <a href="Digital_Equipment_Corporation" title="Digital Equipment Corporation">DEC</a>, <a href="Hazeltine_Corporation" title="Hazeltine Corporation">Hazeltine Corporation</a>, <a href="Heathkit" title="Heathkit">Heath/Zenith</a>, <a href="Hewlett-Packard" title="Hewlett-Packard">Hewlett-Packard</a>, IBM, <a href="TeleVideo" title="TeleVideo">TeleVideo</a>, Volker-Craig, and <a href="Wyse" title="Wyse">Wyse</a>, many of which had incompatible command sequences (although many used the early ADM-3 as a starting point).

</p><p>The great variations in the control codes between makers gave rise to software that identified and grouped terminal types so the system software would correctly display input forms using the appropriate control codes; In <a href="Unix-like" title="Unix-like">Unix-like</a> systems the <a href="Termcap" title="Termcap">termcap</a> or <a href="Terminfo" title="Terminfo">terminfo</a> files, the stty utility, and the TERM environment variable would be used; in Data General's Business BASIC software, for example, at login-time a sequence of codes were sent to the terminal to try to read the cursor's position or the 25th line's contents using a sequence of different manufacturer's control code sequences, and the terminal-generated response would determine a single-digit number (such as 6 for Data General Dasher terminals, 4 for ADM 3A/5/11/12 terminals, 0 or 2 for TTYs with no special features) that would be available to programs to say which set of codes to use.

</p><p>The great majority of terminals were monochrome, manufacturers variously offering green, white or amber and sometimes blue screen phosphors. (Amber was claimed to reduce eye strain). Terminals with modest color capability were also available but not widely used; for example, a color version of the popular Wyse WY50, the WY350, offered 64 shades on each character cell.

</p><p>VDUs were eventually displaced from most applications by networked personal computers, at first slowly after 1985 and with increasing speed in the 1990s. However, they had a lasting influence on PCs. The keyboard layout of the <a href="VT220" title="VT220">VT220</a> terminal strongly influenced the <a href="Model_M_keyboard" title="Model M keyboard">Model M</a> shipped on IBM PCs from 1985, and through it all later computer keyboards.

</p><p>Although <a href="Flat-panel_display" title="Flat-panel display">flat-panel displays</a> were available since the 1950s, cathode-ray tubes continued to dominate the market until the personal computer had made serious inroads into the display terminal market. By the time cathode-ray tubes on PCs were replaced by flatscreens after the year 2000, the hardware computer terminal was nearly obsolete.

</p>

<div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Character-oriented_terminals">Character-oriented terminals</h3></div>

<p>

</p>

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</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="Character_device" class="mw-redirect" title="Character device">Character device</a></div>

<p>A <b>character-oriented terminal</b> is a type of computer terminal that communicates with its host one character at a time, as opposed to a <a href="#Block-oriented_terminal">block-oriented terminal</a> that communicates in blocks of data. It is the most common type of data terminal, because it is easy to implement and program. Connection to the mainframe computer or <a href="Terminal_server" title="Terminal server">terminal server</a> is achieved via RS-232 serial links, <a href="Ethernet" title="Ethernet">Ethernet</a> or other <a href="Proprietary_protocol" title="Proprietary protocol">proprietary protocols</a>.

</p><p>Character-oriented terminals can be "dumb" or "smart". Dumb terminals<sup id="cite_ref-DicDumb_3-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-DicDumb-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> are those that can interpret a limited number of control codes (CR, LF, etc.) but do not have the ability to process special escape sequences that perform functions such as clearing a line, clearing the screen, or controlling cursor position. In this context dumb terminals are sometimes dubbed <i>glass Teletypes</i>, for they essentially have the same limited functionality as does a mechanical Teletype. This type of dumb terminal is still supported on modern Unix-like systems by setting the <a href="Environment_variable" title="Environment variable">environment variable</a> <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-text mw-content-ltr" style="" dir="ltr">TERM</code> to <code class="mw-highlight mw-highlight-lang-text mw-content-ltr" style="" dir="ltr">dumb</code>. Smart or intelligent terminals are those that also have the ability to process escape sequences, in particular the VT52, VT100 or ANSI escape sequences.

</p>

<div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Text_terminals">Text terminals</h4></div>

<p>A <b>text terminal</b>, or often just <i>terminal</i> (sometimes <i>text console</i>) is a serial computer interface for text entry and display. Information is presented as <a href="Text_mode" title="Text mode">an array of pre-selected formed characters</a>. When such devices use a video display such as a <a href="Cathode-ray_tube" title="Cathode-ray tube">cathode-ray tube</a>, they are called a "<a href="Video_display_unit" class="mw-redirect" title="Video display unit">video display unit</a>" or "visual display unit" (VDU) or "video display terminal" (VDT).

</p><p>The <a href="System_console" class="mw-redirect" title="System console">system console</a> is often<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> a text terminal used to operate a computer. Modern computers have a built-in keyboard and display for the console. Some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux and <a href="FreeBSD" title="FreeBSD">FreeBSD</a> have virtual consoles to provide several text terminals on a single computer.

</p><p>The fundamental type of application running on a text terminal is a <a href="Command-line_interpreter" class="mw-redirect" title="Command-line interpreter">command-line interpreter</a> or <i><a href="Shell_(computing)" title="Shell (computing)">shell</a></i>, which <a href="Command-line_interface#Command_prompt" title="Command-line interface">prompts</a> for commands from the user and executes each command after a press of <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1249182868">

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</style><kbd class="keyboard-key nowrap">Return</kbd>.<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> This includes <a href="Unix_shell" title="Unix shell">Unix shells</a> and some <a href="Interactive_programming" title="Interactive programming">interactive programming</a> environments. In a shell, most of the commands are small applications themselves.

</p><p>Another important application type is that of the <a href="Text_editor" title="Text editor">text editor</a>. A text editor typically occupies the full area of display, displays one or more text documents, and allows the user to edit the documents. The text editor has, for many uses, been replaced by the <a href="Word_processor" title="Word processor">word processor</a>, which usually provides rich formatting features that the text editor lacks. The first word processors used text to communicate the structure of the document, but later word processors operate in a graphical environment and provide a <a href="WYSIWYG" title="WYSIWYG">WYSIWYG</a> simulation of the formatted output. However, text editors are still used for documents containing <a href="Markup_language" title="Markup language">markup</a> such as <a href="DocBook" title="DocBook">DocBook</a> or <a href="LaTeX" title="LaTeX">LaTeX</a>.

</p><p>Programs such as <a href="Telix" title="Telix">Telix</a> and <a href="Minicom" title="Minicom">Minicom</a> control a <a href="Modem" title="Modem">modem</a> and the local terminal to let the user interact with remote servers. On the <a href="Internet" title="Internet">Internet</a>, <a href="Telnet" title="Telnet">telnet</a> and <a href="Secure_Shell" title="Secure Shell">ssh</a> work similarly.

</p><p>In the simplest form, a text terminal is like a file. Writing to the file displays the text and reading from the file produces what the user enters. In Unix-like operating systems, there are several <a href="Character_special_file" class="mw-redirect" title="Character special file">character special files</a> that correspond to available text terminals. For other operations, there are special <a href="Escape_sequence" title="Escape sequence">escape sequences</a>, <a href="Control_character" title="Control character">control characters</a> and <code>termios</code> <a href="System_call" title="System call">functions</a> that a program can use, most easily via a library such as <i><a href="Ncurses" title="Ncurses">ncurses</a></i>. For more complex operations, the programs can use terminal specific <i><a href="Ioctl" title="Ioctl">ioctl</a></i> system calls. For an application, the simplest way to use a terminal is to simply write and read text strings to and from it sequentially. The output text is scrolled, so that only the last several lines (typically 24) are visible. <a href="Unix" title="Unix">Unix</a> systems typically <a href="Data_buffer" title="Data buffer">buffer</a> the input text until the Enter key is pressed, so the application receives a ready string of text. In this mode, the application need not know much about the terminal. For many interactive applications this is not sufficient. One of the common enhancements is <i>command-line editing</i> (assisted with such libraries as <a href="GNU_Readline" title="GNU Readline">readline</a>); it also may give access to command history. This is very helpful for various interactive command-line interpreters.

</p><p>Even more advanced interactivity is provided with <i>full-screen</i> applications. Those applications completely control the screen layout; also they respond to key-pressing immediately. This mode is very useful for text editors, <a href="File_manager" title="File manager">file managers</a> and <a href="Web_browser" title="Web browser">web browsers</a>. In addition, such programs control the color and brightness of text on the screen, and decorate it with underline, blinking and special characters (e.g. <a href="Box-drawing_character" class="mw-redirect" title="Box-drawing character">box-drawing characters</a>). To achieve all this, the application must deal not only with plain text strings, but also with control characters and escape sequences, which allow moving the <a href="Cursor_(user_interface)" title="Cursor (user interface)">cursor</a> to an arbitrary position, clearing portions of the screen, changing colors and displaying special characters, and also responding to function keys. The great problem here is that there are many different terminals and terminal emulators, each with its own set of escape sequences. In order to overcome this, special <a href="Library_(computing)" title="Library (computing)">libraries</a> (such as <a href="Curses_(programming_library)" title="Curses (programming library)">curses</a>) have been created, together with terminal description databases, such as Termcap and Terminfo.

</p>

<div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Block-oriented_terminals">Block-oriented terminals</h3></div>

<p>A <b>block-oriented terminal</b> or <b>block mode terminal</b> is a type of computer terminal that communicates with its <a href="Host_(network)" title="Host (network)">host</a> in blocks of data, as opposed to a <a href="#Character-oriented_terminal">character-oriented terminal</a> that communicates with its host one character at a time. A block-oriented terminal may be card-oriented, display-oriented, keyboard-display, keyboard-printer, printer or some combination.

</p><p>The IBM 3270 is perhaps the most familiar implementation of a block-oriented display terminal,<sup id="cite_ref-IETF.3_16-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-IETF.3-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> but most mainframe computer manufacturers and several other companies produced them. The description below is in terms of the 3270, but similar considerations apply to other types.

</p><p>Block-oriented terminals typically incorporate a <a href="Data_buffer" title="Data buffer">buffer</a> which stores one screen or more of data, and also stores data attributes, not only indicating appearance (color, brightness, blinking, etc.) but also marking the data as being enterable by the terminal operator vs. <i>protected</i> against entry, as allowing the entry of only numeric information vs. allowing any characters, etc. In a typical application the host sends the terminal a preformatted <a href="Panel_(computer_software)" title="Panel (computer software)">panel</a> containing both static data and fields into which data may be entered. The terminal operator keys data, such as updates in a <a href="Database" title="Database">database</a> entry, into the appropriate fields. When entry is complete (or ENTER or PF key pressed on 3270s), a block of data, usually just the data entered by the operator (modified data), is sent to the host in one transmission. The 3270 terminal buffer (at the device) could be updated on a single character basis, if necessary, because of the existence of a "set buffer address order" (SBA), that usually preceded any data to be written/overwritten within the buffer. A complete buffer could also be read or replaced using the <code>READ BUFFER</code> command or <code>WRITE</code> command (unformatted or formatted in the case of the 3270).

</p><p>Block-oriented terminals cause less <a href="Load_(computing)" title="Load (computing)">system load</a> on the host and less network traffic than character-oriented terminals. They also appear more responsive to the user, especially over slow connections, since editing within a field is done locally rather than depending on <a href="Echo_(computing)" title="Echo (computing)">echoing</a> from the host system.

</p><p>Early terminals had limited editing capabilities – 3270 terminals, for example, only could check entries as valid numerics.<sup id="cite_ref-CompDesc_17-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-CompDesc-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Subsequent "smart" or "intelligent" terminals incorporated microprocessors and supported more local processing.

</p><p>Programmers of block-oriented terminals often used the technique of storing <i>context</i> information for the transaction in progress on the screen, possibly in a hidden field, rather than depending on a running program to keep track of status. This was the precursor of the <a href="HTML" title="HTML">HTML</a> technique of storing context in the <a href="URL" title="URL">URL</a> as data to be passed as arguments to a <a href="Common_Gateway_Interface" title="Common Gateway Interface">CGI</a> program.

</p><p>Unlike a character-oriented terminal, where typing a character into the last position of the screen usually causes the terminal to scroll down one line, entering data into the last screen position on a block-oriented terminal usually causes the cursor to <i>wrap</i>— move to the start of the first enterable field. Programmers might "protect" the last screen position to prevent inadvertent wrap. Likewise a protected field following an enterable field might lock the keyboard and sound an audible alarm if the operator attempted to enter more data into the field than allowed.

</p>

<div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Common_block-oriented_terminals">Common block-oriented terminals</h4></div>

<dl><dt>Remote job entry</dt></dl>

<dl><dt>Display</dt></dl>

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<li><a href="Burroughs_Corporation" title="Burroughs Corporation">Burroughs Corporation</a> TD-830</li>

<li><a href="AT%26T" title="AT&T">AT&T</a> Dataspeed 40 (3270 clone manufactured by <a href="Teletype_Corporation" title="Teletype Corporation">Teletype Corporation</a>)</li>

<li><a href="TeleVideo" title="TeleVideo">TeleVideo</a> 912/920/925/950<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li>

<li><a href="Tandem_Computers" title="Tandem Computers">Tandem Computers</a> VT6530</li>

<li><a href="Hewlett-Packard" title="Hewlett-Packard">Hewlett-Packard</a> <a href="HP_2640" title="HP 2640">VT2640</a><sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li>

<li><a href="UNIVAC" title="UNIVAC">UNIVAC</a> <a href="Uniscope" title="Uniscope">Uniscope</a> series</li>

<li>Digital Equipment Corporation <a href="VT52" title="VT52">VT61, VT62</a></li>

<li><a href="Lear_Siegler" title="Lear Siegler">Lear Siegler</a> ADM31<sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> (optional)</li>

<li><a href="Honeywell" title="Honeywell">Honeywell</a> VIP 7700/7760</li>

<li><a href="ITT_Corporation" class="mw-redirect" title="ITT Corporation">ITT Corporation</a> Courier line</li>

<li><a href="Bull_Questar" title="Bull Questar">Bull Questar</a></li>

<li><a href="ICL_7500_series" title="ICL 7500 series">ICL 7500 series</a></li></ul></div>

<div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Graphical_terminals">Graphical terminals</h3></div>

<p>A <b>graphical terminal</b> can display images as well as text. Graphical terminals<sup id="cite_ref-21" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-21"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> are divided into <a href="Vector_graphics" title="Vector graphics">vector-mode</a> terminals, and <a href="Raster_graphics" title="Raster graphics">raster mode</a>.

</p><p>A vector-mode display directly draws lines on the face of a <a href="Cathode-ray_tube" title="Cathode-ray tube">cathode-ray tube</a> under control of the host computer system. The lines are continuously formed, but since the speed of electronics is limited, the number of concurrent lines that can be displayed at one time is limited. Vector-mode displays were historically important but are no longer used.

Practically all modern graphic displays are raster-mode, descended from the picture scanning techniques used for <a href="Television" title="Television">television</a>, in which the visual elements are a rectangular array of <a href="Pixel" title="Pixel">pixels</a>. Since the raster image is only perceptible to the human eye as a whole for a very short time, the raster must be refreshed many times per second to give the appearance of a persistent display. The electronic demands of refreshing display memory meant that graphic terminals were developed much later than text terminals, and initially cost much more.<sup id="cite_ref-22" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-22"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>22<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-23" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-23"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>

</p><p>Most terminals today are graphical; that is, they can show images on the screen. The modern term for graphical terminal is "<a href="Thin_client" title="Thin client">thin client</a>". A thin client typically uses a protocol such as X11 for Unix terminals, or <a href="Remote_Desktop_Protocol" title="Remote Desktop Protocol">RDP</a> for Microsoft Windows. The bandwidth needed depends on the protocol used, the resolution, and the <a href="Color_depth" title="Color depth">color depth</a>.

</p><p>Modern graphic terminals allow display of images in color, and of text in varying sizes, colors, and <a href="Font" title="Font">fonts</a> (type faces).

</p><p>In the early 1990s, an industry consortium attempted to define a standard, <a href="AlphaWindows" title="AlphaWindows">AlphaWindows</a>, that would allow a single CRT screen to implement multiple windows, each of which was to behave as a distinct terminal. Unfortunately, like <a href="I2O" title="I2O">I2O</a>, this suffered from being run as a closed standard: non-members were unable to obtain even minimal information and there was no realistic way a small company or independent developer could join the consortium.

</p>

<div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Intelligent_terminals">Intelligent terminals</h3></div>

<p>An <b>intelligent terminal</b><sup id="cite_ref-24" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-24"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>24<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> does its own processing, usually implying a microprocessor is built in, but not all terminals with microprocessors did any real processing of input: the main computer to which it was attached would have to respond quickly to each keystroke. The term "intelligent" in this context dates from 1969.<sup id="cite_ref-25" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-25"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>25<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>

</p><p>Notable examples include the <a href="IBM_2250" title="IBM 2250">IBM 2250</a>, predecessor to the IBM 3250 and IBM 5080, and <a href="IBM_2260" title="IBM 2260">IBM 2260</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-Chicken.egg_26-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Chicken.egg-26"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>26<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> predecessor to the <a href="IBM_3270" title="IBM 3270">IBM 3270</a>, introduced with <a href="IBM_System/360" title="IBM System/360">System/360</a> in 1964.

</p>

<p>Most terminals were connected to <a href="Minicomputer" title="Minicomputer">minicomputers</a> or <a href="Mainframe_computer" title="Mainframe computer">mainframe computers</a> and often had a green or amber screen. Typically terminals communicate with the computer via a <a href="Serial_port" title="Serial port">serial port</a> via a <a href="Null_modem" title="Null modem">null modem</a> cable, often using an <a href="Electronic_Industries_Alliance" title="Electronic Industries Alliance">EIA</a> <a href="RS-232" title="RS-232">RS-232</a> or RS-422 or RS-423 or a current loop serial interface. IBM systems typically communicated over a <a href="Bus_and_Tag" title="Bus and Tag">Bus and Tag</a> channel, a <a href="Coaxial_cable" title="Coaxial cable">coaxial cable</a> using a proprietary protocol, a communications link using <a href="Binary_Synchronous_Communications" title="Binary Synchronous Communications">Binary Synchronous Communications</a> or IBM's <a href="Systems_Network_Architecture" title="Systems Network Architecture">SNA</a> protocol, but for many DEC, Data General and <a href="NCR_Corporation" class="mw-redirect" title="NCR Corporation">NCR</a> (and so on) computers there were many visual display suppliers competing against the computer manufacturer for terminals to expand the systems. In fact, the instruction design for the <a href="Intel_8008" title="Intel 8008">Intel 8008</a> was originally conceived at Computer Terminal Corporation as the processor for the <a href="Datapoint_2200" title="Datapoint 2200">Datapoint 2200</a>.

</p><p>From the introduction of the <a href="IBM_3270" title="IBM 3270">IBM 3270</a>, and the <a href="VT100" title="VT100">DEC VT100</a> (1978), the user and programmer could notice significant advantages in VDU technology improvements, yet not all programmers used the features of the new terminals (<a href="Backward_compatibility" title="Backward compatibility">backward compatibility</a> in the VT100 and later TeleVideo terminals, for example, with "dumb terminals" allowed programmers to continue to use older software).

</p><p>Some dumb terminals had been able to respond to a few escape sequences without needing microprocessors: they used multiple <a href="Printed_circuit_board" title="Printed circuit board">printed circuit boards</a> with many <a href="Integrated_circuit" title="Integrated circuit">integrated circuits</a>; the single factor that classed a terminal as "intelligent" was its ability to <i>process</i> user-input within the terminal—not interrupting the main computer at each keystroke—and send a block of data at a time (for example: when the user has finished a whole field or form). Most terminals in the early 1980s, such as ADM-3A, TVI912, Data General D2, DEC <a href="VT52" title="VT52">VT52</a>, despite the introduction of ANSI terminals in 1978, were essentially "dumb" terminals, although some of them (such as the later ADM and TVI models) did have a primitive block-send capability. Common early uses of local processing power included features that had little to do with off-loading data processing from the <a href="Host_(network)" title="Host (network)">host computer</a> but added useful features such as printing to a local printer, buffered serial data transmission and serial handshaking (to accommodate higher serial transfer speeds), and more sophisticated character attributes for the display, as well as the ability to switch emulation modes to mimic competitor's models, that became increasingly important selling features during the 1980s especially, when buyers could mix and match different suppliers' equipment to a greater extent than before.

</p><p>The advance in microprocessors and lower memory costs made it possible for the terminal to handle editing operations such as inserting characters within a field that may have previously required a full screen-full of characters to be re-sent from the computer, possibly over a slow modem line. Around the mid-1980s most intelligent terminals, costing less than most dumb terminals would have a few years earlier, could provide enough user-friendly local editing of data and send the completed form to the main computer. Providing even more processing possibilities, workstations such as the TeleVideo TS-800 could run <a href="CP/M-86" title="CP/M-86">CP/M-86</a>, blurring the distinction between terminal and Personal Computer.

</p><p>Another of the motivations for development of the <a href="Microprocessor" title="Microprocessor">microprocessor</a> was to simplify and reduce the electronics required in a terminal. That also made it practicable to load several "personalities" into a single terminal, so a Qume QVT-102 could emulate many popular terminals of the day, and so be sold into organizations that did not wish to make any software changes. Frequently emulated terminal types included:

</p>

<ul><li><a href="Lear_Siegler" title="Lear Siegler">Lear Siegler</a> <a href="ADM-3A" title="ADM-3A">ADM-3A</a> and later models</li>

<li><a href="TeleVideo" title="TeleVideo">TeleVideo</a> 910 to 950 (these models copied ADM3 codes and added several of their own, eventually being copied by Qume and others)</li>

<li>Digital Equipment Corporation <a href="VT52" title="VT52">VT52</a> and <a href="VT100" title="VT100">VT100</a></li>

<li><a href="Data_General" title="Data General">Data General</a> D1 to D3 and especially D200 and D210</li>

<li><a href="Hazeltine_Corporation" title="Hazeltine Corporation">Hazeltine Corporation</a> H1500</li>

<li><a href="Tektronix" title="Tektronix">Tektronix</a> <a href="Tektronix_4014" class="mw-redirect" title="Tektronix 4014">4014</a></li>

<p>The <a href="ANSI_X3.64" class="mw-redirect" title="ANSI X3.64">ANSI X3.64</a> escape code standard produced uniformity to some extent, but significant differences remained. For example, the <a href="VT100" title="VT100">VT100</a>, <a href="Heathkit" title="Heathkit">Heathkit</a> H19 in ANSI mode, Televideo 970, Data General D460, and <a href="Qume" title="Qume">Qume</a> QVT-108 terminals all followed the ANSI standard, yet differences might exist in codes from <a href="Function_key" title="Function key">function keys</a>, what character attributes were available, block-sending of fields within forms, "foreign" character facilities, and handling of printers connected to the back of the screen.

</p><p>In the 21st century,

the term <i>Intelligent Terminal</i> can now refer to a retail <a href="Point_of_Sale" class="mw-redirect" title="Point of Sale">Point of Sale</a> computer.<sup id="cite_ref-27" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-27"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>27<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>

</p>

<div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Contemporary">Contemporary</h3></div>

<p>Even though the early <a href="IBM_Personal_Computer" title="IBM Personal Computer">IBM PC</a> looked somewhat like a terminal with a green <a href="Monochrome_monitor" title="Monochrome monitor">monochrome monitor</a>, it is not classified a terminal since it provides local computing instead of interacting with a server at a character level. With <a href="Terminal_emulator" title="Terminal emulator">terminal emulator</a> software, a PC can, however, provide the function of a terminal to interact with a mainframe or minicomputer. Eventually, personal computers greatly reduced market demand for conventional terminals.

</p><p>In and around the 1990s, <i>thin client</i> and <a href="X_terminal" title="X terminal">X terminal</a> technology combined the relatively economical local processing power with central, shared computer facilities to leverage advantages of terminals over personal computers.

</p><p>In a GUI environment, such as the <a href="X_Window_System" title="X Window System">X Window System</a>, the display can show multiple programs – each in its own window – rather than a single stream of text associated with a single program. As a terminal emulator runs in a GUI environment to provide command-line access, it alleviates the need for a physical terminal and allows for multiple windows running separate emulators.

</p>

<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="System_console">System console</h2></div>

<p>One meaning of <b>system console</b>, <b>computer console</b>, <b>root console</b>, <b>operator's console</b>, or simply <b>console</b> is the text entry and display device for system administration messages, particularly those from the <a href="BIOS" title="BIOS">BIOS</a> or <a href="Boot_loader" class="mw-redirect" title="Boot loader">boot loader</a>, the <a href="Kernel_(operating_system)" title="Kernel (operating system)">kernel</a>, from the <a href="Init" title="Init">init</a> system and from the <a href="Syslog" title="Syslog">system logger</a>. It is a physical device consisting of a keyboard and a printer or screen, and traditionally is a <a href="Text_terminal" class="mw-redirect" title="Text terminal">text terminal</a>, but may also be a <a href="Graphical_terminal" class="mw-redirect" title="Graphical terminal">graphical terminal</a>.

</p><p>Another, older, meaning of system console, computer console, <b>hardware console</b>, operator's console or simply console is a hardware component used by an <a href="Computer_operator" title="Computer operator">operator</a> to control the hardware, typically some combination of <a href="Front_panel" title="Front panel">front panel</a>, keyboard/printer and keyboard/display.

</p>

<div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="History_2">History</h3></div>

<p>Prior to the development of alphanumeric <a href="Cathode-ray_tube" title="Cathode-ray tube">CRT</a> system consoles, some computers such as the <a href="IBM_1620" title="IBM 1620">IBM 1620</a> had console typewriters and <a href="Front_panel" title="Front panel">front panels</a> while the very first electronic <a href="Stored-program_computer" title="Stored-program computer">stored-program computer</a>, the <a href="Manchester_Baby" title="Manchester Baby">Manchester Baby</a>, used a combination of electromechanical switches and a CRT to provide console functions—the CRT displaying memory contents in binary by mirroring the machine's <a href="Williams_tube" title="Williams tube">Williams-Kilburn tube</a> CRT-based RAM.

</p><p>Some early operating systems supported either a single keyboard/print or keyboard/display device for controlling the OS. Some also supported a single alternate console, and some supported a <a href="Hard_copy" title="Hard copy">hardcopy</a> console for retaining a record of commands, responses and other console messages. However, in the late 1960s it became common for operating systems to support many more consoles than 3, and operating systems began appearing in which the console was simply any terminal with a privileged user logged on.

</p><p>On early <a href="Minicomputer" title="Minicomputer">minicomputers</a>, the console was a <b>serial console</b>, an <a href="RS-232" title="RS-232">RS-232</a> serial link to a terminal such as a <a href="Teletype_Model_33" title="Teletype Model 33">ASR-33</a> or, later, a terminal from <a href="Digital_Equipment_Corporation" title="Digital Equipment Corporation">Digital Equipment Corporation</a> (DEC), e.g., <a href="DECwriter" title="DECwriter">DECWriter</a>, <a href="VT100" title="VT100">VT100</a>. This terminal was usually kept in a secured room since it could be used for certain privileged functions such as halting the system or selecting which media to boot from. Large <a href="Midrange_computer" title="Midrange computer">midrange systems</a>, e.g. those from <a href="Sun_Microsystems" title="Sun Microsystems">Sun Microsystems</a>, <a href="Hewlett-Packard" title="Hewlett-Packard">Hewlett-Packard</a> and <a href="IBM" title="IBM">IBM</a>, still use serial consoles. In larger installations, the console ports are attached to multiplexers or network-connected multiport serial servers that let an operator connect a terminal to any of the attached servers. Today, serial consoles are often used for accessing <a href="Headless_computer" title="Headless computer">headless systems</a>, usually with a <a href="Terminal_emulator" title="Terminal emulator">terminal emulator</a> running on a <a href="Laptop" title="Laptop">laptop</a>. Also, routers, enterprise <a href="Network_switch" title="Network switch">network switches</a> and other telecommunication equipment have RS-232 serial console ports.

</p><p>On <a href="Personal_computer" title="Personal computer">PCs</a> and <a href="Workstation" title="Workstation">workstations</a>, the computer's attached <a href="Computer_keyboard" title="Computer keyboard">keyboard</a> and <a href="Computer_monitor" title="Computer monitor">monitor</a> have the equivalent function. Since the monitor cable carries video signals, it cannot be extended very far. Often, installations with many servers therefore use keyboard/video multiplexers (<a href="KVM_switch" title="KVM switch">KVM switches</a>) and possibly video amplifiers to centralize console access. In recent years, <a href="KVM/IP" class="mw-redirect" title="KVM/IP">KVM/IP</a> devices have become available that allow a remote computer to view the video output and send keyboard input via any TCP/IP network and therefore the <a href="Internet" title="Internet">Internet</a>.

</p><p>Some PC <a href="BIOS" title="BIOS">BIOSes</a>, especially in servers, also support serial consoles, giving access to the BIOS through a serial port so that the simpler and cheaper serial console infrastructure can be used. Even where BIOS support is lacking, some <a href="Operating_system" title="Operating system">operating systems</a>, e.g. <a href="FreeBSD" title="FreeBSD">FreeBSD</a> and <a href="Linux" title="Linux">Linux</a>, can be configured for serial console operation either during bootup, or after startup.

</p><p>Starting with the <a href="IBM_9672" class="mw-redirect" title="IBM 9672">IBM 9672</a>, IBM large systems have used a <a href="IBM_Hardware_Management_Console" title="IBM Hardware Management Console">Hardware Management Console</a> (HMC), consisting of a PC and a specialized application, instead of a 3270 or serial link. Other IBM product lines also use an HMC, e.g., <a href="IBM_System_p" title="IBM System p">System p</a>.

</p><p>It is usually possible to <a href="Logging_(computer_security)" class="mw-redirect" title="Logging (computer security)">log in</a> from the console. Depending on configuration, the operating system may treat a login session from the console as being more trustworthy than a login session from other sources.

</p>

<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Emulation">Emulation</h2></div>

<div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="Terminal_emulator" title="Terminal emulator">Terminal emulator</a></div>

<p>A terminal emulator is a piece of software that emulates a text terminal. In the past, before the widespread use of <a href="Local_area_network" title="Local area network">local area networks</a> and broadband internet access, many computers would use a serial access program to communicate with other computers via <a href="Telephone_line" title="Telephone line">telephone line</a> or serial device.

</p><p>When the first <a href="Mac_(computer)" title="Mac (computer)">Macintosh</a> was released, a program called <a href="MacTerminal" title="MacTerminal">MacTerminal</a><sup id="cite_ref-28" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-28"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>28<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> was used to communicate with many computers, including the <a href="IBM_Personal_Computer" title="IBM Personal Computer">IBM PC</a>.

</p><p>The <a href="Win32_console" class="mw-redirect" title="Win32 console">Win32 console</a> on Windows does not emulate a physical terminal that supports escape sequences<sup id="cite_ref-29" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-29"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>29<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> so SSH and Telnet programs (for logging in textually to remote computers) for Windows, including the Telnet program bundled with some versions of Windows, often incorporate their own code to process escape sequences.

</p><p>The terminal emulators on most <a href="Unix-like" title="Unix-like">Unix-like</a> systems—such as, for example, <a href="GNOME_Terminal" title="GNOME Terminal">gnome-terminal</a>, <a href="Konsole" title="Konsole">Konsole</a>, QTerminal, <a href="Xterm" title="Xterm">xterm</a>, and <a href="Terminal_(macOS)" title="Terminal (macOS)">Terminal.app</a>—do emulate physical terminals including support for escape sequences; e.g., xterm can emulate the <a href="VT220" title="VT220">VT220</a> and <a href="Tektronix_4010" title="Tektronix 4010">Tektronix 4010</a> hardware terminals.

</p>

<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Modes">Modes</h2></div>

<p>Terminals can operate in various modes, relating to when they send input typed by the user on the keyboard to the receiving system (whatever that may be):

</p>

<ul><li>Character mode (<abbr title="also known as">a.k.a.</abbr> character-at-a-time mode): In this mode, typed input is unbuffered and sent immediately to the receiving system.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEBolthouse199618_30-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEBolthouse199618-30"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>30<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li>

<li>Line mode (<abbr title="also known as">a.k.a.</abbr> line-at-a-time mode): In this mode, the terminal is buffered, provides a local line editing function, and sends an entire input line, after it has been locally edited, when the user presses an, e.g., <kbd class="keyboard-key nowrap">↵ Enter</kbd>, <kbd class="keyboard-key nowrap">EOB</kbd>, key.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEBolthouse199618_30-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEBolthouse199618-30"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>30<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> A so-called "line mode terminal" operates solely in this mode.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEBangia2010324_31-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEBangia2010324-31"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>31<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li>

<li>Block mode (<abbr title="also known as">a.k.a.</abbr> screen-at-a-time mode): In this mode (also called <a href="#Block-oriented_terminal">block-oriented</a>), the terminal is buffered and provides a local full-screen data function. The user can enter input into multiple fields in a form on the screen (defined to the terminal by the receiving system), moving the cursor around the screen using keys such as <a href="Tab_key" title="Tab key"><kbd class="keyboard-key nowrap">Tab ↹</kbd></a> and the <a href="Arrow_keys" title="Arrow keys">arrow keys</a> and performing editing functions locally using <a href="Insert_key" title="Insert key"><kbd class="keyboard-key nowrap">insert</kbd></a>, <a href="Delete_key" title="Delete key"><kbd class="keyboard-key nowrap">delete</kbd></a>, <a href="Backspace_key" class="mw-redirect" title="Backspace key"><kbd class="keyboard-key nowrap">← Backspace</kbd></a> and so forth. The terminal sends only the completed form, consisting of all the data entered on the screen, to the receiving system when the user presses an <kbd class="keyboard-key nowrap">↵ Enter</kbd> key.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEDiercks20022_32-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEDiercks20022-32"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>32<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEGofton199173_33-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEGofton199173-33"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>33<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEBolthouse199618_30-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEBolthouse199618-30"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>30<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li></ul>

<p>There is a distinction between the <a href="Return_key" class="mw-redirect" title="Return key"><kbd class="keyboard-key nowrap">return</kbd></a> and the <a href="Enter_key" title="Enter key"><kbd class="keyboard-key nowrap">↵ Enter</kbd></a> keys. In some multiple-mode terminals, that can switch between modes, pressing the <kbd class="keyboard-key nowrap">↵ Enter</kbd> key when <i>not</i> in block mode does not do the same thing as pressing the <kbd class="keyboard-key nowrap">return</kbd> key. Whilst the <kbd class="keyboard-key nowrap">return</kbd> key will cause an input line to be sent to the host in line-at-a-time mode, the <kbd class="keyboard-key nowrap">↵ Enter</kbd> key will rather cause the terminal to transmit the contents of the character row where the cursor is currently positioned to the host, host-issued prompts and all.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEDiercks20022_32-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEDiercks20022-32"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>32<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Some block-mode terminals have both an <kbd class="keyboard-key nowrap">↵ Enter</kbd> and local cursor moving keys such as <kbd class="keyboard-key nowrap">Return</kbd> and <kbd class="keyboard-key nowrap">New Line</kbd>.

</p><p>Different computer <a href="Operating_system" title="Operating system">operating systems</a> require different degrees of mode support when terminals are used as computer terminals. The <a href="POSIX_terminal_interface" title="POSIX terminal interface">POSIX terminal interface</a>, as provided by Unix and POSIX-compliant operating systems, does not accommodate block-mode terminals at all, and only rarely requires the terminal <i>itself</i> to be in line-at-a-time mode, since the operating system is required to provide <a href="POSIX_terminal_interface#Canonical_mode_processing" title="POSIX terminal interface">canonical input mode</a>, where the terminal device driver in the operating system <i>emulates</i> local echo in the terminal, and performs line editing functions at the host end. Most usually, and especially so that the host system can support <a href="POSIX_terminal_interface#Non-canonical_mode_processing" title="POSIX terminal interface">non-canonical input mode</a>, terminals for POSIX-compliant systems are always in character-at-a-time mode. In contrast, IBM 3270 terminals connected to <a href="MVS" title="MVS">MVS</a> systems are always required to be in block mode.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTERaymond200472_34-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTERaymond200472-34"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>34<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEBurgess1988127_35-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEBurgess1988127-35"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>35<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTETopham199077_36-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTETopham199077-36"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>36<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTERodgers199088–90_37-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTERodgers199088–90-37"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>37<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>

</p>

<ul><li><a href="Blit_(computer_terminal)" title="Blit (computer terminal)">Blit (computer terminal)</a></li>

<li><a href="Data_terminal_equipment" title="Data terminal equipment">Data terminal equipment</a></li>

<li><a href="Micro-Term_ERGO-201" title="Micro-Term ERGO-201">Micro-Term ERGO-201</a></li>

<li><a href="Minitel" title="Minitel">Minitel</a></li>

<li><a href="Text_user_interface" class="mw-redirect" title="Text user interface">Text user interface</a></li>

<li><a href="TV_Typewriter" title="TV Typewriter">TV Typewriter</a></li>

<li><a href="Videotex" title="Videotex">Videotex</a></li>

<li><a href="Virtual_console_(PC)" class="mw-redirect" title="Virtual console (PC)">Virtual console (PC)</a></li>

<li><a href="Communication_endpoint" title="Communication endpoint">Communication endpoint</a></li>

<li><a href="End_system" title="End system">End system</a></li>

<li><a href="Node_(networking)" title="Node (networking)">Node (networking)</a></li>

<li><a href="Terminal_capabilities" title="Terminal capabilities">Terminal capabilities</a></li>

<li><a href="Terminal_emulator" title="Terminal emulator">Terminal emulator</a></li>

<li><a href="Visual_editor" title="Visual editor">Visual editor</a></li>

</div>

<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Notes">Notes</h2></div>

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</style><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.samhallas.co.uk/repository/telegraph/teletype_story.pdf">"The Teletype Story"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>.</cite></span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-flexowriter-whirlwind-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-flexowriter-whirlwind_2-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-flexowriter-whirlwind_2-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/1956/">"Direct keyboard input to computers"</a>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20170717231119/http://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/1956/#169ebbe2ad45559efbc6eb35720ba5f3">Archived</a> from the original on July 17, 2017<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">January 11,</span> 2024</span>.</cite></span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-DicDumb-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-DicDumb_3-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-DicDumb_3-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200813062015/http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/dumb-terminal.html">"What is dumb terminal? definition and meaning"</a>. <i>BusinessDictionary.com</i>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/dumb-terminal.html">the original</a> on August 13, 2020<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">March 13,</span> 2019</span>.</cite></span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Thin clients came later than dumb terminals</span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">the term "thin client" was coined in 1993) <cite id="CITEREFWaters2009" class="citation web cs1">Waters, Richard (June 2, 2009). <span class="id-lock-subscription" title="Paid subscription required"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.ft.com/content/dc70f841-54b7-3ef1-abf0-d6f32b270f76">"Is this, finally, the thin client from Oracle?"</a></span>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/dc70f841-54b7-3ef1-abf0-d6f32b270f76">Archived</a> from the original on December 10, 2022.</cite></span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.ibm.com/ibm/history/exhibits/dpd50/dpd50_chronology3.html">"DPD chronology"</a>. <i><a href="IBM" title="IBM">IBM</a></i>. January 23, 2003. <q>1965 ... IBM 2741 ... July 8.</q></cite></span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-Phil.DECw36-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Phil.DECw36_7-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Phil.DECw36_7-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFGoldstein2017" class="citation web cs1">Goldstein, Phil (March 17, 2017). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://biztechmagazine.com/article/2017/03/dec-la36-dot-matrix-printer-made-business-printing-faster-and-more-efficient">"The DEC LA36 Dot Matrix Printer Made Business Printing Faster and more efficient"</a>. <q><a href="Digital_Equipment_Corporation" title="Digital Equipment Corporation">Digital Equipment Corporation</a> .. debuted the DECwriter LA30 in 1970.</q></cite></span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-8">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">"Paper was used for everything - letters, proposals ..."</span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-9">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.computerhistory.org/resources/text/Remington_Rand/UNIVAC.UNISCOPE_300.ca1960.102646317.pdf">"Uniscope brochure"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">May 23,</span> 2021</span>.</cite></span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-10">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation book cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://bitsavers.org/pdf/univac/terminals/Uniscope_100/UP-7701r2_Uniscope_100_Display_Terminal_General_Description_1973.pdf#page=30">"5. Functional Description"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://bitsavers.org/pdf/univac/terminals/Uniscope_100/UP-7701r2_Uniscope_100_Display_Terminal_General_Description_1973.pdf"><i>Uniscope 100 - Display Terminal - General Description</i></a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. Rev. 2. <a href="Sperry_Rand_Corporation" class="mw-redirect" title="Sperry Rand Corporation">Sperry Rand Corporation</a>. 1973. pp. <span class="nowrap">24–</span>27. UP-7701<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">December 3,</span> 2023</span>.</cite></span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-11">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation book cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://bitsavers.org/pdf/univac/terminals/Uniscope_300/UP-7619_Uniscope_300_General_Description_1968.pdf#page=31">"5. Operation"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://bitsavers.org/pdf/univac/terminals/Uniscope_300/UP-7619_Uniscope_300_General_Description_1968.pdf"><i>Uniscope 300 General Description - Visual Communications Terminal</i></a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. <a href="Sperry_Rand_Corporation" class="mw-redirect" title="Sperry Rand Corporation">Sperry Rand Corporation</a>. 1968. pp. <span class="nowrap">5-1 –</span> <span class="nowrap">5-5</span>. UP-7619<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">December 3,</span> 2023</span>.</cite></span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-12">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation book cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://bitsavers.org/pdf/ibm/2260/A27-2700-4_2260_2848_Component_Description_Jan69.pdf"><i>IBM System/360 Component Description: - IBM 2260 Display Station - IBM 2848 Display Control</i></a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. Systems Reference Library (Fifth ed.). <a href="IBM" title="IBM">IBM</a>. January 1969. A27-2700-4<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">December 3,</span> 2023</span>.</cite></span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-13">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/G/glass-tty.html">"glass tty"</a>. <q>has a display screen ... behaves like a teletype</q></cite></span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-14"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-14">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Some computers have consoles containing only buttons, dials, lights and switches.</span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-15"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-15">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">As opposed to the <kbd class="keyboard-key nowrap">↵ Enter</kbd> key used on buffered text terminals and PCs.</span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-IETF.3-16"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-IETF.3_16-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFKelly1998" class="citation cs1">Kelly, B. (1998). <i>TN3270 Enhancements</i>. <a href="RFC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="RFC (identifier)">RFC</a> <span class="id-lock-free" title="Freely accessible"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2355">2355</a></span>. <q>3270 .. block oriented</q></cite></span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-CompDesc-17"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-CompDesc_17-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFIBM_Corporation1972" class="citation book cs1">IBM Corporation (1972). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/ibm/3270/GA27-2749-1_IBM_3270_Information_Display_System_Component_Description_Jun72.pdf"><i>IBM 3270 Information Display System Component Description</i></a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>.</cite></span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-18"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-18">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation news cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=rx3ssrOcCTkC&q=%22block+mode+terminal%22&pg=RA1-PA6">"Already over 80,000 winners out there! (advertisement)"</a>. <i>Computerworld</i>. January 18, 1982<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">November 27,</span> 2012</span>.</cite></span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-19"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-19">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation news cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=Z62ZAojaNzYC&q=%22block+mode+terminal%22&pg=PA35">"HP 3000s, IBM CPUs Get On-Line Link"</a>. <i>Computerworld</i>. March 24, 1980<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">November 27,</span> 2012</span>.</cite></span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-20"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-20">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFLear_Siegler_Inc." class="citation web cs1">Lear Siegler Inc. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://archive.computerhistory.org/resources/text/LSI/LSI.ADM31.1978.102646290.pdf">"The ADM-31. A terminal far too smart to be considered Dumb"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">November 27,</span> 2012</span>.</cite></span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-21"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-21">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFKaya1985" class="citation book cs1">Kaya, E. M. (1985). "New Trends in Graphic Display System Architecture". <i>Frontiers in Computer Graphics</i>. pp. <span class="nowrap">310–</span>320. <a href="Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1007%2F978-4-431-68025-3_23">10.1007/978-4-431-68025-3_23</a>. <a href="ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <bdi>978-4-431-68027-7</bdi>.</cite></span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-22"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-22">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFRaymondBanerji1976" class="citation journal cs1">Raymond, J.; Banerji, D.K. (1976). "Using a Microprocessor in an Intelligent Graphics Terminal". <i>Computer</i>. <b>9</b> (4): <span class="nowrap">18–</span>25. <a href="Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1109%2FC-M.1976.218555">10.1109/C-M.1976.218555</a>. <a href="S2CID_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="S2CID (identifier)">S2CID</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:6693597">6693597</a>. <q>However, a major problem with the use of a graphic terminal is the cost</q></cite></span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-23"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-23">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite id="CITEREFPardee1971" class="citation journal cs1">Pardee, S. (1971). "G101—A Remote Time Share Terminal with Graphic Output Capabilities". <i><a href="IEEE_Transactions_on_Computers" title="IEEE Transactions on Computers">IEEE Transactions on Computers</a></i>. <b>C-20</b> (8): <span class="nowrap">878–</span>881. <a href="Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1109%2FT-C.1971.223364">10.1109/T-C.1971.223364</a>. <a href="S2CID_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="S2CID (identifier)">S2CID</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:27102280">27102280</a>. <q>Terminal cost is currently about $10,000</q></cite></span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-24"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-24">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/45110/intelligent-terminal">"intelligent terminal Definition from PC Magazine Encyclopedia"</a>.</cite></span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-25"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-25">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Twentieth Century Words; by John Ayto; Oxford Unity Press; page 413</span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-Chicken.egg-26"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Chicken.egg_26-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/3270-Information-Display-System">"What is 3270 (Information Display System)"</a>. <q>3270 .. over its predecessor, the 2260</q></cite></span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-27"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-27">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.epson.de/en/viewcon/corporatesite/products/mainunits/overview/13350">"Epson TM-T88V-DT Intelligent Terminal, 16GB SSD, LE, Linux, ..."</a> <q>Retailers can .. reduce costs with .. Epson TM-T88V-DT ... a unique integrated terminal</q></cite></span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-28"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-28">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/46477/macterminal">"MacTerminal Definition from PC Magazine Encyclopedia"</a>. <q>as an <a href="IBM_3270" title="IBM 3270">IBM 3278 Model 2</a></q></cite></span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-29"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-29">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://stackoverflow.com/a/16799175/495796">"How to make win32 console recognize ANSI/VT100 escape sequences?"</a>. <i><a href="Stack_Overflow" title="Stack Overflow">Stack Overflow</a></i>.</cite></span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEBolthouse199618-30"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEBolthouse199618_30-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEBolthouse199618_30-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEBolthouse199618_30-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFBolthouse1996">Bolthouse 1996</a>, p. 18.</span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEBangia2010324-31"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEBangia2010324_31-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFBangia2010">Bangia 2010</a>, p. 324.</span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEDiercks20022-32"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEDiercks20022_32-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEDiercks20022_32-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFDiercks2002">Diercks 2002</a>, p. 2.</span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEGofton199173-33"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEGofton199173_33-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFGofton1991">Gofton 1991</a>, p. 73.</span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTERaymond200472-34"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTERaymond200472_34-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFRaymond2004">Raymond 2004</a>, p. 72.</span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEBurgess1988127-35"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEBurgess1988127_35-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFBurgess1988">Burgess 1988</a>, p. 127.</span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTETopham199077-36"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTETopham199077_36-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFTopham1990">Topham 1990</a>, p. 77.</span>

</li>

<li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTERodgers199088–90-37"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTERodgers199088–90_37-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFRodgers1990">Rodgers 1990</a>, p. 88–90.</span>

</li>

</ol></div></div>

<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2></div>

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<ul><li><cite id="CITEREFBangia2010" class="citation encyclopaedia cs1">Bangia, Ramesh (2010). "line mode terminal". <i>Dictionary of Information Technology</i>. Laxmi Publications, Ltd. <a href="ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <bdi>978-93-8029-815-3</bdi>.</cite></li>

<li><cite id="CITEREFBolthouse1996" class="citation book cs1">Bolthouse, David (1996). <i>Exploring IBM client/server computing</i>. Business Perspective Series. Maximum Press. <a href="ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <bdi>978-1-885068-04-0</bdi>.</cite></li>

<li><cite id="CITEREFBurgess1988" class="citation book cs1">Burgess, Ross (1988). <i>UNIX systems for microcomputers</i>. Professional and industrial computing series. BSP Professional Books. <a href="ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <bdi>978-0-632-02036-2</bdi>.</cite></li>

<li><cite id="CITEREFDiercks2002" class="citation book cs1">Diercks, Jon (2002). <i>MPE/iX system administration handbook</i>. Hewlett-Packard professional books. Prentice Hall PTR. <a href="ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <bdi>978-0-13-030540-4</bdi>.</cite></li>

<li><cite id="CITEREFGofton1991" class="citation book cs1">Gofton, Peter W. (1991). <i>Mastering UNIX serial communications</i>. Sybex. <a href="ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <bdi>978-0-89588-708-5</bdi>.</cite></li>

<li><cite id="CITEREFRaymond2004" class="citation book cs1"><a href="Eric_S._Raymond" title="Eric S. Raymond">Raymond, Eric S.</a> (2004). <i>The art of Unix programming</i>. Addison-Wesley professional computing series. Addison-Wesley. <a href="ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <bdi>978-0-13-142901-7</bdi>.</cite></li>

<li><cite id="CITEREFRodgers1990" class="citation book cs1">Rodgers, Ulka (1990). <span class="id-lock-registration" title="Free registration required"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/unixdatabasemana00rod_2tu"><i>UNIX database management systems</i></a></span>. Yourdon Press computing series. Yourdon Press. <a href="ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <bdi>978-0-13-945593-3</bdi>.</cite></li>

<li><cite id="CITEREFTopham1990" class="citation book cs1">Topham, Douglas W. (1990). <i>A system V guide to UNIX and XENIX</i>. Springer-Verlag. <a href="ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <bdi>978-0-387-97021-9</bdi>.</cite></li></ul>

</div>

<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2></div>

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<div class="side-box-text plainlist">Wikimedia Commons has media related to <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Data_terminals" class="extiw external" title="commons:Category:Data terminals">Data terminals</a></span>.</div></div>

</div>

<ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://terminals-wiki.org/">The Terminals Wiki</a>, an encyclopedia of computer terminals.</li>

<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Text-Terminal-HOWTO.html">Text Terminal HOWTO</a> from tldp.org</li>

<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.linusakesson.net/programming/tty/index.php">The TTY demystified</a> from linussakesson.net</li>

<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20100523190056/http://www.cs.utk.edu/~shuford/terminal">Video Terminal Information</a> at the <a href="Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a> (archived May 23, 2010)</li>

<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:31999L0005:EN:NOT">Directive 1999/5/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 1999 on radio equipment and telecommunications terminal equipment and the mutual recognition of their conformity (R&TTE Directive)</a></li>

<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.epocalc.net/php/liste_models.php?texte=&look=All+fields&yearmax=2018&nocomp=pc&cat=Terminal">List of Computer Terminals</a> from epocalc.net</li>

<li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://invisible-island.net/vttest/">VTTEST – VT100/VT220/XTerm test utility</a>  – A terminal test utility by Thomas E. Dickey</li></ul></div><div><div class="zim-footer">

This article is issued from <a class="external text" title="Last edited on 2025-07-06" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/?title=Computer_terminal&oldid=1299013716">Wikipedia</a>. The text is available under <a class="external text" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en">Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0</a> unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

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