tcl.term-type

reads the terminal and printer characteristics from a file and automatically sets them, or sets them and updates the permanent settings for the current line.

In AP, the 'pibs' file contains the parameters used by 'term-type'. The Update processor may be used to update the characteristics for each pib (port).

Under most AP/Unix implementations, pibs 'float'. This means that the same port is not always necessarily attached to the same Unix 'pid'. For this reason, the 'choose.term' program is provided with AP. This should be invoked from each user's logon macro. See the 'users' file.

In AP/Unix implementations, when 'term-type' is used without arguments, it does the usual 'term' setting for the current port by checking the port/control item in the 'dm,pibs,' file.

The item-id of the port/control item is the port.number for the current line. Attribute 2 of the port control item may contain a terminal name, as well as the appropriate 'term' characteristic parameters. If the item is found, and it contains a terminal name, it is assigned as the Pick term type. If there is no terminal name, the terminal name is obtained from the Unix environment variable, 'TERM'. An item with the same name must exist in the 'dm,pibs,' file. If attribute 2 contains terminal characteristics (such as the screen size, ...), but no terminal name, the terminal name is obtained from Unix and the new characteristics are applied.

If attribute 2 of the pibs file is empty, and either, it is not an AP/UNIX implementation, or the value of the TERM environment variable is not found in the devices file, then the terminal type of the previous logon to that pib is used. The terminal width is set to 79 and the depth to 24 regardless of what they were set to during the prior logon. If there were no prior logon or someone has done a reset-user on that pib then the term-type is determined by the first device compiled into the dict devices ccb item. Here also the default values for terminal width (79) and depth (24) are used.