<< libpt >> What the heck is it?

[Bret Orsburn]

I know this is a RTFM question, but I have looked and looked and looked....

I would really rather have a document reference than have anyone waste
their time explaining this to me.

Under System V.3.2, what does the pt library (libpt.a) do? It appears to
include the functions

		ptsname()
		grantpt()
		unlockpt()

and appears to be associated with the device

		/dev/ptmx

and with files of the form

		/dev/ptsNNN

It is used throughout the X11R4 Streams code, but I can find no references
for this stuff anywhere. Clues?

I can deduce that mutual exclusion, slave names, and (perhaps) some kind
of table (Pipe? Process?) are involved, but beyond that, I'm stuck.

Thanks.

-------------------
bret at codonics.com
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Bret Orsburn