UNIX Futures

[Larry Campbell]

> The one and only real thing which bugs me about system V is the
> total lack of job control. e.g. in the mail program and having to check
> something out .. fancy being faced with either writing your mail
> out (and later having to read it in again), or having to fork up
> another shell. With a big load up either of these options can be
> painful. The functionality of ^Z and fg is tremendous!
> 
> Come on, AT&T, give me job control and I'll be a believer.
> -- 
> Scott Larnach			Janet: scott at uk.ac.ed.cstvax
> Edinburgh Unix Support		Arpa:  scott at cstvax.ed.ac.uk
> Tel:	+44 31 667 1081 x2629	Uucp:  scott at cstvax.uucp

Job control is pretty neat, if all you have is a dumb terminal.  But an
even better solution is virtual consoles, or windows.  I have perhaps
one of the most modest Unix configurations imaginable: a DEC Rainbow
personal computer running VENIX (a V7 port).  To this I have added
virtual consoles, so rather than typing ctrl-Z and messing up my
terminal screen and having my mail session scroll off the page while I
check something out -- I just touch a function key and a different
console appears.  I can do whatever I like, then touch another key to
zap me back to the (undisturbed) mail job.  This happens at memory
speeds -- i.e., instantaneously -- and required changes only to the
console driver, not to the tty driver or kernel.

Virtual consoles are a standard feature of VENIX when running on IBM gear,
and also of XENIX I believe.  I only had to roll my own because VenturCom
doesn't provide it for Rainbows.

I've never used a Sun, but I'm sure their windows are even nicer.

The nice part about virtual consoles or windows is that they don't
require special Berkeley-esque signals and terminal drivers and whatnot.
Programs are completely unaware anything is going on;  you don't have
to hack your screen editor to repaint the screen when you reenter it.
-- 
Larry Campbell                                 The Boston Software Works, Inc.
ARPA: maynard.UUCP:campbell at harvard.ARPA       120 Fulton Street
UUCP: {harvard,cbosgd}!wjh12!maynard!campbell  Boston MA 02109