Owner`s manual

CHAPTER 5
DEFINING TERMINALS
The TRMDEF command defines a terminal to AMOS. Every terminal has a name (1 to 6
characters), a specific hardware interface, and a terminal driver (a program that does any
necessary character conversions). The TRMDEF command also specifies the size of the
various buffers used in the data transfers between the terminal and the computer. The
TRMDEF command takes this form:
TRMDEF Name,Interface-driver,Terminal,In-width,In-buffer,
Out-buffer{{,EDITOR}{=Editor-buffer}}{,Modem-driver}
When the monitor processes a TRMDEF command line, it builds a terminal definition unit in
system memory which includes all of the elements above. The computer loads in the correct
terminal driver and interface driver and links them to the definition unit; then it executes the
interface driver which performs any necessary interface initialization. When this process is
complete, your terminal is ready for use with the computer.
The buffer size values in TRMDEF command lines affect the total size of the monitor—be
careful not to use too much memory space for buffers. How much is too much depends on
your computer and memory.
After the monitor has finished processing the system initialization command file, the TRMDEF
command performs a different function. After the computer is up and running, TRMDEF
becomes a user command that displays the current terminal configuration of the computer in a
form similar to the original TRMDEF command lines in the system initialization command file.
The octal number following each terminal name is the absolute address in the monitor of the
terminal definition unit for that terminal (this information is sometimes useful when debugging
the terminal service system; in general, you can ignore it). See your
System Commands
Reference Manual
for information.
If you physically connect a terminal to your computer without defining it with a TRMDEF
statement in your initialization file, problems can result when MONTSTing. Any input from the
terminal interferes with the computer, since AMOS was not told there should be signals coming
in from that port. This interference could cause annoying problems or even system "crashes."
A sample TRMDEF command line might looks like this:
TRMDEF TERM1,AM355=1,ALPHA,100,100,100,EDITOR=3
Now we’ll discuss the different elements of the TRMDEF command line:
System Operator’s Guide to the System Initialization Command File, Rev. 03