WMS NEWSLETTER

[Marc Lesure]

		    WMS 1.7a NEWSLETTER #1, 9/30/85

This is a supplemental newletter for users of the ASU Window Management System.

Pty configuration:
    It may be obvious, but each WTY window consumes one pty-pair.  Do a 'tty'
command within a window to find out which pty is attached.

Buffer folding:
    As window buffers are implemented as named files, it may not be obvious 
that a buffer-fold command needs to be given for a window buffer before it 
can be manipulated (edited) externally.  This command flushes the file buffer.

The .cshrc/.login files:
    Each new sub-shell executes any ".cshrc" file in $HOME.  The following 
guidelines may be helpful wrt WMS:
- Use ".cshrc" only for aliases, put everything else in ".login" (also a good
place to setenv TERM/WTYP/TERMCAP).  Exception: you may wish to disable ^D
exits via 'set ignoreeof'.
- These three aliases are quite helpful:
    alias cs clear
    alias sd 'echo `pwd` >& $home/.cwd'
    alias gd 'cd `cat $home/.cwd`'
So one can find a particular cwd in one window then do a 'sd' (set directory).
Then goto other windows and do a 'gd' (get directory) to put them there also.

Adaptation of WTY to other kinds of terminals:
    Several terminals (e.g. tvi-925) without controllable scrolling regions do 
have a split screen capability.  For these types, a new termcap cap 'ss' could 
be defined (split-screen).  First, the screen is split at init time via the 
'ws' cap. Then, whenever the window changes, 'ss' can be used to toggle 
output.  At end, 'we' can reset the terminal.  It should be obvious that only 
two windows can be effected in this way.  Perhaps I'll get around to doing 
this some day, unless some kind soul decides to contribute such an update.

Window Dimensions:
    The use of 'cs' to effect scrollable windows dictates horizontal bands as
window shapes (due to terminal hardware).  MSH certainly doesn't care about
window sizes, and WTY could be easily modified to handle different window
shape concepts.  The hitch in the gttyup here is in terminal hardware...
Curses, you say?  No, window scrolls via redraws are not acceptable.


George Nelan
Engineering Research Center (ERC 207)
Arizona State University
Tempe, Arizona, 85287
(602)-965-2791

UUCP:	
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CSNET:	
nelan at asu