4BSD/usr/man/cat1/tset.1
TSET(1) UNIX Programmer's Manual TSET(1)
NAME
tset - set terminal modes
SYNOPSIS
tset [ options ] [ -m [_i_d_e_n_t][_t_e_s_t _b_a_u_d_r_a_t_e]:_t_y_p_e ... ] [
type ]
DESCRIPTION
_T_s_e_t causes terminal dependent processing such as setting
erase and kill characters, setting or resetting delays, and
the like. It first determines the _t_y_p_e of terminal
involved, names for which are specified by the /_e_t_c/_t_e_r_m_c_a_p
data base, and then does necessary initializations and mode
settings. In the case where no argument types are speci-
fied, _t_s_e_t simply reads the terminal type out of the
environment variable TERM and re-initializes the terminal.
The rest of this manual concerns itself with type initiali-
zation, done typically once at login, and options used at
initialization time to determine the terminal type and set
up terminal modes.
When used in a startup script ._p_r_o_f_i_l_e (for _s_h(1) users) or
._l_o_g_i_n (for _c_s_h(1) users) it is desirable to give informa-
tion about the types of terminal usually used on terminals
which are not hardwired. These ports are initially identi-
fied as being _d_i_a_l_u_p or _p_l_u_g_b_o_a_r_d or _a_r_p_a_n_e_t etc. To
specify what terminal type is usually used on these ports -m
is followed by the appropriate port type identifier, an
optional baud-rate specification, and the terminal type to
be used if the mapping conditions are satisfied. If more
than one mapping is specified, the first applicable mapping
prevails. A missing type identifier matches all identif-
iers.
Baud rates are specified as with _s_t_t_y(1), and are compared
with the speed of the diagnostic output (which is almost
always the control terminal). The baud rate test may be any
combination of: >, =, <, @, and !; @ is a synonym for = and
! inverts the sense of the test. To avoid problems with
metacharacters, it is best to place the entire argument to
-m within ``''' characters; users of _c_s_h(1) must also put a
``\'' before any ``!'' used here.
Thus
tset -m 'dialup>300:adm3a' -m dialup:dw2 -m
'plugboard:?adm3a'
causes the terminal type to be set to an _a_d_m_3_a if the port
in use is a dialup at a speed greater than 300 baud; to a
_d_w_2 if the port is (otherwise) a dialup (i.e. at 300 baud or
less). If the _t_y_p_e above begins with a question mark, the
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TSET(1) UNIX Programmer's Manual TSET(1)
user is asked if s/he really wants that type. A null
response means to use that type; otherwise, another type can
be entered which will be used instead. Thus, in this case,
the user will be queried on a plugboard port as to whether
they are using an _a_d_m_3_a. For other ports the port type will
be taken from the /etc/ttytype file or a final, default _t_y_p_e
option may be given on the command line not preceded by a
-m.
It is often desirable to return the terminal type, as speci-
fied by the -m options, and information about the terminal
to a shell's environment. This can be done using the -s
option; using the Bourne shell, _s_h(1):
eval `tset -s _o_p_t_i_o_n_s...`
or using the C shell, _c_s_h(1):
setenv noglob; eval `tset -s _o_p_t_i_o_n_s...`
These commands cause _t_s_e_t to generate as output a sequence
of shell commands which place the variables TERM and TERMCAP
in the environment; see _e_n_v_i_r_o_n(5).
Once the terminal type is known, _t_s_e_t engages in terminal
mode setting. This normally involves sending an initializa-
tion sequence to the terminal and setting the single charac-
ter erase (and optionally the line-kill (full line erase))
characters.
On terminals that can backspace but not overstrike (such as
a CRT), and when the erase character is the default erase
character (`#' on standard systems), the erase character is
changed to a Control-H (backspace).
The options are:
-e set the erase character to be the named character _c on
all terminals, the default being the backspace charac-
ter on the terminal, usually ^H.
-k is similar to -e but for the line kill character rather
than the erase character; _c defaults to ^X (for purely
historical reasons); ^U is the preferred setting. No
kill processing is done if -k is not specified.
-I supresses outputting terminal initialization strings.
-Q supresses printing the ``Erase set to'' and ``Kill set
to'' messages.
-S Outputs the strings to be assigned to TERM and TERMCAP
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TSET(1) UNIX Programmer's Manual TSET(1)
in the environment rather than commands for a shell.
FILES
/etc/ttytype terminal id to type map database
/etc/termcap terminal capability database
SEE ALSO
csh(1), setenv(1), sh(1), stty(1), environ(5), ttytype(5),
termcap(5)
AUTHOR
Eric Allman
BUGS
Should be merged with _s_t_t_y(1).
NOTES
For compatibility with earlier versions of _t_s_e_t a number of
flags are accepted whose use is discouraged:
-d type equivalent to -m dialup:type
-p type equivalent to -m plugboard:type
-a type equivalent to -m arpanet:type
-E c Sets the erase character to _c only if the terminal
can backspace.
- prints the terminal type on the standard output
-r prints the terminal type on the diagnostic output.
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