On Sunday 24 October 2004 21:27, Allen wrote:
On Fri, 22 Oct 2004, Theo v. Werkhoven wrote:
Wed, 13 Oct 2004, by gorebofh@comcast.net: [..]
Why is an Xterm called that after a Terminal when a Terminal is where something ends.... What were they thinking calling it that. Isn't it properly called a console? Or what? What do you call a box that's only using a command line, like run level 3....That's not a Terminal is it? I have no idea what to call these things, because I've been told Terminal is where something ends, so it would be console, but... OK I've confused myself.... I think I'm going to run too the store and get a pack of smokes heh.
So what is a Terminal, and what is a console? Someone help! ;)
A bit late, but an answer I haven't seen yet. Terminal comes from the Latin Terminus, meaning 'boundery' or 'border', which is exactly what it is: a boundery between human- and machine logic. A terminal can be any place where {users} log in and work on a time-sharing system.
"To console" means 'support', 'sustain'. Also a well chosen word for its purpose, as a special terminal for the capo-di-capi I think.
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (13 Mar 01) [foldoc]:
console
1. The operator's station of a {mainframe}. In times past, this was a privileged location that conveyed godlike powers to anyone with fingers on its keys. Under {Unix} and other modern {time-sharing} {operating system}s, such privileges are guarded by passwords instead, and the console is just the {tty} the system was booted from. Some of the mystique remains, however, and it is traditional for {sysadmin}s to post urgent messages to all users from the console (on Unix, /dev/console).
2. On {microcomputer} {Unix} boxes, the main screen and keyboard (as opposed to character-only terminals talking to a {serial port}). Typically only the console can do real graphics or run {X}. See also {CTY}.
From what I'm reading, you can pretty much call any Linux or UNIX machine a terminal or Console, as you're using the keyboard too human thing in the first part of this, or a cnosole, since you can run X on it then right?
Yes, that clears it up nicely. You should be considering a career as a lexicographer. -- Fergus Wilde Chetham's Library Long Millgate Manchester M3 1SB Tel: 0161 834 7961 Fax: 0161 839 5797 http://www.chethams.org.uk