6 Sep
2018
6 Sep
'18
1:40 p.m.
On Thu, Sep 6, 2018 at 1:14 PM, Carlo Pisani <carlojpisani at gmail.com> wrote:
why do you say that?
a vt100 terminal requires only a text VDU (video display unit) with
hw-scrolling support, and a piece of software to support the VT100
protocol (escape-codes decoded into action for the VDU).
in fact, my Digital VT200 comes with an ASIC chip for the VDU, while
the software side runs on an Intel 8051 MPU that directly interfaces
the keyboard, the VDU, and the serial line
this doesn't look complex
Not complex by today's standards, no.
Compare the VT100 circuitry to the circuitry of contemporary terminals
(1978). Compare the VT100 "programming information" to that for
contemporary terminals. There might have been some other terminals that
complex, but it was way more complex than common terminals of the day.
cause it's the simplest, I guess
The VT100
was quite complicated compared to contemporary terminals at the
time of its introduction.