Nortel Networks VT100 manual Terminals connected to a host computer

1-2About the VT100 Gateway

Figure 1-1

Terminals connected to a host computer

Host VT100 Terminals

The VT100 terminal uses an asynchronous communication protocol to transmit characters to and from a host computer. The VT100 Gateway communicates with a host through a serial port and a modem, or through a serial port and a direct connection. With respect to the VT100 Gateway product, a host computer is any computer that can accept a VT100 terminal connection, including mainframes, minicomputers, and workstations.

The standard VT100 terminal has a 24x80 character display, and can be accessed non-sequentially. This means the terminal can access text anywhere on the screen. This allows you to delete and insert text, scroll the page, and move the cursor to any position on the screen. Your ability to access the VT100 screen non-sequentially depends on the host application you are using.

Figure 1-2 shows a sample VT100 terminal running a sample host application. This sample accounting application is used throughout the guide to illustrate how to develop applications using the VT100 Gateway.

Note: The screens shown in this guide are examples only and are not part of any real application.

555-9001-316 Standard 1.0 February 1996