Re: some console code checked in

[Niels Möller]

Marcus Brinkmann <Marcus.Brinkmann@ruhr-uni-bochum.de> writes:

> This scheme already exists, but at the application level. It is
> called terminfo(5) and works very well. I think it would be a
> mistake to reimplement it, just poorer.

For the traditional serial console device, what happens is that the
application uses terminfo escape sequences, the the terminal (i.e. the
hardware box at the other end of the serial cable) interprets them.
Here, the console and other OS-level code and drivers needs know
nothing about the escape sequences, it just pasees them on.

But that's not the case I'm thinking of: I'm thinking of the case
where somthing in the console-driver-software needs to interpret the
escape sequences. I so no ugliness in doing the *reverse* terminfo
translation here, i.e. mapping escape sequences back into reasonable
driver primitives.

> For displays supporting scrolling etc:
> 
> [ console abstraction ]
> [ virtual console 1 ] [ virtual console 2 ] ...
> [ display driver ]
> [ generic display driver escape sequence handling ]
> [ display driver's support functions like scrolling ]

Ok, that looks reasonable. Perhaps I would have been less confused if
you didn't use the same name "display driver" for the things in the
middle and in the bottom box.

Regards,
/Niels