README.SCO-TTY-NAMES 1.9 KB

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  1. Under SCO prior to 32v5 or Open Server 5, SCO observes the
  2. convention of using the last character of the tty file name
  3. (always an alpha character) to indicate whether a tty file name
  4. refers to the _direct_ (ignoring control signals) or to the
  5. _modem_ (observing control signals) access methods for the same
  6. physical port.
  7. A file name with an _upper case_ character refers to the modem
  8. access method. A file name with a _lower case_ character refers
  9. to the direct access method.
  10. /dev/tty1a refers the same physical port as /dev/tty1A, but with
  11. differing access methods.
  12. The choice of tty file names is established (by SCO) in pre-32v5
  13. UNIX by use of the kernel configuration file
  14. /etc/conf/node.d/sio. Some sample contents:
  15. sio tty1A c 128
  16. sio tty1a c 0
  17. Note the choice of "tty1A" and "tty1a" in the file is completely
  18. `arbitrary' from the point of view of the kernel building
  19. facility. The convention is set by the system architect who
  20. chose to assert the name relationship we have enjoyed, lo, these
  21. many years. A simple examination shows this choice to be FAR
  22. superior to such decisions as "acu0", "ttyd0" and "ttya" found on
  23. certain unnamed "systems." SCO follows their convention for
  24. pre-32v5 all the way back to the very advent of Xenix (and SCO
  25. UNIX of course).
  26. A problem arises with third party vendors who do not use
  27. the convention (maybe they have 900 port boards).
  28. The result is that *NO* convention exists for lock names of this
  29. type (like the foreign system's acu0, ttyd0, ttya case).
  30. The solution for this is that in 32v5 and later, SCO now mandates
  31. that lock file names be now constructed by converting *ALL*
  32. filename characters to lower case, not just the last. This does
  33. not cover the degenerate case of /dev/ttyHotTubDcdParadise01 and
  34. /dev/ttyHotTubDownAndDirty01, but just think of it as evolution
  35. in action :).
  36. This means:
  37. /dev/ttyA08 locks to LCK..ttya08
  38. /dev/ttya08 locks to LCK..ttya08