🚀 go-pugleaf

[...Just because it says I.B.M. doesn't mean It's a Better Machine!]

In article <2216@sputnik.COM> salt@tc.fluke.COM (Craig Johnston) writes:
>Wanted:  Information on DEC Rainbow
>
>1.  Is there a way to change screen foreground and background color attribute,
>such as with ANSI escape sequences?  The IBM usage is {ESC}[nnm, where nn from
>30-37 is foreground and 40-47 is background, but the rainbow doesn't
>understand this.

    You're correct, the Rainbow doesn't allow escape sequences (like those
    mentioned for the IBM) to change screen colors and other such attributes.
    It would be nice if a color BIOS was part of the Rainbow system.
    After all, it is a Rainbow, right?  However, looking at DEC's decision
    to keep sharp, crisp alphanumeric capabilities AND provide graphics
    on the same machine and switch between the two seems a wise decision.
    I simply can't stand to do word processing on an IBM PC.  The MAC and
    Rainbow, on the other hand, let me do editing and text processing
    without the machine getting in the way.

    The Rainbow conforms (for the most part) to the established ANSI
    standard with its firmware implementation of DEC's VT102 terminal.
    The Rainbow can do only those attribute changes as specified for
    that terminal type: bold, reverse video, underline, single-width-
    double-height, double-width-double-height, and flashing.  Of
    course, there are other goodies such as scrolling windows and the
    damned-fast high speed video option built in along with the VT102
    package.  Granted, the graphics set is pretty lousy.  I just wish
    DEC added double-lines and corner symbols.  Single lines get boring
    after a while.  Check out the Technical and Navajo EPROM set.

    Anyone want to reprogram the EPROMS so that the firmware looks out
    at RAM for its character set information?  That way we could do
    different fonts for the display!  All that's needed is to keep
    the firmware from looking at the EPROM for the character info.
    It's just a bit pattern.  It should be changeable in RAM!

    One method, however, around this is to run a graphics emulation
    package that acts as an interpreter.  Poly-ReGIS was a decent
    example of such an interpreter.  It wasn't the fastest thing
    around but I could still do better and faster command-line graphics
    on the Rainbow than on an IBM PC (before Windows, of course).

    Windows on the Rainbow, by the way, has been rumored to exist.
    Someone at DEC willing to release it the world as an unsupported
    product (such as what transpired with the GW-Basic Compiler)?
    Anyone at DEC listening?  How about DOS 3.10 while you're at it!
    You must have paid the license fees to Microsoft by now.  Let the
    Rainbow die a noble death, at least!

    DEC?  Wanna win back a lot of loyalty?  RELEASE THESE LAST COUPLE
    OF SOFTWARE PRODUCTS AND THE HARDWARE PRODUCTS YOU'VE ALREADY PUT
    TOGETHER.  With this help we could do so much more with our
    high-tech doorstops!

    Anyway...

>2.  Is there a convenient way to type the DEC line graphic characters to the
>screen?  Again, with an IBM, ALT-nnn ( on the keypad) will yield the decimal
>character nnn.

    The Rainbow supports several 'character set modes' such as the 
    multinational character set, the regular ASCII set, and the graphic
    character set.  You can switch between these modes by issuing the
    appropriate initial ESCAPE sequence and the appropriate characters.

    For example, you could create a .BAT file with the following in it:
    (without the comments on the right, of course)

    ECHO OFF                                 turn off echo
    ECHO $[2J$[H                             clear '$[2J', home '$[H'
    ECHO $#6$[0m$(0lqqqqqqqk                 set single-height, double-
                                             width '$#6', dim video '$[0m',
                                             start line character set '$(0',
                                             draw upper-left corner 'l',
                                             seven Scan-line 5 lines 'q',
                                             upper-right corner 'k'
    ECHO $#6x$(B$[1m HELLO $[0m$(0x          set normal ASCII set '$(B'
                                             set bright video '$[1m',
                                             write out hello and set to dim
                                             video, set graphics active,
                                             'x' are vertical bars
    ECHO $#6mqqqqqqqj$(B                     'm' is lower-left corner,
                                             'j' is lower-right corner
                                             'q' is a scan-line 5 character
                                             (means middle of the character
                                             cell, matches the corner points)
    (the $ is an ESCAPE).

    This example clears the screen and places a bright HELLO inside 
    a dim video box in the upper left-hand corner.  Your can also
    use the <ESC>[y;xf command to cursor position before writing
    (where y is row and x is column).

    Check out the Technical Doc set for more info and codes for the
    Rainbow's terminal package.  If enough people request, I'll
    throw together a copy of that section of the Doc set an post it.

    The problem with typing ESCAPE characters at the command line is
    that DOS (more specifically, COMMAND.COM) filters that character
    out when it processes a command.  However, a file that contains
    the sequence containing the Graphics On ESCAPE sequence could
    be typed and then each lower case letter typed will be translated
    into the equivalent graphics character.  Or, you can preface the
    escape sequence with the ECHO statement and directly enter the
    sequences using the ESC key.

>Craig Johnston (salt@tc.fluke.com), John Fluke Mfg. Co., Everett, WA, USA
>{uw-beaver,lbl-csam,hplsla,ssc-vax,microsoft,sun,allegra,...}!fluke!salt

   I hope somebody found this posting useful.

   What happened to all the traffic on the net?  Do I have to rake and
   stir the dying embers again?!

   Enjoy,
   Alan

   Alan I. Vymetalik  @  {allegra,seismo}!rochester!ritcv!iav1917
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