🚀 go-pugleaf

John Schuncke (schuncke@cwis.unomaha.edu) wrote:
: mpeters@pax.eunet.ch (MBX Michael Peters) writes:
: 
: >I need information on the UNISCOPE protocol. On what machines it runs
: >on (is it a "Unisys" protocol, or a holdover from older Sperry). 
: 
: Yup, it's pretty exclusively Unisys (properly speaking, Sperry.)
: 
: >What also is it similar to? I am interested in getting the specs on this
: >protocol. Is there a place on the net perhaps? (Going to Unisys directly
: >is an option I suppose)

Yes, Unisyus will sell you a Uniscope Protocol manual.  I forget the
part number, I have a copy, send mail if you need the part number.
: 
: It's similar to nothing in particular.  In my 10 year's professional
: experience as a systems/communications programmer on Unisys 'frames,
: I have yet to see ANYTHING its like.
: 

Actually it is also used by SITA (1024C) for reservation transaction
for many of the world's airlines (1024C is very much like the
original UTS protocol).  The protocol is similar to BSC and some of Honeywell's protocols.
: 
: By the way, the name "Uniscope" comes from the pre-historic series of
: Univac Uniscope 100/200/400 terminals...  Which I've had the (mis)fortune
: of using.  The Air Force LOVES to squeeze every bit of life cycle from
: paid-for hardware.  #8^)
: 
The Uniscope 300 predates even those.  It differed from the U100 et
al in that the data literally transmitted backwards from the cursor
position to the Start of Entry position.  The latter U terminals
scanned to SOE then started xmitting.  I had the worse misfortune of
having to fix 300's and 100's et al.
Present day most of the terminals using the protocol are either
UTS20's and 40's or PC's running emulation software.  The display
portion of the protocol is used over TCP/IP and OSI as well.

UAL still emulates 300's for some applications, don`t think they
actually have any though.

--
Gerrit Visser				Phone: (416) 672-2100
ISG Technologies			Fax:   (416) 672-2307
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