perm filename IMLAC.BO[UP,DOC]1 blob
sn#064663 filedate 1973-09-30 generic text, type C, neo UTF8
COMMENT ⊗ VALID 00007 PAGES
C REC PAGE DESCRIPTION
C00001 00001
C00002 00002 IMLAC USER'S MANUAL 30 Sep 1973
C00007 00003 SPECIAL FUNCTION KEYS
C00009 00004 LINE MODE
C00012 00005 LOCAL CONTROL FUNCTIONS
C00014 00006 TROUBLE-SHOOTING PROCEDURES
C00017 00007 RELOADING
C00020 ENDMK
C⊗;
IMLAC USER'S MANUAL 30 Sep 1973
by Bo Eross
INTRODUCTION AND CAVEAT
This document describes the program which is resident in our IMLAC
terminals. The program is an attempt to simulate (locally, on the
IMLAC) as many as possible of the features of the Data Disc display
system. I will assume for the purposes of this writeup that you are
familiar with the use of the DD consoles. You may occasionally
notice your output being garbaged. The two main causes of this
problem are the unreliability of the telephone line which is the
only link between the IMLAC and the PDP-10, and heavy system loading
on the 10 preventing it from servicing the incoming line in time.
Sorry about that. Sections of this writeup marked *** describe
features that are present on the IMLAC but not yet known to the
PDP-10. I shall put these features into the system as soon as I
can.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The IMLAC operates in two distinct modes: Character and Line. The
top line of the screen displays "*C*" or "*L*" to show which mode is
in effect. In Character mode, the keyboard is coupled directly to
the phone line and the IMLAC acts more or less like a full-duplex
teletype. In Line mode, the keyboard is connected to the local line
editor. Your typein stays in the IMLAC until you hit an activation
character, so that you can backspace, insert, delete, and overtype
exactly as you would on a DD console. When you hit an activator,
the part of the edit line to the left of the cursor disappears from
the screen and shoots over the phone line. The 10 reads and echoes
your data as it would a TTY, and the line reappears when the IMLAC
receives the echo.
The CALL, ESC, BREAK, and CLEAR keys are in effect a separate
keyboard. These keys provide special functions that are not
logically part of either mode of operation.
The IMLAC's display routine includes a timer that turns the display
screen off after about 10 minutes of inactivity. The screen will
come back on whenever the IMLAC receives an input from either the
keyboard or the phone line.
The IMLAC's memory has enough room to hold about 1K characters for
displaying. This is enough for 15 to 20 full-width lines or an
entire page of short lines. The program tries to keep as much on
the screen as it can, and deletes the top line only if there is not
one character space left in memory.
*** The program has some built-in provisions to allow the use of the
SOS editor's Z and Q commands, and DDT (word mode) input. However,
the system on the 10 doesn't know about these yet. So for the time
being, use character mode to talk to DDT and to SOS's A command.
SPECIAL FUNCTION KEYS
[CALL] Sends ↑C↑C. If in line mode, clears the edit line.
<CONTROL>[CALL] is the same as [CALL], but sends only one ↑C.
[ESC]<letter> sends ↑<letter> without affecting the edit line. For
example, [ESC]C is the same as <CONTROL>[CALL] but doesn't
clear the edit line.
<CONTROL>[ESC] is the prefix for local control functions that affect
only the IMLAC.
[BREAK] does nothing. This is the recommended key to use for waking
the IMLAC up when its screen is timed out.
<CONTROL>[BREAK] holds typeout and displays the legend "*HOLDING*"
at the top of the screen.
[CLEAR] in Character mode, sends ↑U (delete current line). In Line
mode, clears the edit line.
<CONTROL>[CLEAR] releases the typeout if it is holding, and removes
the "*HOLDING*" message.
CHARACTER MODE
In Character mode, everything you type is sent exactly as you type
it. *** If you type a character with the <CONTROL> or <META> keys
held down, the control bits are sent as a prefix character. Note
that <CONTROL>C, for example, is NOT the same thing as ↑C or [ESC]C
or <CONTROL>[CALL].
LINE MODE
This mode contains all of the editing functions that are available
on DD consoles, plus a few that are peculiar to the IMLAC.
STANDARD DD FUNCTIONS:
<CTL>[SPACE] Move right |<CTL>S<char> Skip to <char>
<CTL>[BS] Move left |<CTL>[TAB] Skip to end
<CTL>D Delete right |<CTL>[FORM] Skip to beginning
<META>[BS] Delete left |<CTL>K<char> Kill to <char>
[BS] Delete at end |<META><char> Insert <char>
[CLEAR] Clear line |<CTL>I Enter insert mode
<any char> Overtype |<any command> Leave insert mode
<CTL>[RET] Retrieve line |<CTL><number> Repeat command
ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONS:
<CTL>[ALT] Retrieve line and leave cursor at end
<CTL><META><char> Send <char> without affecting the edit line
<CTL>T Send the part of the line which is left of
the cursor
Insert mode (<CTL>I) changes the shape of the cursor.
The <CTL>S and <CTL>K commands do not distinguish between upper and
lower case letters.
***<CTL><META>[LF] appends the correct code to the line and
activates, but the 10 doesn't recognize this function yet. Use
[ESC]Z instead.
ACTIVATION CHARACTERS
In Insert mode, the IMLAC ignores the activation characters [RET],
[LF], and [ALT] unless they have a control bit on. <CTL><activator>
means leave insert mode, move to the end, append the activator, and
send. <META><activator> means insert the activator here, leave
insert mode, and send the part that's left of the cursor.
LOCAL CONTROL FUNCTIONS
These commands affect only the IMLAC. They are all prefixed with
<CTL>[ESC]
A Automatic hold. Flags the bottom line of the screen. When
that line is about to be deleted, the output will hold as if
you had typed <CTL>[BREAK]. At this time, the new bottom
line is flagged.
M Manual hold. Undoes <CTL>[ESC]A.
C Enter Character mode. If the edit line is not empty, its
contents will be sent.
L Enter Line mode.
S Slow send. Line mode transmissions happen at half of the
maximum speed. This is the default mode if the IMLAC.
F Fast send. Line mode transmissions happen at full speed. If
the 10 is heavily loaded, it probably won't be able to keep
up and your inputs will be garbaged.
W Wait. Turns the screen off as if it had exceeded its
10-minute inactivity time.
I Initialize. Clears the screen and resets the IMLAC to its
default conditions.
B Bootstrap. Jumps to the hardware bootstrap loader (see
reloading procedure)
Z Buzz. Repeatedly sends the contents of the line buffer
until you hit any key. A hardware maintenance aid.
TROUBLE-SHOOTING PROCEDURES
The controls are at the back of the lower cabinet, just below the
table top. Left and right are in terms of facing the screen from
the front.
The power switch is the large circuit breaker at the left. On is
up.
The startup box is at the right. This box has three pushbuttons
labeled "start", "at 40", and "stop", and a small red light labeled
"run".
If the IMLAC appears to be dead:
1. Make sure that the power cord is plugged in and the power
switch is on.
2. If the "run" light is off, press "start". If the run light
doesn't stay on, you'll have to reload (see below).
3. If the run light is on and the screen is blank, hit the
[BREAK] key. If the screen stays blank, you'll have to
reload.
4. Type <CTL><ESC>I. The IMLAC should oblige you with a nearly
blank screen with *L* showing at the top. Then type any old
thing. You should see what you typed showing on the screen.
If none of these happen, you have to reload.
5. Type [CALL] a few times. If you get no response, the PDP-10
is down or the phone line is dead. There's nothing more you
can do.
6. If you got this far, everything is happy. If you're not
convinced of that, go ahead and reload.
RELOADING
A. If the IMLAC is alive and the 10 is responding:
1. Type the monitor command FIX.
2. When the FIXIML program responds with a *, type
<CTL>[ESC] B and <CTL><TOP><SHIFT>S.
3. Sit back and relax. After a few seconds, the IMLAC's
screen will show some large, rapidly changing numbers.
It's displaying the current address in IMLAC memory
where it is loading. When the loader is done the screen
will go to normal state, pause for a few seconds, and
tell you "CHECKSUM OK". If instead it says "CHECKSUM
FAILED" there may be trouble. Reload again if you don't
want to take a chance.
B. If the IMLAC is dead:
1. It will be helpful to know whether the 10 is up. You
can't reload if it isn't.
2. Make sure that the power is on.
3. Push "stop". Then hold the "at 40" button in and push
"start". The "run" light should come on and stay. If it
doesn't, there are problems with the hardware. Sorry.
4. Put "shift lock" off (up).
5. Type <SHIFT>C a half dozen times. This sends ↑C's to the 10.
6. Type this EXACTLY AS SHOWN: fixM
The 10 sees <SHIFT>M as a [RETURN]. If you goof, go back
to step 4.
7. Wait about 10 seconds to give the system time to log you in
and start FIXIML running.
8. Type <CTL><TOP><SHIFT>S
This strange code tells the IMLAC's hardware loader to go.
9. Go to step A.3 above. If nothing shows on the screen after
a minute, you lost somehow. Try the whole thing again.