Re: TERMs for bsdinstall

On 2022-03-23 05:11:37 (+0800), Brooks Davis wrote:
> On Sun, Mar 20, 2022 at 05:38:09PM +0100, Alfonso S. Siciliano wrote:
>> I am ready to start to replace LGPL-dialog with bsddialog in 
>> bsdinstall/scripts,
>> so some question and proposal:
>>
>> I noted 'release/rc.local' prompts 4 TERMs for bsdinstall: xterm, 
>> vt100, ansi,
>> cons25w:
>>
>> 	# Serial or other console
>> 	echo
>> 	echo "Welcome to FreeBSD!"
>> 	echo
>> 	echo "Please choose the appropriate terminal type for your system."
>> 	echo "Common console types are:"
>> 	echo "   ansi     Standard ANSI terminal"
>> 	echo "   vt100    VT100 or compatible terminal"
>> 	echo "   xterm    xterm terminal emulator (or compatible)"
>> 	echo "   cons25w  cons25w terminal"
>> 	echo
>> 	echo -n "Console type [vt100]: "
>> 	read TERM
>> 	TERM=${TERM:-vt100}
>>
>>
>> I would replace:
>>
>> ansi
>> vt100 [default]
>> xterm
>> cons25w
>>
>> with:
>>
>> vt100
>> vt220 [default]
>> xterm
>> cons25w (delete?)
>>
>> Why?
>>
>> Add vt220 and new default, because it has better UI features than 
>> vt100 and is
>> similarly old.
>>
>> xterm is ok.
>>
>> Delete ansi, I seem it is not usable also with LGPL-dialog, do 
>> somebody really
>> use it? Some test:
>> % env TERM=ansi sade
>> % env TERM=ansi dialog --menu test 0 0 0 n1 d1 n2 d2
>>
>> Delete cons25w? Reading the logs it seems useful for pc98 now 
>> deleted, however
>> it was added for japanese users, I have not this hardware so I could 
>> send a call
>> for testing in current@.
>>
>> Please note I want to remove nothing (TERMs, drivers, etc.), it is 
>> just an
>> echo-prompt update.
>>
>>
>> Feel free to point me to any useful resource and let me know if you 
>> want to be
>> involved in reviews / other discussions.
>> Finally I added an editable wiki page for tracking the replacement 
>> process
>> <https://wiki.freebsd.org/RoadmapFromDialogToBSDDialog> .
>
> It's hard to imagine anyone using something that isn't xterm 
> compatible.
> Does it even make sense to have this prompt?

It might make sense to retain ansi and vt100 for the unfortunate 
scenario of a serial console wired to a "smart" (stupid) terminal 
server.  I can't remember ever encountering one that mangled xterm but 
I've seen so much stupid in this space that I'm sure they're out 
there...

I agree that cons25w can go.  That was a hack for syscons.

Philip

-- 
Philip Paeps
Senior Reality Engineer
Alternative Enterprises