Computer terminal: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 04:33, 4 December 2024

Revision as of 12:59, 26 January 2025

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The function of a terminal is typically confined to transcription and input of data; a device with significant local, programmable data-processing capability may be called a "smart terminal" or [[fat client]]. A terminal that depends on the host computer for its processing power is called a "[[dumb terminal]]"<ref name=DicDumb>{{cite web |website=BusinessDictionary.com |title=What is dumb terminal? definition and meaning |url=http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/dumb-terminal.html |access-date=March 13, 2019 |archive-date=August 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200813062015/http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/dumb-terminal.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> or a [[thin client]].<ref>Thin clients came later than dumb terminals</ref><ref>the term "thin client" was coined in 1993) {{cite web |url=https://www.ft.com/content/dc70f841-54b7-3ef1-abf0-d6f32b270f76 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/dc70f841-54b7-3ef1-abf0-d6f32b270f76 |archive-date=December 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Is this, finally, the thin client from Oracle? |date=June 2, 2009 |first=Richard |last=Waters}}</ref> In the era of serial ([[RS-232]]) terminals there was a conflicting usage of the term "smart terminal" as a dumb terminal with no user-accessible local computing power but a particularly rich set of control codes for manipulating the display; this conflict was not resolved before hardware serial terminals became obsolete.

The use of terminals decreased over time as computing shifted from [[command line interface]] (CLI) to [[graphical user interface]] (GUI) and from [[time-sharing]] on large computers to personal computers and [[handheld device]]s. Today, users generally interact with a server over high-speed networks using a [[Web browser]] and other network-enabled GUI applications. Today, a [[terminal emulator]] application provides the capabilities of a physical terminal {{endash}} allowing interaction with the [[operating system]] [[Shell (computing)|shell]] and other CLI applications.

A personal computer can run [[terminal emulator]] software that replicates functions of a real-world terminal, sometimes allowing concurrent use of local programs and access to a distant ''terminal host'' system, either over a direct serial connection or over a network using, e.g., [[SSH]]. Today few if any dedicated computer terminals are being manufactured, as time sharing on large computers has been replaced by personal computers, handheld devices and workstations with graphical user interfaces. User interactions with servers use either software such as [[Web browsers]], or terminal emulators, with connections over high-speed networks.

==History==