Computer terminal: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 02:02, 2 May 2019

Revision as of 07:47, 8 May 2019

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A ''text terminal'', or often just ''terminal'' (sometimes ''text console'') is a serial computer interface for text entry and display. Information is presented as [[text mode|an array of pre-selected formed characters]]. When such devices use a video display such as a [[cathode-ray tube]], they are called a "[[video display unit]]" or "visual display unit" (VDU) or "video display terminal" (VDT).

The [[Systemsystem console]] is a text terminal used to operate a computer. Modern computers have a built-in keyboard and display for the console. Some [[Unix-like]] operating systems such as [[Linux]] and [[FreeBSD]] have [[virtual console (computer user-interface)|virtual consoles]] to provide several text terminals on a single computer.

The fundamental type of application running on a text terminal is a [[command line interpreter]] or ''[[shell (computing)|shell]]'', which [[Command-line interface#Command prompt|prompts]] for commands from the user and executes each command after a press of ''Enter''. This includes [[Unix shell]]s and some [[interactive programming]] environments. In a shell, most of the commands are small applications themselves.