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Network Working Group J. VanBokkelen
Request for Comments: 1091 FTP Software, Inc.
Obsoletes: RFC 930 February 1989
Telnet Terminal-Type Option
Status of This Memo
This RFC specifies a standard for the Internet community. Hosts on
the Internet that exchange terminal type information within the
Telnet protocol are expected to adopt and implement this standard.
This standard supersedes RFC 930. A change is made to permit cycling
through a list of possible terminal types and selecting the most
appropriate.
Distribution of this memo is unlimited.
1. Command Name and Code
TERMINAL-TYPE 24
2. Command Meanings
IAC WILL TERMINAL-TYPE
Sender is willing to send terminal type information in a
subsequent sub-negotiation.
IAC WON'T TERMINAL-TYPE
Sender refuses to send terminal type information.
IAC DO TERMINAL-TYPE
Sender is willing to receive terminal type information in a
subsequent sub-negotiation.
IAC DON'T TERMINAL-TYPE
Sender refuses to accept terminal type information.
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RFC 1091 Telnet Terminal-Type Option February 1989
IAC SB TERMINAL-TYPE SEND IAC SE
Server requests client to transmit his (the client's) next
terminal type, and switch emulation modes (if more than one
terminal type is supported). The code for SEND is 1. (See
below.)
IAC SB TERMINAL-TYPE IS ... IAC SE
Client is stating the name of his current (or only) terminal
type. The code for IS is 0. (See below.)
3. Default
WON'T TERMINAL-TYPE
Terminal type information will not be exchanged.
DON'T TERMINAL-TYPE
Terminal type information will not be exchanged.
4. Motivation for the Option
On most machines with bit-mapped displays (e.g., PCs and graphics
workstations) a client terminal emulation program is used to simulate
a conventional ASCII terminal. Most of these programs have multiple
emulation modes, frequently with widely varying characteristics.
Likewise, modern host system software and applications can deal with
a variety of terminal types. What is needed is a means for the
client to present a list of available terminal emulation modes to the
server, from which the server can select the one it prefers (for
arbitrary reasons). There is also need for a mechanism to change
emulation modes during the course of a session, perhaps according to
the needs of applications programs.
Existing terminal-type passing mechanisms within Telnet were not
designed with multiple emulation modes in mind. While multiple names
are allowed, they are assumed to be synonyms. Emulation mode changes
are not defined, and the list of modes can only be scanned once.
This document defines a simple extension to the existing mechanisms,
which meets both of the above criteria. It makes one assumption
about the behaviour of implementations coded to the previous standard
in order to obtain full backwards-compatibility.
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RFC 1091 Telnet Terminal-Type Option February 1989
5. Description of the Option
Willingness to exchange terminal-type information is agreed upon via
conventional Telnet option negotiation. WILL and DO are used only to
obtain and grant permission for future discussion. The actual
exchange of status information occurs within option subcommands (IAC
SB TERMINAL-TYPE...).
Once the two hosts have exchanged a WILL and a DO, the sender of the
DO TERMINAL-TYPE (the server) is free to request type information.
Only the server may send requests (IAC SB TERMINAL-TYPE SEND IAC SE)
and only the client may transmit actual type information (within an
IAC SB TERMINAL-TYPE IS ... IAC SE command). Terminal type
information may not be sent spontaneously, but only in response to a
request.
The terminal type information is an NVT ASCII string. Within this
string, upper and lower case are considered equivalent. The complete
list of valid terminal type names can be found in the latest
"Assigned Numbers" RFC [4].
The transmission of terminal type information by the Telnet client in
response to a query from the Telnet server implies that the client
must simultaneously change emulation mode, unless the terminal type
sent is a synonym of the preceding terminal type, or there are other
prerequisites for entering the new regime (e.g., having agreed upon
the Telnet binary option). The receipt of such information by the
Telnet server does not imply any immediate change of processing.
However, the information may be passed to a process, which may alter
the data it sends to suit the particular characteristics of the
terminal. For example, some operating systems have a terminal driver
that accepts a code indicating the type of terminal being driven.
Using the TERMINAL TYPE and BINARY options, a telnet server program
on such a system could arrange to have terminals driven as if they
were directly connected, including special functions not available to
a standard Network Virtual Terminal.
Note that this specification is deliberately asymmetric. It is
assumed that server operating systems and applications in general
cannot change terminal types at arbitrary points in a session. Thus,
the client may only send a new type (and potentially change emulation
modes) when the server requests that it do so.
6. Implementation Issues
The "terminal type" information may be any NVT ASCII string
meaningful to both ends of the negotiation. The list of terminal
type names in "Assigned Numbers" is intended to minimize confusion
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RFC 1091 Telnet Terminal-Type Option February 1989
caused by alternative "spellings" of the terminal type. For example,
confusion would arise if one party were to call a terminal "IBM3278-
2" while the other called it "IBM-3278/2". There is no negative
acknowledgement for a terminal type that is not understood, but
certain other options (such as switching to BINARY mode) may be
refused if a valid terminal type name has not been specified.
In some cases, either a particular terminal may be known by more than
one name, for example a specific type and a more generic type, or the
client may be a workstation with integrated display capable of
emulating more than one kind of terminal. In such cases, the sender
of the TERMINAL-TYPE IS command should reply to successive TERMINAL-
TYPE SEND commands with the various names. In this way, a telnet
server that does not understand the first response can prompt for
alternatives. If different terminal emulations are supported by the
client, the mode of the emulator must be changed to match the last
type sent, unless the particular emulation has other Telnet options
(e.g., BINARY) as prerequisites (in which case, the emulation will
switch to the last type sent when the prerequisite is fulfilled).
When types are synonyms, they should be sent in order from most to
least specific.
When the server (the receiver of the TERMINAL-TYPE IS) receives the
same response two consecutive times, this indicates the end of the
list of available types. Similarly, the client should indicate it
has sent all available names by repeating the last one sent. If an
additional request is received, this indicates that the server (the
sender of the IS) wishes to return to the top of the list of
available types (probably to select the least of N evils).
Server implementations conforming to the previous standard will cease
sending TERMINAL-TYPE SEND commands after receiving the same response
two consecutive times, which will work according to the old standard.
It is assumed that client implementations conforming to the previous
standard will send the last type on the list in response to a third
query (as well as the second). New-style servers must recognize this
and not send more queries.
The type "UNKNOWN" should be used if the type of the terminal is
unknown or unlikely to be recognized by the other party.
The complete and up-to-date list of terminal type names will be
maintained in the "Assigned Numbers". The maximum length of a
terminal type name is 40 characters.
7. User Interfaces
Telnet clients and servers conforming to this specification should
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RFC 1091 Telnet Terminal-Type Option February 1989
provide the following functions in their user interfaces:
Clients supporting multiple emulation modes should allow the user to
specify which of the modes is preferred (which name is sent first),
prior to connection establishment. The order of the names sent
cannot be changed after the negotiation has begun. This initial mode
will also become the default with servers which do not support
TERMINAL TYPE.
Servers should store the current terminal type name and the list of
available names in a manner such that they are accessible to both the
user (via a keyboard command) and any applications which need the
information. In addition, there should be a corresponding mechanism
to request a change of terminal types, by initiating a series of
SEND/IS sub-negotiations.
8. Examples
In this example, the server finds the first type acceptable.
Server: IAC DO TERMINAL-TYPE
Client: IAC WILL TERMINAL-TYPE
(Server may now request a terminal type at any time.)
Server: IAC SB TERMINAL-TYPE SEND IAC SE
Client: IAC SB TERMINAL-TYPE IS IBM-3278-2 IAC SE
In this example, the server requests additional terminal types, and
accepts the second (and last on the client's list) type sent (RFC 930
compatible):
Server: IAC DO TERMINAL-TYPE
Client: IAC WILL TERMINAL-TYPE
(Server may now request a terminal type at any time.)
Server: IAC SB TERMINAL-TYPE SEND IAC SE
Client: IAC SB TERMINAL-TYPE IS ZENITH-H19 IAC SE
Server: IAC SB TERMINAL-TYPE SEND IAC SE
Client: IAC SB TERMINAL-TYPE IS UNKNOWN IAC SE
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RFC 1091 Telnet Terminal-Type Option February 1989
Server: IAC SB TERMINAL-TYPE SEND IAC SE
Client: IAC SB TERMINAL-TYPE IS UNKNOWN IAC SE
In this example, the server requests additional terminal types, and
proceeds beyond the end-of-list, to select the first type offered by
the client (new-type client and server):
Server: IAC DO TERMINAL-TYPE
Client: IAC WILL TERMINAL-TYPE
(Server may now request a terminal type at any time.)
Server: IAC SB TERMINAL-TYPE SEND IAC SE
Client: IAC SB TERMINAL-TYPE IS DEC-VT220 IAC SE
Server: IAC SB TERMINAL-TYPE SEND IAC SE
Client: IAC SB TERMINAL-TYPE IS DEC-VT100 IAC SE
Server: IAC SB TERMINAL-TYPE SEND IAC SE
Client: IAC SB TERMINAL-TYPE IS DEC-VT52 IAC SE
Server: IAC SB TERMINAL-TYPE SEND IAC SE
Client: IAC SB TERMINAL-TYPE IS DEC-VT52 IAC SE
Server: IAC SB TERMINAL-TYPE SEND IAC SE
Client: IAC SB TERMINAL-TYPE IS DEC-VT220 IAC SE
9. References:
[1] Postel, J., and J. Reynolds, "Telnet Protocol Specification",
RFC 854, USC Information Sciences Institute, May 1983.
[2] Postel, J., and J. Reynolds, "Telnet Option Specification",
RFC 855, USC Information Sciences Institute, May 1983.
[3] Solomon, M., and E. Wimmers, "Telnet Terminal Type Option",
RFC 930, University of Wisconsin - Madison, January 1985.
[4] Reynolds, J., and J. Postel, "Assigned Numbers", RFC 1010,
USC Information Sciences Institute, May 1987.
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RFC 1091 Telnet Terminal-Type Option February 1989
Reviser's note:
I owe much of this text to RFCs 884 and 930, by Marvin Solomon and
Edward Wimmers of the University of Wisconsin - Madison, and I owe
the idea of the extension to discussions on the "tn3270" mailing list
in the Summer of 1987.
Author's Address
James VanBokkelen
FTP Software, Inc.
26 Princess Street
Wakefield, MA 01880-3004
Phone: (617) 246-0900
Email: jbvb@ftp.com
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