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Hackaday · Unix historyCurated

Why Linux terminals are still called TTY

Summary

Hackaday traces the development from the teleprinter to the Unix terminal layer and explains historical terms in modern consoles. TTY stands for teletypewriter. Linux keeps a TTY subsystem layer of its own.

Ideas

  • Teleprinters combined keyboard, printer and data line.
  • Unix abstracted physical terminals behind device files.
  • Terminal drivers process lines, signals and control characters.

Insights

  • Old hardware models survive for decades in software interfaces.
  • History explains unusual names and seemingly complicated terminal states.

Facts

  • TTY stands for teletypewriter.

Recommendations

  • Examine terminal problems with stty and process groups.
  • Document the differences between a PTY, the console and a serial port.

References

Read the original article

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