[Simh] HP 3000 Terminals

[J. David Bryan]

On Wednesday, March 9, 2016 at 21:33, Zachary Kline wrote:

> More to the point, is their anything an HP terminal emulator could
> give me that regular Telnet wouldn´t? 

With the basic software kit, the only application that requires an HP 
terminal is V/3000.  This is a forms generator and data entry system that 
allowed one to design screen forms that could be tied into user 
applications, such as an invoicing or payroll system (the 3000 was 
primarily a business system).  The HP terminals of the time, such as the 
2645A, had the capability of entering data locally into the terminal's 
memory and transmitting it later as a block to the computer.  An invoice 
form, for example, could be displayed for data entry, and when the user had 
completed it, the terminal would transmit only the form content (but not 
the surrounding forms framework).

HP terminals recognized a large set of "escape sequences" -- character 
sequences beginning with the ESC character -- to control the cursor, 
display in inverse video, blinking, or underlined, select among character 
sets, etc.  A lot of programs in the (user) Contributed Software Library 
took advantage of this and so required HP terminals to run.  But 
unfortunately, the 3000 CSL isn't publicly available.

So, as a practical matter, using an HP terminal emulator doesn't buy you 
much with the supplied software kit.

                                      -- Dave