Re: Looking for some help.

Re: Looking for some help.

[Ed Greenberg]

At 08:57 PM 1/15/98 -0500, you wrote:
>What you need here first is a kernel device driver.  Since I wrote one for
>the DECtalk PC, I can try to help writing a driver for the Accent.

What sort of a kernel driver did you write? I've been experimenting with a
Kernel Driver for console.c that drives all console output to the serial
port as well as the internal screen. I have it mostly working. 

I'm sighted, but have a blind friend who uses Unix via telnet on his OS/2
laptop. He likes Unix better, and is interested in a native linux box that
can run his Audapter. 

Can we compare notes? 

</edg> 
--
Ed Greenberg               edg@greenberg.org            km6cg
                        http://www.greenberg.org/

Re: Looking for some help.

[John Schucker]

Well, the problem with dumping all the output to the port as I see it is 
lack of review.  I mean, let's say you're doing cat foo.bar, and you miss 
say a phone number.  How do you go back and look at just the line with 
that number on it?  If you're simply dumping the output to the port, the 
only way to do it is recat the file.
  
Mind, I'm not saying it's a bad idea or anything ... the more options the 
better as far as I'm concerned .. and I could see it as especially useful 
in a special pre-compiled kernel with that driver, so you could hook up a 
synth and install linux yourself essentially.

Re: Looking for some help.

[Jude Dashiell]

It's possible to use more foo.bar too.



Jude <dashiell@clark.net>

Re: Looking for some help.

[Nicolas Pitre]

On Thu, 15 Jan 1998, Ed Greenberg wrote:

> At 08:57 PM 1/15/98 -0500, you wrote:
> >What you need here first is a kernel device driver.  Since I wrote one for
> >the DECtalk PC, I can try to help writing a driver for the Accent.
> 
> What sort of a kernel driver did you write? I've been experimenting with a

I don't understand exactly what you mean here...  The DECtalk PC driver is
a device driver to access the DECtalk PC ISA card as a character
device wich can't be accessed without some kernel side driver, like any
other piece of hardware in your PC.

> Kernel Driver for console.c that drives all console output to the serial
> port as well as the internal screen. I have it mostly working. 

Isn't it already there in the 2.1.x kernel series?  Something like
CONFIG_SERIAL_CONSOLE?

> I'm sighted, but have a blind friend who uses Unix via telnet on his OS/2
> laptop. He likes Unix better, and is interested in a native linux box that
> can run his Audapter. 

What kind of hardware is it (serial device, ISA card, etc.)?

> Can we compare notes? 

You can find the DECtalk PC driver I wrote from ftp.leb.net in
/pub/blinux as dectalk_pc-0.91.tgz.

If I didn't answered your interrogations, feel free to ask again!  :)


Nicolas Pitre, B. ing.
nico@cam.org

serial console

[Chris Peterson, KG0BP]

A serial console wouldn't be exactly what would be necessary in this case.
The ideal solution for the problem of screen reading would have to be a
little different.

A modified console which would direct output to a file, or device, plus a
piece of software which would be able to process that output and send it
to a nother file or device, probably a speech synthesizer.  This second
program would also be able to perform the required review functions
through a review cursor or something.  It would also be able to use a
synthcap to know how to talk to, and adjust settings on, a synthesizer.
Screader is approaching this a little differently but is the closest thing
yet to what is needed.

Hmmmmmm...  When I say "what is needed" I mean something that will speak
from boot to shutdown, be able to review the screen, and adjust the speech
characteristics of the synthesizer.  

After that's figured out, problems like highlight bars should be tackled.

Re: Looking for some help.

[Luke Davis]

Good point . . .
The key would then be to write a screen review package that can cope with
that.
In the mean time: a grep or awk for the line with the number, redirected
to the port will handle that problem.

On Thu, 15 Jan 1998, John Schucker wrote:

> Well, the problem with dumping all the output to the port as I see it is 
> lack of review.  I mean, let's say you're doing cat foo.bar, and you miss 
> say a phone number.  How do you go back and look at just the line with 
> that number on it?  If you're simply dumping the output to the port, the 
> only way to do it is recat the file.
>   
<snipage>

Re: serial console

[Nicolas Pitre]

There is already a device wich is /dev/vcsa0 that gives the complete
screen layout, attributes and the cursor position.  This is what BRLTTY
uses.  The only thing missing here for a screen reader is access to the
console's keyboard.  For the keyboard, I think there is a character device
in the new 2.1.x kernels wich might give some informations but I've not
investigated much further.  What Screader is using i.e. what "screen" is
using is pseudo ttys wich is not the best solution because it can't give
access to all virtual consoles unless it runs on all of them.

On Fri, 16 Jan 1998, Chris Peterson, KG0BP wrote:

> A serial console wouldn't be exactly what would be necessary in this case.
> The ideal solution for the problem of screen reading would have to be a
> little different.
> 
> A modified console which would direct output to a file, or device, plus a
> piece of software which would be able to process that output and send it
> to a nother file or device, probably a speech synthesizer.  This second
> program would also be able to perform the required review functions
> through a review cursor or something.  It would also be able to use a
> synthcap to know how to talk to, and adjust settings on, a synthesizer.
> Screader is approaching this a little differently but is the closest thing
> yet to what is needed.
> 
> Hmmmmmm...  When I say "what is needed" I mean something that will speak
> from boot to shutdown, be able to review the screen, and adjust the speech
> characteristics of the synthesizer.  
> 
> After that's figured out, problems like highlight bars should be tackled.
> 
> ---
> Send your message for blinux-list to blinux-list@redhat.com
> Blinux software archive at ftp://leb.net/pub/blinux
> Blinux web page at http://leb.net/blinux
> To unsubscribe send mail to blinux-list-request@redhat.com
> with subject line: unsubscribe
> 
> 

Nicolas Pitre, B. ing.
nico@cam.org

Re: Looking for some help.

[K.C. Habib]

Could you please send me a copy of the DectalkPC device drivers???  I am 
greatly interested in this
Thanks
On Fri, 16 Jan 1998, Nicolas Pitre wrote:

> On Thu, 15 Jan 1998, Ed Greenberg wrote:
> 
> > At 08:57 PM 1/15/98 -0500, you wrote:
> > >What you need here first is a kernel device driver.  Since I wrote one for
> > >the DECtalk PC, I can try to help writing a driver for the Accent.
> > 
> > What sort of a kernel driver did you write? I've been experimenting with a
> 
> I don't understand exactly what you mean here...  The DECtalk PC driver is
> a device driver to access the DECtalk PC ISA card as a character
> device wich can't be accessed without some kernel side driver, like any
> other piece of hardware in your PC.
> 
> > Kernel Driver for console.c that drives all console output to the serial
> > port as well as the internal screen. I have it mostly working. 
> 
> Isn't it already there in the 2.1.x kernel series?  Something like
> CONFIG_SERIAL_CONSOLE?
> 
> > I'm sighted, but have a blind friend who uses Unix via telnet on his OS/2
> > laptop. He likes Unix better, and is interested in a native linux box that
> > can run his Audapter. 
> 
> What kind of hardware is it (serial device, ISA card, etc.)?
> 
> > Can we compare notes? 
> 
> You can find the DECtalk PC driver I wrote from ftp.leb.net in
> /pub/blinux as dectalk_pc-0.91.tgz.
> 
> If I didn't answered your interrogations, feel free to ask again!  :)
> 
> 
> Nicolas Pitre, B. ing.
> nico@cam.org
> 
> 
> ---
> Send your message for blinux-list to blinux-list@redhat.com
> Blinux software archive at ftp://leb.net/pub/blinux
> Blinux web page at http://leb.net/blinux
> To unsubscribe send mail to blinux-list-request@redhat.com
> with subject line: unsubscribe
> 

Re: Serial console

[John G. Heim]

At 05:02 PM 4/29/2005, you wrote:
>That just means that that's the default for a stock kernel. What you need to
>know is if RedHat has enabled that option in its RHEL kernels. In FC3 it's 
>on.
>I don't know if it's on or off in RHEL, and I'm not willing to pay for RHEL
>just so that I can find out. My guess, though, is that it's on in RHEL as 
>well.
>If anyone would care to privately send me a copy of an RHEL kernel source rpm
>then I'll look in it to be sure, but it may be just as easy to try it.



I think the documentation is wrong because I think the default for stock 
kernels is to enable serial console support. IIRC, that changed about 2 
years ago.

Re: Serial console

[John G. Heim]

I can tell you for sure that you do not have to recompile the kernel to get 
a serial console on Red Hat ES 3.0.

At 03:31 PM 4/29/2005, you wrote:
>Dave,
>
>Thanks very much, but on Fedora 2 that looks like the file I referred
>to originally and starts with the same paragraph:
>
>To use a serial port as console you need to compile the support into your
>kernel - by default it is not compiled in. For PC style serial ports
>it's the config option next to "Standard/generic (dumb) serial support".
>
>This same file (at least the beginning) is on Enterprise Linux 3
>also. I'm not saying I believe it, but that's what it says.
>
>--
>
>Lee Maschmeyer
><lee_Maschmeyer@wayne.edu>
>
>"Never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it might appear
>to others that what you were or might have been was not otherwise than
>what you had been would have appeared to them to be otherwise."
>      --Lewis Carroll
>
>_______________________________________________
>Blinux-list mailing list
>Blinux-list@redhat.com
>https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/blinux-list

--
John G. Heim
jheim@math.wisc.edu
3-4189

Re: Serial console

[Dave Mielke]

[quoted lines by Lee_Maschmeyer@wayne.edu on 2005/04/29 at 16:31 -0400]

>but on Fedora 2 that looks like the file I referred
>to originally and starts with the same paragraph:
>
>To use a serial port as console you need to compile the support into your
>kernel - by default it is not compiled in. For PC style serial ports
>it's the config option next to "Standard/generic (dumb) serial support".

That just means that that's the default for a stock kernel. What you need to
know is if RedHat has enabled that option in its RHEL kernels. In FC3 it's on. 
I don't know if it's on or off in RHEL, and I'm not willing to pay for RHEL
just so that I can find out. My guess, though, is that it's on in RHEL as well.
If anyone would care to privately send me a copy of an RHEL kernel source rpm
then I'll look in it to be sure, but it may be just as easy to try it.

I just checked an RHEL box at work, and the base kernel configuration file
indeed has the serial console option enabled.

-- 
Dave Mielke           | 2213 Fox Crescent | I believe that the Bible is the
Phone: 1-613-726-0014 | Ottawa, Ontario   | Word of God. Please contact me
EMail: dave@mielke.cc | Canada  K2A 1H7   | if you're concerned about Hell.
http://FamilyRadio.com/                   | http://Mielke.cc/bible/

Re: Serial console

[Lee_Maschmeyer]

Dave,

Thanks very much, but on Fedora 2 that looks like the file I referred
to originally and starts with the same paragraph:

To use a serial port as console you need to compile the support into your
kernel - by default it is not compiled in. For PC style serial ports
it's the config option next to "Standard/generic (dumb) serial support".

This same file (at least the beginning) is on Enterprise Linux 3
also. I'm not saying I believe it, but that's what it says.

-- 

Lee Maschmeyer
<lee_Maschmeyer@wayne.edu>

"Never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it might appear
to others that what you were or might have been was not otherwise than
what you had been would have appeared to them to be otherwise."
     --Lewis Carroll

Re: Serial console

[Dave Mielke]

[quoted lines by Lee_Maschmeyer@wayne.edu on 2005/04/28 at 09:59 -0400]

>I came across a file on Fedora (more advanced than Enterprise Linux) that says
>you have to patch the kernel; is this accurate and relevant?

No need to patch the kernel. Let's say you want the console output to go to
/dev/ttyS0 at 9600 baud with no parity and 8 bits per character. In this case,
specify the boot parameter "console=ttyS0,9600n8" (witout the quotes). That's
all. You can read all about it in:

   /usr/src/linux/Documentation/serial-console.txt

-- 
Dave Mielke           | 2213 Fox Crescent | I believe that the Bible is the
Phone: 1-613-726-0014 | Ottawa, Ontario   | Word of God. Please contact me
EMail: dave@mielke.cc | Canada  K2A 1H7   | if you're concerned about Hell.
http://FamilyRadio.com/                   | http://Mielke.cc/bible/

Serial console

[Lee_Maschmeyer]

Hi folks,

We have Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 here and want to have it write its
console to a serial port. It will go to a Cyclades AlterPath Console
Server. This allows us to access the console of any server via ssh.

I know a lot of folks here use serial consoles. How is it set up? I
came across a file on Fedora (more advanced than Enterprise Linux)
that says you have to patch the kernel; is this accurate and relevant?

Thanks,

-- 

Lee Maschmeyer
<lee_Maschmeyer@wayne.edu>

"Never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it might appear
to others that what you were or might have been was not otherwise than
what you had been would have appeared to them to be otherwise."
     --Lewis Carroll