Peripheral Device File Names

For BBj-specific information, see Miscellaneous Language Changes for BBj.

While operating systems allow you to name your own disk files, they rarely allow you to name your own devices such as terminals and printers. Special names for standard devices called aliases cause devices to be recognized by associating to real system devices in the configuration file. An alias may be up to 6 characters long.

Although PRO/5 may support many different devices depending upon the host system, PRO/5 will always recognize the Display Terminal, Printer, Graphics, and Standard IO devices.

Device	Description	Alias
Display terminal	Display terminal, such as a computer monitor.	`Tn` where `n` is a terminal number or name. `T0` is the first terminal on a system (and the only terminal on a single user system). `T1`, `T2`, etc. are additional terminals. Any device alias beginning with `T` is considered to be a terminal device.
Printer	Printer. PRO/5 keeps a line buffer internally for each printer. This allows forward and backward movement on a print line even though some printers cannot do this. The internal buffer may be bypassed through mnemonic control.	`LP` is the main system printer. `P1`, `P2`, etc. are additional printers. Any device alias beginning with `L` or `P` is considered to be a printer device.
Graphics	A graphics device may be a raster display, printer, or pen plotter. Graphics devices come with their own set of mnemonics controlling the graphics output.	`Dn`, where `n` is a number. Any device alias beginning with `D` is considered to be a graphics device.
Standard I/O	Terminal and keyboard for input and output. Channel 0 is always opened to the standard input and output files for that program.	Normally, the file name associated with channel 0 is the terminal alias (T0, T1, etc.). However, if PRO/5 is running in background or with redirected standard I/O, the file name associated with channel 0 will be IO, which has no special capabilities other than to read and write data.
TCP/IP and UDP Sockets	Network socket communication using TCP/IP or UDP.	`Nn`, where `n` is a socket number or name. `N0` is TCP; `N1` is SSL. Any device alias beginning with `N` is considered to be a network socket device.

Control of these devices is done through the use of mnemonics. For example:

PRINT 'CS'

The 'CS' in the example means "clear screen." PRO/5 will figure out how to perform the operation.

Peripheral Device File Names

See Also