msc@qubix.UUCP (07/19/83)
Job control is a way of handling multiple processes in multiple
`contexts' (i.e. foreground, background, etc.). What's wrong
with a multi-window terminal for doing exactly the same thing
(i.e. leaving things running in one window, the switching to
another one to do something else etc. etc. etc.) Again, job
control is a BAD way to do the job (just like aliases and
history...).
Multiple windows are an excellent way of handling multiple processes.
Unfortunately, not many users have multiple window terminals.
Also, my other objection to job control is that it has massive
and painful hooks into the kernel, all to implement a specific
end user feature. This seems wrong to me. (What happened to
generality, and keeping the kernel small ?)
Without having a terminal that has one serial line to the host for each
window and the capability of switching its keyboard input to a given
window (or multiple keyboards) it's hard to see how to have one window
per process without support in the kernel. I know. I'm designing a
window system right now. Besides the support in the kernel is not
massive. It is only a new tty driver that tests for some additional
special characters and generates some new signals from them.
--
Mark
...{decvax,ucbvax}!decwrl!qubix!msc
...ittvax!qubix!msc ...ihnp4!amd70!qubix!msc
decwrl!qubix!msc@Berkeley.ARPA