On Tue, 18 Jan 2000, Jonathan Stone wrote:

> And forcing XON/XOFF with DIRECT_CONSOLE is just ... broken, given the
> existence of BIOS serial consoles which want RTS/CTS hardware handshaking.

I belive this was a deliberate design, so that you can use three-wire
cables.  For example if you are using those DB25-to-RJ11 shims that public
libraries like to use sometimes, or a homemade cable, or anything without
all seven wires, then you want RTS ignored.  There is an OpenPROM option
for ignoring RTS on real computers, so DIRECT_SERIAL was (i think) a vague
effort to bring something almost as good to PeeCee toys.  You can't toggle
it like in OpenPROM, but the ignore-RTS default leaves most people
happier. In fact I somehow got the impression that this RTS issue was the
main motivator for writing the DIRECT_SERIAL code in the first place.  
but I could be wrong.

-- 
Miles Nordin / v:+1 720 841-8308 fax:+1 530 579-8680
555 Bryant Street PMB 182 / Palo Alto, CA 94301-1700 / US