resize - reset TERMCAP with current size of a telnet window

This program was extracted from the 1986 X Version 10 Release 3 archive for use on for vintage BSD 2.11 & BSD 4.3 systems. The only change was to make the copyright file a local include (and to add this README).

SYNOPSIS

resize

DESCRIPTION

resize prints on its standard output the TERM and TERMCAP commands for the C-shell of the current size of a window. It is never executed directly by the user, but should be aliased similarly to tset to cause the C-shell to execute the commands.

Note: This command is not required for remote logins via rlogin/rsh (or modern slogin/ssh), which automatically forward changes in terminal window size. This command is only required for the console, local ttys, and remote telnet sessions.

Example

The following alias when executed as a command will reset the environment of the current shell:

alias xs  'set noglob; eval `resize`'

FILES

• /etc/termcap for the base termcap entry to modify.
• ~/.cshrc user's alias for the command.

"SEE ALSO"

rlogin(1), csh(1), tset(1), xterm(1)

AUTHORS

Mark Vandevoorde (MIT-Athena)

Copyright (c) 1984, 1985 by Massachusetts Institute of Technology. See the full text of the copyright.

BUGS

Ought to be able to generate the strings for the Bourne shell.

If at user login, the terminal window is not the default defined size (usually 80x24) on a vintage system which does not check the actual window size, resize should be run in .login.

Likewise, if after login the user changes the terminal window size on a vintage system, resize must be run again. Aliases can run perform this resize automatically prior to select full screen programs:

alias   less    'set noglob ; eval `resize` ; "less" '
alias   man     'set noglob ; eval `resize` ; "man" '
alias   more    'set noglob ; eval `resize` ; "more" '
alias   vi      'set noglob ; eval `resize` ; "vi" '

Note: If relying on resize, changing the window size once a command is running won't be seen by the program. You must exit the program, run resize, and restart the program.

The vintage vi editor may default to a small window size inappropriate for fast network connected terminals. It can be helpful to modify .exrc to force a full screen window:

set window=99

(Hey, the last of the hardcopy TTYs running at 10 CPS still shattered the quiet of terminal rooms when ex and vi were written. Small windows were useful ... once.)