Zterm
Encyclopedia
ZTerm is a shareware
terminal emulator
for Apple Macintosh computer systems. It was introduced in 1992 running on Macintosh Operating System 7
and has been updated to run on the latest version of Mac OS X
.
Contrary to the OS X built-in Terminal.app, which only communicates with other programs, ZTerm only communicates with hardware serial ports - including traditional (RS-232-compatible variant of RS-422 - often using a mini-DIN-8 connector) Macintosh serial ports (including the Apple Geoport
) on pre-PowerPC G3
CPU PowerPC
Macintosh computers, the built-in Apple internal modem slot and the USB ports on PowerPC G3
, PowerPC G4
, PowerPC G5 and Intel CPU Macintosh computers, and can be configured to work with adapters (including various USB port to serial port adaptors - such as those made by Keyspan , and Apple internal modem slot to serial port adaptors - like the Stealth Serial Port and the now discontinued Griffin Technology gPort, under OS X), giving it a unique use for BBSers and hardware tinkerers. Its name comes from its use of the Zmodem
file transfer protocol
.
When it was first introduced, ZTerm was one of the highest performing terminal emulators on the Mac, both in terms of basic text display as well as file transfer performance. Its hardware support included carrier detect (CD), hardware hangup (DTR) and hardware flow control, as well as speeds up to 119,200 bps on those machines that supported it. These features were not universally supported in Mac hardware, so many emulators simply ignored them.
ZTerm supported one of the widest variety of file transfer protocol
s available on the Mac, including a full implementation of ZModem, YModem
, YModem-G, almost all of the common varieties of XModem
with different packet sizes and error correction methods, and even the rare but useful B protocol
for use on Compuserve
. ZTerm also supported auto-starting transfers from ZModem and B.
Additionally, ZTerm included a complete PC graphics character set
and ANSI escape code
s, including color. This made it one of the few terminals on the Mac that properly displayed ASCII art
, and allowed full interaction with PC-based BBS systems that used these features extensively. ZTerm also allowed the mouse to be used to position the cursor, sending a stream of ANSI codes to move it to the clicked location.
By the time that Mac OS X was being released around 2002, the BBS world had largely disappeared. However, a number of devices (including some routers and lab equipment) still use serial ports to communicate, typically for diagnostic and debugging purposes.
On 19 April 2001 Alverson released version 1.1b4 that ran on OS X and Mac OS 8.6 and Mac OS 9 using Carbon
. Later a "Classic" version was released that did not require Carbon, allowing it to run on older machines that could not support Mac OS 8 or Mac OS 9. On 18 July 2011 Alverson released a Universal Binary version 1.2 that runs on OS X 10.4 - OS X 10.7.
On modern machines without built-in serial ports, ZTerm can identify and use a wide variety of USB
-based serial devices.
Shareware
The term shareware is a proprietary software that is provided to users without payment on a trial basis and is often limited by any combination of functionality, availability, or convenience. Shareware is often offered as a download from an Internet website or as a compact disc included with a...
terminal emulator
Terminal emulator
A terminal emulator, terminal application, term, or tty for short, is a program that emulates a video terminal within some other display architecture....
for Apple Macintosh computer systems. It was introduced in 1992 running on Macintosh Operating System 7
System 7
System 7 is the name of a Macintosh operating system introduced in 1991.System 7 may also refer to:* System 7 , a British dance/ambient band* System 7 , 1991 album* IBM System/7, a 1970s computer system...
and has been updated to run on the latest version of Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
.
Contrary to the OS X built-in Terminal.app, which only communicates with other programs, ZTerm only communicates with hardware serial ports - including traditional (RS-232-compatible variant of RS-422 - often using a mini-DIN-8 connector) Macintosh serial ports (including the Apple Geoport
GeoPort
GeoPort was a serial data system used on some models of the Apple Macintosh. GeoPort slightly modified the existing Mac serial port pins to allow the computer's internal sound hardware to emulate various devices such as modems and fax machines. GeoPort could be found on late-model m68k-based...
) on pre-PowerPC G3
PowerPC G3
The PowerPC 7xx is a family of third generation 32-bit PowerPC microprocessors designed and manufactured by IBM and Motorola . This family is called the PowerPC G3 by its well-known customer Apple Computer...
CPU PowerPC
PowerPC
PowerPC is a RISC architecture created by the 1991 Apple–IBM–Motorola alliance, known as AIM...
Macintosh computers, the built-in Apple internal modem slot and the USB ports on PowerPC G3
PowerPC G3
The PowerPC 7xx is a family of third generation 32-bit PowerPC microprocessors designed and manufactured by IBM and Motorola . This family is called the PowerPC G3 by its well-known customer Apple Computer...
, PowerPC G4
PowerPC G4
PowerPC G4 is a designation used by Apple Computer to describe a fourth generation of 32-bit PowerPC microprocessors. Apple has applied this name to various processor models from Freescale, a former part of Motorola....
, PowerPC G5 and Intel CPU Macintosh computers, and can be configured to work with adapters (including various USB port to serial port adaptors - such as those made by Keyspan , and Apple internal modem slot to serial port adaptors - like the Stealth Serial Port and the now discontinued Griffin Technology gPort, under OS X), giving it a unique use for BBSers and hardware tinkerers. Its name comes from its use of the Zmodem
ZMODEM
ZMODEM is a file transfer protocol developed by Chuck Forsberg in 1986, in a project funded by Telenet in order to improve file transfers on their X.25 network...
file transfer protocol
File Transfer Protocol
File Transfer Protocol is a standard network protocol used to transfer files from one host to another host over a TCP-based network, such as the Internet. FTP is built on a client-server architecture and utilizes separate control and data connections between the client and server...
.
When it was first introduced, ZTerm was one of the highest performing terminal emulators on the Mac, both in terms of basic text display as well as file transfer performance. Its hardware support included carrier detect (CD), hardware hangup (DTR) and hardware flow control, as well as speeds up to 119,200 bps on those machines that supported it. These features were not universally supported in Mac hardware, so many emulators simply ignored them.
ZTerm supported one of the widest variety of file transfer protocol
File Transfer Protocol
File Transfer Protocol is a standard network protocol used to transfer files from one host to another host over a TCP-based network, such as the Internet. FTP is built on a client-server architecture and utilizes separate control and data connections between the client and server...
s available on the Mac, including a full implementation of ZModem, YModem
YMODEM
YMODEM is a protocol for file transfer used between modems. YMODEM was developed by Chuck Forsberg as the successor to XMODEM and MODEM7, and was first implemented in his CP/M YAM program...
, YModem-G, almost all of the common varieties of XModem
XMODEM
XMODEM is a simple file transfer protocol developed as a quick hack by Ward Christensen for use in his 1977 MODEM.ASM terminal program. XMODEM became extremely popular in the early bulletin board system market, largely because it was so simple to implement...
with different packet sizes and error correction methods, and even the rare but useful B protocol
B protocol
CompuServe's B protocol, also known as CIS B, is a file transfer protocol developed for their commercial online service in 1981. The protocol was later expanded in the B Plus or QuickB version...
for use on Compuserve
CompuServe
CompuServe was the first major commercial online service in the United States. It dominated the field during the 1980s and remained a major player through the mid-1990s, when it was sidelined by the rise of services such as AOL with monthly subscriptions rather than hourly rates...
. ZTerm also supported auto-starting transfers from ZModem and B.
Additionally, ZTerm included a complete PC graphics character set
Code page 437
IBM PC or MS-DOS code page 437 is the character set of the original IBM PC. It is also known as CP 437, OEM 437, PC-8, MS-DOS Latin US or sometimes misleadingly referred to as the OEM font, High ASCII or Extended ASCII....
and ANSI escape code
ANSI escape code
ANSI escape sequences are characters embedded in the text used to control formatting, color, and other output options on video text terminals. Almost all terminal emulators designed to show text output from a remote computer, and to show text output from local software, interpret at least some of...
s, including color. This made it one of the few terminals on the Mac that properly displayed ASCII art
ASCII art
ASCII art is a graphic design technique that uses computers for presentation and consists of pictures pieced together from the 95 printable characters defined by the ASCII Standard from 1963 and ASCII compliant character sets with proprietary extended characters...
, and allowed full interaction with PC-based BBS systems that used these features extensively. ZTerm also allowed the mouse to be used to position the cursor, sending a stream of ANSI codes to move it to the clicked location.
By the time that Mac OS X was being released around 2002, the BBS world had largely disappeared. However, a number of devices (including some routers and lab equipment) still use serial ports to communicate, typically for diagnostic and debugging purposes.
On 19 April 2001 Alverson released version 1.1b4 that ran on OS X and Mac OS 8.6 and Mac OS 9 using Carbon
Carbon (API)
Carbon is one of Apple Inc.'s procedural application programming interfaces for the Macintosh operating system. It provides C programming language access to Macintosh system services...
. Later a "Classic" version was released that did not require Carbon, allowing it to run on older machines that could not support Mac OS 8 or Mac OS 9. On 18 July 2011 Alverson released a Universal Binary version 1.2 that runs on OS X 10.4 - OS X 10.7.
On modern machines without built-in serial ports, ZTerm can identify and use a wide variety of USB
Universal Serial Bus
USB is an industry standard developed in the mid-1990s that defines the cables, connectors and protocols used in a bus for connection, communication and power supply between computers and electronic devices....
-based serial devices.