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+Network Working Group Telnet Working Group
+Request for Comments: 1184 D. Borman, Editor
+Obsoletes: RFC 1116 Cray Research, Inc.
+ October 1990
+
+
+ Telnet Linemode Option
+
+Status of this Memo
+
+ This memo describes a Draft Standard for the Internet community, and
+ requests discussion and suggestions for improvements. This RFC
+ specifies an IAB standards track protocol for the Internet community.
+ Please refer to the current edition of the "IAB Official Protocol
+ Standards" for the standardization state and status of this protocol.
+ Distribution of this memo is unlimited.
+
+Changes from RFC1116:
+
+ Two new mode bits have been added, SOFT_TAB and LIT_ECHO. These
+ bits allow the server to give the client some advise on how to
+ echo tabs and non-printable characters.
+
+ Several new special character mappings have been added for cursor
+ motion when visual editing is supported. These are: Move cursor
+ one character left/right (SLC_MCL/SLC_MCR), move cursor one word
+ left/right (SLC_MCWL/SLC_MCWR), move cursor to begining/end of
+ line (SLC_MCBOL/SLC_MCEOL), enter insert/overstrike mode
+ (SLC_INSRT/SLC_OVER), erase one character/word to the right
+ (SLC_ECR/SLC_EWR), and erase to the beginning/end of the line
+ (SLC_EBOL/SLC_EEOL).
+
+Overview
+
+ Linemode Telnet is a way of doing terminal character processing on
+ the client side of a Telnet connection. While in Linemode with
+ editing enabled for the local side, network traffic is reduced to a
+ couple of packets per command line, rather than a couple of packets
+ per character typed. This is very useful for long delay networks,
+ because the user has local response time while typing the command
+ line, and only incurs the network delays after the command is typed.
+ It is also useful to reduce costs on networks that charge on a per
+ packet basis. Please send comments to the telnet-ietf@cray.com
+ mailing list.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Telnet Working Group [Page 1]
+
+RFC 1184 Telnet Linemode Option October 1990
+
+
+Table of Contents
+
+ 1. Command Names and Codes 2
+ 2. Command Meanings 3
+ 2.1 The LINEMODE function 3
+ 2.2 LINEMODE suboption MODE 4
+ 2.3 LINEMODE suboption FORWARDMASK 5
+ 2.4 LINEMODE suboption SLC, Set Local Characters 6
+ 2.5 New control characters 10
+ 3. Default Specification 11
+ 4. Motivation 11
+ 5. Implementation Rules 13
+ 5.1 User Interface 13
+ 5.2 End of line terminators 14
+ 5.3 Output processing 14
+ 5.4 A terminal driver in Telnet? 14
+ 5.5 Setting of Local Characters 14
+ 5.6 FORWARDMASK and SLC_FORW1 and SLC_FORW2 15
+ 5.7 Valid and invalid modes and values 16
+ 5.8 Flushing input and output 16
+ 5.9 State diagram for SLC 18
+ 5.10 Example of a connection 19
+ 6. Other Telnet options and RFCs 22
+ 7. Security Considerations 23
+ 8. Author's Address 23
+
+1. Command Names and Codes
+
+ LINEMODE 34
+ MODE 1
+ EDIT 1
+ TRAPSIG 2
+ MODE_ACK 4
+ SOFT_TAB 8
+ LIT_ECHO 16
+ FORWARDMASK 2
+ SLC 3
+ SLC_SYNCH 1
+ SLC_BRK 2
+ SLC_IP 3
+ SLC_AO 4
+ SLC_AYT 5
+ SLC_EOR 6
+ SLC_ABORT 7
+ SLC_EOF 8
+ SLC_SUSP 9
+ SLC_EC 10
+ SLC_EL 11
+
+
+
+Telnet Working Group [Page 2]
+
+RFC 1184 Telnet Linemode Option October 1990
+
+
+ SLC_EW 12
+ SLC_RP 13
+ SLC_LNEXT 14
+ SLC_XON 15
+ SLC_XOFF 16
+ SLC_FORW1 17
+ SLC_FORW2 18
+ SLC_MCL 19
+ SLC_MCR 20
+ SLC_MCWL 21
+ SLC_MCWR 22
+ SLC_MCBOL 23
+ SLC_MCEOL 24
+ SLC_INSRT 25
+ SLC_OVER 26
+ SLC_ECR 27
+ SLC_EWR 28
+ SLC_EBOL 29
+ SLC_EEOL 30
+
+ SLC_DEFAULT 3
+ SLC_VALUE 2
+ SLC_CANTCHANGE 1
+ SLC_NOSUPPORT 0
+ SLC_LEVELBITS 3
+
+ SLC_ACK 128
+ SLC_FLUSHIN 64
+ SLC_FLUSHOUT 32
+ EOF 236
+ SUSP 237
+ ABORT 238
+
+2. Command Meanings
+
+2.1 The LINEMODE function
+
+ IAC WILL LINEMODE
+
+ The sender of this command REQUESTS permission to begin sub-
+ negotiation of the editing/signaling status. This should only be
+ sent by the client side of the connection.
+
+ IAC WONT LINEMODE
+
+ The sender of this command DEMANDS that sub-negotiation of the
+ editing/signaling status not be allowed.
+
+
+
+
+Telnet Working Group [Page 3]
+
+RFC 1184 Telnet Linemode Option October 1990
+
+
+ IAC DO LINEMODE
+
+ The sender of this command REQUESTS that the remote side begin
+ sub-negotiation of the editing/signaling status. This should only
+ be sent by the server side of the connection.
+
+ IAC DONT LINEMODE
+
+ The sender of this command DEMANDS that the remote side not begin
+ sub-negotiation of the editing/signaling status.
+
+2.2 LINEMODE suboption MODE
+
+ IAC SB LINEMODE MODE mask IAC SE
+
+ The sender of this command CONFIRMS, or REQUESTS permission for, a
+ switch to the mode defined by "mask".
+
+ The "mask" is a bit mask of various modes that the connection can be
+ in. Under normal operation, the server side of the connection will
+ initiate mode changes, and the client will confirm the mode changes.
+ The currently defined modes are:
+
+ EDIT When set, the client side of the connection should
+ process all input lines, performing any editing functions,
+ and only send completed lines to the remote side. When
+ unset, client side should not process any input from the
+ user, and the server side should take care of all
+ character processing that needs to be done.
+
+ TRAPSIG When set, the client side should translate appropriate
+ interrupts/signals to their Telnet equivalent. (These
+ would be IP, BRK, AYT, ABORT, EOF, and SUSP) When unset,
+ the client should pass interrupts/signals as their normal
+ ASCII values.
+
+ FLOW Logically, this belongs in the "mask". However, this
+ would overlap the Telnet TOGGLE-FLOW-CONTROL option, so
+ the Telnet TOGGLE-FLOW-CONTROL option is used instead.
+ When DO/WILL LINEMODE is negotiated, DO/WILL TOGGLE-
+ FLOW-CONTROL should also be negotiated. See RFC 1080,
+ "Telnet Remote Flow Control", for correct usage.
+
+ ECHO Logically, this belongs in the "mask". However, this
+ would overlap the Telnet ECHO option, so the Telnet ECHO
+ option is used instead. The client side should never
+ negotiate "WILL ECHO". When the server has negotiated
+ "WILL ECHO", the client should not echo data typed by the
+
+
+
+Telnet Working Group [Page 4]
+
+RFC 1184 Telnet Linemode Option October 1990
+
+
+ user back to the user. When the server has negotiated
+ "WONT ECHO", the the client is responsible for echoing
+ data typed by the user back to the user. See RFC 857,
+ "Telnet ECHO OPTION" for a complete discussion on the use
+ of the Telnet ECHO option.
+
+ SOFT_TAB When set, the client side should expand the Horizontal
+ Tab (HT) code, USASCII 9, into the appropriate number of
+ spaces to move the printer to the next horizontal tab
+ stop. When unset, the client side should allow the
+ Horizontal Tab code to pass through un-modified.
+
+ LIT_ECHO When set, if the client side is echoing a non-printable
+ character that the user has typed to the users screen,
+ the character should be echoed as the literal character.
+ If the LIT_ECHO bit is not set, then the client side may
+ echo the character in any manner that it desires. (Many
+ systems echo unprintable characters as two character
+ sequences, for example, they will echo "^A" for an
+ ASCII 1 value.)
+
+ When the client side of a connection receives a MODE command, it MUST
+ agree with at least the state of the EDIT and TRAPSIG bits. If a
+ MODE command is received with a mode mask that is currently in use
+ (ignoring the MODE_ACK bit), the MODE command is ignored. If a MODE
+ command is received that is different from the current mode mask,
+ then a reply is sent with either the new mode mask and the MODE_ACK
+ bit set, or a subset of the new mode mask. The only exception is
+ that if the server receives a MODE with either the EDIT or TRAPSIG
+ bits not set, it may set the EDIT and TRAPSIG bits in the response,
+ and if the client receives a MODE with the EDIT or TRAPSIG bits set,
+ it may not clear them in the response.
+
+ When a MODE command is received with the MODE_ACK bit set, and the
+ mode is different that what the current mode is, the client will
+ ignore the new mode, and the server will switch to the new mode.
+ This ensures that both sides of the connection will resolve to the
+ same mode. In all cases, a response is never generated to a MODE
+ command that has the MODE_ACK bit set.
+
+2.3 LINEMODE suboption FORWARDMASK
+
+ IAC SB LINEMODE DO FORWARDMASK mask0 mask1 ... mask31 IAC SE
+
+ The sender of this command request that the other side send any
+ buffered data when any of the ASCII characters defined by the bit
+ mask are received. Only the side of the connection that sent DO
+ LINEMODE (the server side) may negotiate this. The mask is up to
+
+
+
+Telnet Working Group [Page 5]
+
+RFC 1184 Telnet Linemode Option October 1990
+
+
+ 32 octets long. Each octet represents 8 ASCII character codes.
+ The high order bit of mask0 corresponds to an ASCII code of 0.
+ The low order bit of mask0 corresponds to an ASCII code of 7. The
+ high order bit of mask1 corresponds to an ASCII code of 8. The
+ low order bit of mask1 corresponds to an ASCII code of 15, and so
+ on. The mask list may be terminated before the end of the list, in
+ which case all the rest of the mask octets are assumed to be reset
+ (equal to zero). When the server side is in DONT TRANSMIT-BINARY
+ mode, then only the first 16 octets of the mask (ASCII codes 0
+ through 127) are used. If any individual octet of the mask is
+ equal to IAC, it must be sent as a double IAC.
+
+ IAC SB LINEMODE DONT FORWARDMASK IAC SE
+
+ The sender of this command requests that the other side stop using
+ the forward mask to determine when to send buffered data.
+
+ IAC SB LINEMODE WILL FORWARDMASK IAC SE
+
+ This command is sent in response to a DO FORWARDMASK command. It
+ indicates that the forward mask will be used to determine when to
+ send buffered data.
+
+ IAC SB LINEMODE WONT FORWARDMASK IAC SE
+
+ This command is sent in response to a DO FORWARDMASK command. It
+ indicates that the forward mask will not be used to determine when
+ to send buffered data.
+
+2.4 LINEMODE suboption SLC, Set Local Characters
+
+ The SLC suboption uses a list of octet triplets. The first octet
+ specifies the function, the second octet specifies modifiers to the
+ function, and the third octet specifies the ASCII character for the
+ function.
+
+ IAC SB LINEMODE SLC <list of octet triplets> IAC SE
+
+ The sender of this command REQUESTS that the list of octet
+ triplets be used to set the local character to be used to send to
+ perform the specified function.
+
+ There are four levels that a function may be set to.
+ SLC_NOSUPPORT is the lowest, SLC_CANTCHANGE is the next higher
+ level, SLC_VALUE is above that, and SLC_DEFAULT is the highest
+ level.
+
+ If the SLC_LEVELBITS in the second octet are equal to SLC_DEFAULT,
+
+
+
+Telnet Working Group [Page 6]
+
+RFC 1184 Telnet Linemode Option October 1990
+
+
+ then this particular function should use the system default on the
+ other side of the connection.
+
+ If the SLC_LEVELBITS in the second octet are equal to SLC_VALUE,
+ then this function is supported, and the current value is
+ specified by the third octet.
+
+ If the SLC_LEVELBITS in the second octet are equal to
+ SLC_CANTCHANGE, then this is a function that is supported, but the
+ value for this function, specified in the third octet, cannot be
+ changed.
+
+ If the SLC_LEVELBITS in the second octet are equal to
+ SLC_NOSUPPORT, then this particular function is not supported and
+ should be disabled by the other side.
+
+ If this is a response to a previous request to change a special
+ character, and we are agreeing to the change, then the SLC_ACK bit
+ must be set in the second octet.
+
+ If the SLC_FLUSHIN bit is set in the second octet, then whenever
+ this function is sent, a Telnet "sync" should be sent at the same
+ time to flush the input stream.
+
+ If the SLC_FLUSHOUT bit is set in the second octet, then whenever
+ this function is sent, output data should be flushed.
+
+ Only the client may send an octet triplet with the first octet
+ equal to zero. In this case, the SLC_LEVELBITS may only be set to
+ SLC_DEFAULT or SLC_VALUE, and the third octet does not matter.
+ When the server receives 0 SLC_DEFAULT 0, it should switch to its
+ system default special character settings, and send all those
+ special characters to the client. When the server receives 0
+ SLC_VALUE 0, it should just send its current special character
+ settings. Note that if the server does not support some of the
+ editing functions, they should be sent as XXX SLC_DEFAULT 0,
+ rather than as XXX SLC_NOSUPPORT 0, so that the client may choose
+ to use its own values for those functions, rather than have to
+ disable those functions even if it supports them.
+
+ If any of the octets in the list of octet triplets is equal to
+ IAC, it must be sent as a double IAC.
+
+ When a connection is established, it is the responsibility of the
+ client to either request the remote default values for the special
+ characters, or to send across what all the special characters should
+ be set to.
+
+
+
+
+Telnet Working Group [Page 7]
+
+RFC 1184 Telnet Linemode Option October 1990
+
+
+ The function values can be put into two groups, functions that are to
+ be translated to their Telnet equivalents before being sent across
+ the Telnet connection, and functions that are to be recognized and
+ processed locally.
+
+ First, we have those characters that are to be mapped into their
+ Telnet equivalents:
+
+ SLC_SYNCH Synch. See RFC 854, "TELNET PROTOCOL SPECIFICATION",
+ for a complete description.
+
+ SLC_BRK Break. See RFC 854, "TELNET PROTOCOL SPECIFICATION",
+ for a complete description.
+
+ SLC_IP Interrupt Process. See RFC 854, "TELNET PROTOCOL
+ SPECIFICATION", for a complete description.
+
+ SLC_AO Abort Output. See RFC 854, "TELNET PROTOCOL
+ SPECIFICATION", for a complete description.
+
+ SLC_AYT Are You There. See RFC 854, "TELNET PROTOCOL
+ SPECIFICATION", for a complete description.
+
+ SLC_EOR End of Record. See RFC 885, "TELNET END OF RECORD
+ OPTION" for a complete description.
+
+ SLC_ABORT Abort. See section 2.5 for a complete description.
+
+ SLC_EOF End of File. See section 2.5 for a complete
+ description.
+
+ SLC_SUSP Suspend. See section 2.5 for a complete description.
+
+ Next, we have the locally interpreted functions.
+
+ SLC_EC Erase Character. This is the character that is typed to
+ erase one character from the input stream. See RFC 854,
+ "TELNET PROTOCOL SPECIFICATION", for a complete
+ description.
+
+ SLC_EL Erase Line. This is the character that is typed to
+ erase the entire contents of the current line of input.
+ See RFC 854, "TELNET PROTOCOL SPECIFICATION", for a
+ complete description.
+
+ SLC_EW Erase Word. This is the character that is typed to
+ erase one word from the input stream.
+
+
+
+
+Telnet Working Group [Page 8]
+
+RFC 1184 Telnet Linemode Option October 1990
+
+
+ SLC_RP Reprint Line. This is the character that is typed to
+ cause the current line of input to be reprinted, leaving
+ the cursor at the end of the line.
+
+ SLC_LNEXT Literal Next. This is the character that is typed to
+ indicate that the next character is to be taken
+ literally, no character processing should be done with
+ it, and if it is a special character that would normally
+ get mapped into a Telnet option, that mapping should
+ not be done.
+
+ SLC_XON Start Output. This is the character that is sent to
+ resume output to the users terminal.
+
+ SLC_XOFF Stop Output. This is the character that is sent to stop
+ output to the users terminal.
+
+ SLC_FORW1 Forwarding character. This is a character that should
+ cause all data currently being buffered, and this
+ character, to be sent immediately.
+
+ SLC_FORW2 Forwarding character. This is another character that is
+ to be treated in the same manner as SLC_FORW1.
+
+ SLC_MCL Move cursor one character left. When visual editing is
+ supported, this is the character that, when typed, will
+ move the cursor one character to the left in the
+ display.
+
+ SLC_MCR Move cursor one character right. When visual editing is
+ supported, this is the character that, when typed, will
+ move the cursor one character to the right in the
+ display.
+
+ SLC_MCWL Move cursor one word left. When visual editing is
+ supported, this is the character that, when typed, will
+ move the cursor one word to the left in the display.
+
+ SLC_MCWR Move cursor one word right. When visual editing is
+ supported, this is the character that, when typed, will
+ move the cursor one word to the right in the display.
+
+ SLC_MCBOL Move cursor to the begining of the line. When visual
+ editing is supported, this is the character that, when
+ typed, will move the cursor to the begining of the line
+ that is being edited.
+
+ SLC_MCEOL Move cursor to the end of the line. When visual editing
+
+
+
+Telnet Working Group [Page 9]
+
+RFC 1184 Telnet Linemode Option October 1990
+
+
+ is supported, this is the character that, when typed,
+ will move the cursor to the end of the line that is
+ being edited.
+
+ SLC_INSRT Enter insert mode. When visual editing is supported,
+ after this character is typed, all normal characters
+ that are subsequently typed will be inserted into the
+ display.
+
+ SLC_OVER Enter overstrike mode. When visual editing is
+ supported, after this character is typed, all normal
+ charactersthat are subsequently typed will overwrite
+ any characters in the current display. If the
+ SLC_INSRT and SLC_OVER variables are set to the same
+ value, then that value is to act as a toggle between
+ overstrike and insert mode.
+
+ SLC_ECR Erase character to the right. When visual editing is
+ supported, this is the character that, when typed, will
+ erase one character to the right of the cursor.
+
+ SLC_EWR Erase word to the right. When visual editing is
+ supported, this is the character that, when typed,
+ will erase one word to the right of the cursor.
+
+ SLC_EBOL Erase to the begining of the line. When visual editing
+ is supported, this is the character that, when typed,
+ will erase all the characters to the left of the cursor.
+
+ SLC_EEOL Erase to the end of the line. When visual editing is
+ supported, this is the character that, when typed, will
+ erase all characters to the right of the cursor.
+
+ For SLC_EEOL, SLC_EWR, and SLC_ECR, if a system has a cursor that is
+ not diplayed between characters, but is positioned over a character,
+ that character is assumed to be to the right of the cursor. Thus,
+ the SLC_ECR will erase the character that is under the current cursor
+ position.
+
+2.5 New control characters
+
+ IAC ABORT
+
+ Abort. Similar to "IAC IP", but means only to abort or terminate
+ the process to which the NVT is connected. (The Telnet spec says
+ IP may "suspend, interrupt, abort or terminate" the process.) If a
+ system does not have two methods of interrupting a process, then
+ ABORT and IP should have the same effect.
+
+
+
+Telnet Working Group [Page 10]
+
+RFC 1184 Telnet Linemode Option October 1990
+
+
+ IAC SUSP
+
+ Suspend the execution of the current process attached to the NVT
+ in such a way that another process will take over control of the
+ NVT, and the suspended process can be resumed at a later time. If
+ the receiving system does not support this functionality, it
+ should be ignored.
+
+ IAC EOF
+
+ End Of File. The recipient should notify the process connected to
+ the NVT that an end of file has been reached. This is intended
+ for systems that support the ability for the user to type in an
+ EOF character at the keyboard.
+
+3. Default Specification
+
+ The default specification for this option is
+
+ WONT LINEMODE
+
+ DONT LINEMODE
+
+ meaning there will not be any subnegotiation of the mode of the
+ connection.
+
+ If WILL LINEMODE is negotiated, the defaults are:
+
+ IAC SB LINEMODE MODE 0 IAC SE
+ IAC SB LINEMODE WONT FORWARDMASK IAC SE
+
+ If DO LINEMODE is negotiated, the defaults are:
+
+ IAC SB LINEMODE MODE 0 IAC SE
+ IAC SB LINEMODE DONT FORWARDMASK IAC SE
+
+ Character values for SLC default to SLC_NOSUPPORT.
+
+4. Motivation
+
+ With increasing Telnet usage, it has become apparent that the ability
+ to do command line processing on the local machine and send completed
+ lines to the remote machine is a feature necessary in several
+ environments. First, in the case of a connection over long delay
+ equipment, it is very frustrating to the user to have the echoing of
+ his data take several seconds. Second, some supercomputers, due to
+ their nature, are not good at handling and processing single
+ character input. For these machines, it is better to have the front
+
+
+
+Telnet Working Group [Page 11]
+
+RFC 1184 Telnet Linemode Option October 1990
+
+
+ end computer do the character processing, and leave the
+ supercomputer's cycles available for doing vectorized number
+ crunching.
+
+ There have been attempts to make local line editing work within the
+ existing Telnet specs. Indeed, the 4.3 BSD tape includes a version
+ of Telnet that attempts to do this through recognition of the state
+ of the ECHO and SUPRESS-GO-AHEAD options; other implementations do
+ this recognition purely through the ECHO option.
+
+ There are problems with both of these methods. Using just the ECHO
+ provides no mechanism to have ECHO to the user turned off, and leave
+ local character processing on, for example, when a user is typing a
+ password.
+
+ The usage of the SUPRESS-GO-AHEAD comes from reading into RFC 858,
+ where it states:
+
+ "In many TELNET implementations it will be desirable to couple the
+ SUPRESS-GO-AHEAD option to the echo option so that when the echo
+ option is in effect, the SUPPRESS-GO-AHEAD option is in effect
+ simultaneously: both of these options will normally have to be in
+ effect simultaneously to effect what it commonly understood to be
+ character at a time echoing by the remote computer."
+
+ The reverse reading of this is that without the ECHO option or the
+ SUPPRESS-GO-AHEAD option, you are in line at a time mode, implying
+ local line editing. This has the obvious problem that that is not
+ what the SUPPRESS-GO-AHEAD option is supposed to mean.
+
+ Other shortcomings are that the Telnet specification is not rich
+ enough to handle all of the special characters that some of the
+ current operating systems support. For example, the ECHO/SGA
+ implementation supports two ways of interrupting a process, by
+ borrowing the BRK option for the second interrupt. Some
+ implementations have taken the EOR option to send an End-Of-File.
+ Obviously, this is using things for which they were not intended, and
+ the correct solution would be to define new options.
+
+ Another problem is that some implementations of line mode buffer up
+ the input until the end of the line, and then send the whole line
+ across, editing characters and all. No local editing of the line has
+ been done.
+
+ After examining several implementations, it has become clear that the
+ correct thing to do is to implement new options to enhance the
+ current Telnet specification so that it can support local line
+ editing in a reasonable, reliable, and consistent manner.
+
+
+
+Telnet Working Group [Page 12]
+
+RFC 1184 Telnet Linemode Option October 1990
+
+
+ There are three states that are of interest.
+
+ 1) Local line editing and local signal trapping
+
+ 2) Remote line editing, local signal trapping
+
+ 3) Remote line editing, remote signal trapping
+
+ The case of local line editing and remote signal trapping is not a
+ very interesting case, because you don't recognize the signals, and
+ cannot send them to the remote side for it to recognize until the
+ line has been completed. Also, special signals usually will have an
+ effect on the line editing function, and if they are not being
+ trapped locally the desired action will not happen.
+
+ Local line editing means that all normal command line character
+ processing, like "Erase Character" and "Erase Line", happen on the
+ local system, and only when "CR LF" (or some other special character)
+ is encountered is the edited data sent to the remote system.
+
+ Signal trapping means, for example, that if the user types the
+ character associated with the IP function, then the "IAC IP" function
+ is sent to the remote side instead of the character typed. Remote
+ signal trapping means, for example, that if the user types the
+ character associated with the IP function, then the "IAC IP" function
+ is not sent to the remote side, but rather the actual character typed
+ is sent to the remote side.
+
+5. Implementation Rules
+
+ It is expected that any implementation that supports the Telnet
+ LINEMODE option will support all of this specification.
+
+5.1 User Interface
+
+ Normally, the entire user interface is left up to the implementor.
+ However, there is functionality that the user should be able to
+ specify on the client side of the connection. During a Telnet
+ session, the client side should allow some mechanism for the user to
+ give commands to the local Telnet process. These commands should at
+ least allow the user to:
+
+ 1) Change the mode of the connection. The user should be able to
+ attempt to turn EDIT, FLOW, TRAPSIG, and ECHO on and off. The
+ server may refuse to change the state of the EDIT and TRAPSIG
+ bits.
+
+ 2) Import or export SLC. The user should be able to tell the
+
+
+
+Telnet Working Group [Page 13]
+
+RFC 1184 Telnet Linemode Option October 1990
+
+
+ local Telnet process whether he wants to use the local or
+ the current or default remote definitions of the special
+ characters.
+
+ 3) Manual sending of options. The user should be able to tell
+ the local Telnet process to explicitly send any of the Telnet
+ options (like IP, ABORT, AYT, etc).
+
+5.2 End of line terminators.
+
+ When LINEMODE is turned on, and when in EDIT mode, when any normal
+ line terminator on the client side operating system is typed, the
+ line should be transmitted with "CR LF" as the line terminator. When
+ EDIT mode is turned off, a carriage return should be sent as "CR
+ NUL", a line feed should be sent as LF, and any other key that cannot
+ be mapped into an ASCII character, but means the line is complete
+ (like a DOIT or ENTER key), should be sent as "CR LF".
+
+5.3 Output processing
+
+ Regardless of what mode has been negotiated, the server side is
+ responsible for doing all output processing. Specificly, it should
+ send "CR LF" when it wants the "newline" function, "CR NUL" when it
+ wants just a carriage return, and "LF" when it wants just a linefeed.
+
+5.4 A terminal driver in Telnet?
+
+ Conforming implementations need not do all the line editing
+ themselves. There is nothing wrong with letting the system terminal
+ driver handle the line editing, and have it hand to the Telnet
+ application the completed and edited line, which is then sent to the
+ remote system.
+
+5.5 Setting of Local Characters
+
+ When this RFC was being developed, the original thought was that both
+ sides of the connection would use their own defaults for the special
+ characters, even if they were not the same on both sides of the
+ connection. If this scheme is used, though, the view that the user
+ has is that the local special characters are being used, and the
+ remote character settings don't matter. It was decided that the
+ client side of the connection should be in control of the character
+ settings.
+
+ When LINEMODE is negotiated, the client must either export the local
+ character settings to the server, or send a request (SLC 0
+ SLC_DEFAULT 0) to import the servers special characters. The usual
+ action would be that a client running on a full fledged computer
+
+
+
+Telnet Working Group [Page 14]
+
+RFC 1184 Telnet Linemode Option October 1990
+
+
+ would export the special characters, and a client running where there
+ are no local defaults (like on some terminal servers) would import
+ the special characters.
+
+ When an SLC command is received, the action taken should be:
+
+ 1) Ignore it if it is the same as the current settings.
+
+ 2) If the SLC_LEVELBITS are the same as the current level bits,
+ but the value is different and the SLC_ACK bit is set, no
+ reply is generated. On the server side, the command is
+ ignored, and on the client side, a switch is made to the
+ new value. This is so that if a request to change the same
+ character is generated by both the server and the client,
+ they will both settle on the clients requested value.
+
+ 3) If we agree with the new setting, we switch to it and reply
+ with the same value, but also set the SLC_ACK bit.
+
+ 4) If we don't agree, we send a response with what we think the
+ value should be. The SLC_ACK bit is NOT set in this case.
+ You may only disagree with a value by sending a different
+ value at a lower level.
+
+ If the remote system doesn't support some of the line editing
+ characters, but the front end does, then the front end may use the
+ local definitions for those characters when in line mode. In this
+ case, the server should send "SLC xxx SLC_DEFAULT 0" in response to a
+ "SLC 0 SLC_DEFAULT 0" request, and just ack whatever value the client
+ requests to set the function to.
+
+ The SLC_FORW2 character should only be used if SLC_FORW1 is already
+ in use.
+
+5.6 FORWARDMASK and SLC_FORW1 and SLC_FORW2
+
+ To help ease the amount of work needed to implement the client side,
+ two methods of setting forwarding characters are provided. The
+ SLC_FORW1 and SLC_FORW2 allow for the setting of two additional
+ characters on which to forward buffered input data. Since many
+ terminal drivers have the ability to set one or more line delimiters,
+ it is fairly easy to support these without having to implement
+ through the local terminal driver, rather than putting a terminal
+ driver into Telnet. If the local terminal driver has functionality
+ that maps easily into the FORWARDMASK, then it can also be easily
+ supported. If the local terminal driver does not support that, then
+ it would require more work to support FORWARDMASK.
+
+
+
+
+Telnet Working Group [Page 15]
+
+RFC 1184 Telnet Linemode Option October 1990
+
+
+ Also note that the client side is required to forward data when it
+ sees one of SLC_FORW1, SLC_FORW2, or FORWARDMASK characters, or when
+ any normal line termination or special signal is encountered. The
+ client side is also free to forward on other characters that it
+ chooses. For example, if the server side sent a FORWARDMASK that
+ asked for data to be forwarded on the first 20 control characters
+ (ASCII codes 1 through 024), and the client side cannot have its
+ local terminal driver forward on just the first 20 control
+ characters, but it can have the local terminal driver forward on any
+ control character (ASCII codes 1 through 039), then the client side
+ could validly accept the FORWARDMASK, and forward on any control
+ character. When in EDIT mode, care should be taken to not forward at
+ random times, since once that data is forwarded, no more editing on
+ the forwarded part of the line can be done. The only time (other
+ than the normal times) that data should be forwarded when in EDIT
+ mode would be if a single input line is too long to handle locally.
+
+5.7 Valid and invalid modes and values
+
+ At no time should "DO LINEMODE" be negotiated in both directions of
+ the Telnet connection. The side that is the "DO LINEMODE" is
+ considered to be the server side, and the side that is "WILL
+ LINEMODE" is the client side.
+
+ At no time should "SB LINEMODE DO/DONT FORWARDMASK", be sent unless
+ "DO LINEMODE" has been previously negotiated. At no time should "SB
+ LINEMODE WILL/WONT FORWARDMASK", be sent unless "WILL LINEMODE" has
+ been previously negotiated.
+
+ If an ABORT, EOF or SUSP, is received and the system does not support
+ that functionality, it may just be ignored.
+
+5.8 Flushing input and output
+
+ When an IP, BRK or ABORT is sent, it is usually desirable to be able
+ to flush the input stream, and to flush output to the user until the
+ IP, BRK, or ABORT is processed. The SLC_FLUSHIN and SLC_FLUSHOUT
+ bits are used to indicate what action should be done. These bits are
+ advisory only, but should be honored if possible. The standard
+ method for processing the SLC_FLUSHIN is to use the Telnet "Synch"
+ signal, and the SLC_FLUSHOUT is processed using the TIMING-MARK
+ option. If both are to be sent, the IAC DM is sent before the DO
+ TIMING-MARK Thus, the sender would send "IAC XXX IAC DM IAC DO
+ TIMING-MARK", where XXX may be IP, BRK or ABORT, or any other special
+ character. The IAC DM is sent as TCP urgent data with the DM as the
+ last (or only) data octet; this is used to flush the input stream.
+ The "IAC DO TIMING-MARK" is used to tell when to stop flushing
+ output; once it is sent, all data is discarded until an "IAC WILL
+
+
+
+Telnet Working Group [Page 16]
+
+RFC 1184 Telnet Linemode Option October 1990
+
+
+ TIMING-MARK" or an "IAC WONT TIMING-MARK" is received.
+
+ Since the SLC_FLUSHIN and SLC_FLUSHOUT bit are only advisory, the
+ user interface should provide a method so that the user can override
+ the sending (or not sending) of the "Synch" and TIMING-MARK, but the
+ default action should be to send them according to the SLC_FLUSHIN
+ and SLC_FLUSHOUT bits.
+
+ Whenever an IAC AO is received, a Synch must be returned. When ever
+ a Synch is being processed, (by the TCP connection going into Urgent
+ mode), all data must be discarded (but not Telnet commands!) until an
+ IAC DM is found, and the connection goes out of Urgent mode. See RFC
+ 854, "TELNET PROTOCOL SPECIFICATION", for a complete description of
+ the Synch signal.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Telnet Working Group [Page 17]
+
+RFC 1184 Telnet Linemode Option October 1990
+
+
+5.9 State diagram for SLC
+
+ +---------------------------------------------------------------+
+ | IDLE |
+ +----------------------+------+------+-------+-------+---------++
+ ^ ^ ^ | | ^ | ^ | ^ | ^ |
+ | | | v v | | | | | v | |
+ | | | +------+ +---+--+ | | | | ########### | |
+ | | | | Get | | Send | | | | | # Get # | |
+ | | | | SPC0 | | SPC0 | | | | | # 0,DEF,0 # | |
+ | | | +---+--+ +------+ | | | | ########### | |
+ | | | | ^ | | | | | | |
+ | | | v | v | | | v | |
+ | | | / \ | *********** | | ########### | |
+ | | | / \ | * Send * | | # Switch # | |
+ | ********** |Yes/ Same as \ | * 0,VAL,0 * | | # to # | |
+ | * Change * +--< current? > | *********** | | # default # | |
+ | * to new * \ / | v | ########### | |
+ | * value * \ / | *********** | | |
+ | ********** \ / | * Send * v | |
+ | ^ |No | * 0,DEF,0 * ######### | |
+ | |Yes v | *********** # Send #--+ |
+ | / \ / \ | # SPC-A # |
+ | / \ / \ | ######### |
+ | / Is ACK \ Yes/ Same \ | ^ |
+ |< bit set? ><-< level as > | | |
+ | \ / \ current?/ | ########### |
+ | \ / \ / | # Get #<--+
+ | \ / \ / +-+---+ # 0,VAL,0 #
+ | |No |No | Set | ###########
+ | +--------------+ | ACK |
+ | v | bit | * - Client side only
+ | / \ +-----+ # - Server side only
+ | +------+ / \ ^
+ | | Send | No / Do we \ Yes|
+ +---| SPC1 |<---< agree? >---+
+ +------+ \ /
+ \ /
+ \ /
+
+ SPC0 Initial setting for a special character
+ SPC1 A changed special character < SPC0
+ SPC-A All current special character settings
+ VAL SLC_VALUE level
+ DEF SLC_DEFAULT level
+
+ Levels: DEFAULT, VALUE, CANT_CHANGE, NOSUPPORT
+ Flags: ACK
+
+
+
+Telnet Working Group [Page 18]
+
+RFC 1184 Telnet Linemode Option October 1990
+
+
+ Receive Response
+ ------- --------
+ f,SLC_DEFAULT,x f,SLC_VALUE,v
+ f,SLC_CANTCHANGE,v
+ f,SLC_NOSUPPORT,x
+
+ f,SLC_VALUE,v f,SLC_ACK|SLC_VALUE,v
+ f,SLC_CANTCHANGE,w
+ f,SLC_NOSUPPORT,x
+
+ f,SLC_CANTCHANGE,v f,SLC_ACK|SLC_CANTCHANGE,v
+ f,SLC_NOSUPPORT,x
+
+ f,SLC_NOSUPPORT,x f,SLC_ACK|SLC_NOSUPPORT,x
+
+ x,SLC_ACK|x,x no response
+
+5.10 Examples of a connection
+
+ In these examples, the symbolic names are used rather than the actual
+ values, to make them readable. When two or more symbolic names are
+ joined by a |, it means that the actual value will be the logical
+ "or" of the values of the symbolic names. In the interest of
+ clarity, for these examples the leading IAC and IAC SB sequences, and
+ the trailing IAC SE sequences have been omitted. Also, the SLC_
+ prefix has been left off where ever it would normally occur.
+
+ CLIENT SERVER
+ DO TOGGLE-FLOW-CONTROL
+ DO LINEMODE
+ WILL TOGGLE-FLOW-CONTROL
+ WILL LINEMODE
+ [ Subnegotiation may now proceed in both directions. The client
+ sends of the list of special characters. ]
+ LINEMODE SLC SYNCH DEFAULT 0 IP
+ VALUE|FLUSHIN|FLUSHOUT 3 AO
+ VALUE 15 AYT DEFAULT 0 ABORT
+ VALUE|FLUSHIN|FLUSHOUT 28 EOF
+ VALUE 4 SUSP VALUE|FLUSHIN 26 EC
+ VALUE 127 EL VALUE 21 EW VALUE
+ 23 RP VALUE 18 LNEXT VALUE 22
+ XON VALUE 17 XOFF VALUE 19
+ [ Now that linemode is enabled, the server sets the initial mode,
+ and acknowledges the special characters. ]
+ LINEMODE MODE EDIT
+
+ LINEMODE SLC SYNCH NOSUPPORT 0
+ IP VALUE|FLUSHIN|FLUSHOUT|ACK 3
+
+
+
+Telnet Working Group [Page 19]
+
+RFC 1184 Telnet Linemode Option October 1990
+
+
+ AO NOSUPPORT 0 AYT NOSUPPORT 0
+ ABORT VALUE|FLUSHIN|FLUSHOUT|ACK
+ 28 EOF VALUE|ACK 4 SUSP NOSUP-
+ PORT 0 EC VALUE|ACK 127 EL
+ VALUE|ACK 21 EW VALUE|ACK 23 RP
+ VALUE|ACK 18 LNEXT VALUE|ACK 22
+ XON VALUE|ACK 17 XOFF VALUE|ACK
+ 19
+ [ The client gets the mode and ack of the special characters, and
+ acks the mode and any special characters that the server
+ changed. ]
+ LINEMODE MODE EDIT|MODE_ACK
+
+ LINEMODE SLC SYNCH NOSUPPORT|ACK
+ 0 AO NOSUPPORT|ACK 0 AYT|ACK
+ NOSUPPORT 0 SUSP NOSUPPORT|ACK 0
+ "Login:"
+ "my_account"
+ [ Turn off echo to the user. ]
+ WILL ECHO
+ DO ECHO
+ "Password:"
+ "my_password"
+ [ Turn back on echo to the user. ]
+ WONT ECHO
+ DONT ECHO
+ [ User does some stuff, and then runs an application that wants
+ to use single character mode, doing its own echoing of
+ characters, but keep signal trapping on. ]
+ WILL ECHO
+ DO ECHO
+ LINEMODE MODE TRAPSIG
+ LINEMODE MODE TRAPSIG|MODE_ACK
+ [ Application finishes ]
+ WONT ECHO
+ DONT ECHO
+ LINEMODE MODE EDIT|TRAPSIG
+ LINEMODE MODE
+ EDIT|TRAPSIG|MODE_ACK
+ [ Another application, that wants full control of everything. ]
+ WILL ECHO
+ DO ECHO
+ LINEMODE MODE 0
+ LINEMODE MODE 0|MODE_ACK
+ [ Application finishes ]
+ WONT ECHO
+ DONT ECHO
+ LINEMODE MODE EDIT|TRAPSIG
+
+
+
+Telnet Working Group [Page 20]
+
+RFC 1184 Telnet Linemode Option October 1990
+
+
+ LINEMODE MODE
+ EDIT|TRAPSIG|MODE_ACK
+ [ The user changes his erase character to ^H. ]
+ LINEMODE SLC EC VALUE 8
+ LINEMODE SLC EC VALUE|ACK 8
+ [ The user decides to revert to all the original client side
+ special characters. ]
+ LINEMODE SLC SYNCH DEFAULT 0 IP
+ VALUE|FLUSHIN|FLUSHOUT 3 AO
+ VALUE 15 AYT DEFAULT 0 ABORT
+ VALUE|FLUSHIN|FLUSHOUT 28 EOF
+ VALUE 4 SUSP VALUE|FLUSHIN 26 EC
+ VALUE 127 EL VALUE 21 EW VALUE
+ 23 RP VALUE 18 LNEXT VALUE 22
+ XON VALUE 17 XOFF VALUE 19
+ LINEMODE SLC SYNCH NOSUPPORT 0
+ AO NOSUPPORT 15 AYT NOSUPPORT 0
+ SUSP NOSUPPORT|FLUSHIN 26 EC
+ VALUE|ACK 127 EW VALUE|ACK 23 RP
+ VALUE|ACK 18 LNEXT VALUE|ACK 22
+ XON VALUE|ACK 17 XOFF VALUE|ACK
+ 19
+ LINEMODE SLC SYNCH NOSUPPORT|ACK
+ 0 AO NOSUPPORT|ACK 15 AYT
+ NOSUPPORT|ACK 0 SUSP
+ NOSUPPORT|ACK|FLUSHIN 26
+ [ The user decides to import the remote sides default special
+ characters. ]
+ LINEMODE SLC 0 DEFAULT 0
+ LINEMODE SLC IP
+ VALUE|FLUSHIN|FLUSHOUT 3 ABORT
+ VALUE|FLUSHIN|FLUSHOUT 28 EOF
+ VALUE 4 EC VALUE 127 EL VALUE 21
+ [ Since these are the same as the current local settings, no
+ response is generated. ]
+ [ This next example is what would happen if an editor was fired
+ up, that wanted to let the client side do the echoing and
+ buffering of characters, but did not want it to do any line
+ editing, and only forward the data when got a control
+ character. Note that we have preceded all the the 0377s
+ in the forward mask with an IAC. ]
+ LINEMODE MODE 0
+ LINEMODE DO FORWARDMASK IAC 0377
+ IAC 0377 IAC 0377 IAC 0377 0 0 0
+ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 01
+ LINEMODE MODE 0
+ LINEMODE WILL FORWARDMASK
+ [ Application runs to completion, and then things are to be set
+
+
+
+Telnet Working Group [Page 21]
+
+RFC 1184 Telnet Linemode Option October 1990
+
+
+ back to what they were before. ]
+ LINEMODE MODE EDIT|TRAPSIG
+ LINEMODE DONT FORWARDMASK
+ LINEMODE MODE EDIT|TRAPSIG
+ LINEMODE WONT FORWARDMASK
+
+6. Other Telnet options and RFCs
+
+ The following is a list of RFCs for various Telnet options that
+ should be supported along with LINEMODE.
+
+ 1. Postel, J. and Reynolds, J., "TELNET PROTOCOL SPECIFICATION",
+ RFC 854, ISI, May 1983.
+
+ 2. Postel, J. and Reynolds, J., "TELNET OPTION SPECIFICATIONS",
+ RFC 855, ISI, May 1983.
+
+ 3. Postel, J. and Reynolds, J., "TELNET BINARY TRANSMISSION",
+ RFC 856, ISI, May 1983.
+
+ 4. Postel, J. and Reynolds, J., "TELNET ECHO OPTION", RFC 857,
+ ISI, May 1983.
+
+ 5. Postel, J. and Reynolds, J., "TELNET SUPRESS GO AHEAD OPTION",
+ RFC 858, ISI, May 1983.
+
+ 6. Postel, J. and Reynolds, J., "TELNET TIMING MARK OPTION",
+ RFC 860, ISI, May 1983.
+
+ 7. VanBokkeln, J., "Telnet Terminal-Type Option", RFC 1091,
+ FTP Software, Inc., February 1989.
+
+ 8. Waitzman, D., "Telnet Window Size Option", RFC 1073, BBN STC,
+ October 1988.
+
+ 9. Hedrick, C., "Telnet Remote Flow Control Option", RFC 1080,
+ Rutgers University, November, 1988.
+
+ 10. Hedrick, C., "Telnet Terminal Speed Option", RFC 1079, Rutgers
+ University, December, 1988.
+
+ The following is a list of RFCs that need not be supported for
+ LINEMODE, but which would enhance any TELNET implementation.
+
+ 11. Postel, J. and Reynolds, J., "TELNET STATUS OPTION", RFC 859,
+ ISI, May 1983.
+
+ 12. Postel, J. and Reynolds, J., "TELNET END OF RECORD OPTION",
+
+
+
+Telnet Working Group [Page 22]
+
+RFC 1184 Telnet Linemode Option October 1990
+
+
+ RFC 885, ISI, December 1983.
+
+ 13. Silverman, S., "OUTPUT MARKING TELNET OPTION", RFC 933,
+ MITRE-Washington, January 1985.
+
+ 14. Marcy, G., "Telnet X Display Location Option", RFC 1096,
+ Carnegie Mellon University, March 1989.
+
+Security Consideratiions
+
+ Security issues are not discussed in this memo.
+
+Author's Address
+
+ David A. Borman
+ Cray Research Inc.
+ 655F Lone Oak Drive
+ Eagan, MN 55123
+
+ Phone: (612) 452-6650
+ EMail: dab@CRAY.COM
+
+ IETF Telnet WG Mailing List: telnet-ietf@CRAY.COM
+
+
+
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+ \ No newline at end of file