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From: kilgallen@eisner.decus.org (Larry Kilgallen)
Subject: Re: SunOS Clear Screen
Date: 1997/02/27
Message-ID: <1997Feb27.132853.1@eisner>#1/1
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References: <3314F0F8.6025@wmpenn.edu> <dewar.857058369@merv>
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Date: 1997-02-27T00:00:00+00:00
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In article <dewar.857058369@merv>, dewar@merv.cs.nyu.edu (Robert Dewar) writes:
> Perry asks
> 
> <<Where can I find information on accomplishing a clear screen command for
> Ada.  I am running GNAT under the Sun Solaris OS.>>
> 
> The important thing to realize is that this is not an Ada question at all.
> Ada gives you the capability of generating output streams of bytes. You
> have to find out how to clear a screen given the particular terminal drivers
> and environment you are using, and either you must write some special
> sequence out (e.g. a Ctrl-L might work in some cases), or you need to call
> a specialized routine (e.g. an appropriate routine in the curses library).

And for some "screens", where one is not emulating a dumb terminal,
there is no simple set of characters to write.

> But don't look to Ada for a solution to this. Note that exactly the same
> would be true in C, there is no way to clear a screen in C either!

I think the issue arises because of pathelogical intermixing of
languages and operating system environments in products like
Borland Pascal.  Folks who start in that realm don't see where
the Pascal ends and the Borland begins.

When one starts with a more academic approach to programming
languages, and advances to software engineering approaches,
the first response to the "how do I clear the screen" question
is "what screen" -- appropriate either to the rocket environment
with zero screens or the Airline Control Program with 4000 screens.

Larry Kilgallen