> On 31 Jul 2025, at 13:45, Dan Purgert <[email protected]> wrote: > > On Jul 31, 2025, mick.crane wrote: >> I've never really known what a serial console is. >> Say in relation to a Raspberry Pi or Arduino > > Skipping a *LOT* of history (and linguistics, etc), a "serial console" > is a "console" (user interface) provided remotely to the device in > question over a serial communications channel. I don't believe the term > really came into use until *after* ethernet took over.
I think you’re right there, Dan - when I was soldering up db25 RS-232 cables (pins 2,3,7 and 20 IIRC) and crawling around under floors, a terminal was a terminal and the console was something directly connected to the computer. We didn’t bother with ’serial’ because it’s not like there was any other kind of terminal :) It worries me that knowledge of these things (and UARTs and character vs block devices and any number of other things) is likely to die out with us old farts :) J -- John Dow <[email protected]> http://www.nelefa.org PVC:APKTIDQ4881ao2SFS0DZLOe7t6V0UwcuUV4x3dnkJR0TZsYX0usQ 
