.\"	$OpenBSD: cons.4,v 1.13 2013/08/14 06:32:33 jmc Exp $
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.\"     from: @(#)cons.4	6.3 (Berkeley) 3/27/91
.\"
.Dd $Mdocdate: August 14 2013 $
.Dt CONS 4 vax
.Os
.Sh NAME
.Nm cons
.Nd VAX console interface
.Sh DESCRIPTION
The console is available to the processor through the console registers.
It acts like a normal terminal, except that when the local functions are
not disabled, a special command character puts the console in local console
mode.
The character itself is dependent upon the model of VAX and the type
of console in use.
The prompt in console mode is
.Sq Li >>> ,
also called the
.Sq chevron
prompt.
.Pp
If the console is a serial console, sending a break will likely cause the
machine to halt and enter console mode.
The set of commands available at the console varies from machine to machine,
although there are several commands which are common to most or all models.
.Bl -tag -width continue -compact -offset 4n
.It Ic c
.It Ic continue
Return to the currently executing program.
.Pp
.It Ic halt
Halt the processor.
.Pp
.It Ic help
Display a list of available console commands.
.Pp
.It Xo
.Oo Ic e Oc Ns
.Ic xamine
.Op Cm /bwl Ns
.Op Cm /ins
.Op Cm /pgiv
.Op Cm /n: Ns Ar n
.Op Ar addr
.Xc
Display the contents at address
.Ar addr
according to the options specified.
.Pp
The options are:
.Pp
.Bl -tag -width 5n -compact
.It Cm /bwl
.It Cm /ins
Size of data to examine.
Your choices are examining values as bytes (8 bits), words (16 bits),
or longwords (32 bits).
On systems that support it, you can use the
.Cm /ins
option to display the mnemonic representation of the instruction located at
.Ar addr .
.Pp
.It Cm /pvgi
These options describe the meaning of
.Ar addr .
With the
.Cm /p
option,
.Ar addr
will be treated as an address in physical memory.
With the
.Cm /v
option,
.Ar addr
will be treated as a virtual address.
The
.Cm /g
option will let you examine the general registers.
From 0 to F (base 16), general registers are R0-R12(AP), FP, SP, and PC.
The
.Cm /i
option will let you view the internal processor registers.
These vary from processor to processor, but a relatively complete description
may be found in
.Pa /usr/include/vax/mtpr.h .
.Pp
.It Cm /n: Ns Ar count
The
.Cm /n
option specifies that the command will repeat
.Ar count
times after executing once, automatically incrementing
.Ar addr
while doing so.
.El
.Pp
.It Xo
.Oo Ic d Oc Ns
.Ic eposit
.Op Cm /bwl
.Op Cm /pgiv
.Op Cm /n: Ns Ar n
.Op Ar addr
.Op Ar value
.Xc
Insert the value
.Ar value
into the address
.Ar addr
according to the options specified.
.Pp
The options are:
.Pp
.Bl -tag -width 5n -compact
.It Cm /bwl
Size of data to insert.
Your choices are inserting values as bytes (8 bits), words (16 bits),
or longwords (32 bits).
.Pp
.It Cm /pvgi
These options describe the meaning of
.Ar addr .
Their meanings are identical to their respective meanings in the
.Cm examine
command.
.Pp
.It Cm /n: Ns Ar count
The
.Cm /n
option specifies that the command will repeat
.Ar count
times after executing once, automatically incrementing
.Ar addr
while doing so.
.El
.El
.Pp
With the above provisos the console works like any other
.Ux
terminal.
.Sh FILES
.Bl -tag -width /dev/console -compact
.It Pa /dev/console
.El
.Sh SEE ALSO
.Xr tty 4 ,
.Xr reboot 8
.Rs
.%T "VAX Hardware Handbook"
.Re
.Sh HISTORY
The
.Nm cons
interface
appeared in
.Bx 4.0 .