Tty (Unix) - Dumb Terminal

The specific meaning of the term dumb terminal can vary depending on the context in which it is used.

In the context of traditional computer terminals that communicate over a serial RS-232 connection, dumb terminals are those that can interpret a limited number of control codes (CR, LF, etc.) but do not have the ability to process special escape sequences that perform functions such as clearing a line, clearing the screen, or controlling cursor position. In this context dumb terminals are sometimes dubbed glass Teletypes, for they essentially have the same limited functionality as does a mechanical Teletype. This type of dumb terminal is still supported on modern Unix-like systems by setting the environment variable TERM to dumb. Smart or intelligent terminals are those that also have the ability to process escape sequences, in particular the VT52, VT100 or ANSI escape sequences.

In the broader context that includes all forms of keyboard/screen computer communication devices, including personal computers, diskless workstations, network computers, thin clients, and X terminals, the term dumb terminal is sometimes used to refer to any type of traditional computer terminal that communicates serially over a RS-232 connection that does not locally process data or execute user programs.

The term dumb terminal sometimes also refers to public computer terminals that are limited to monochrome text-only capabilities, or to terminals that transmit each character as it is typed rather than waiting until it is polled by a host computer.