Another question(s) from a linux n00b

[El Salsero Gringo]

All hail the great *n1x exp3rts of the f0rum. I stand before you stripped of my cloak of experience in this strange yet powerful land of 2>&3 and #!/bin/bash.

I would like to be able to divert both stdin and stdout to /dev/rfcomm0 (a bluetooth-connected device) so I can use the keyboard as a terminal for it. What shell command will achieve that? (Then I'm going to use netpipes to connect /dev/rfcomm0 to a tcp port, but one step at a time.)

Secondly, I have been trying to setup vncserver (also vnc4server) so I can use a windows vnc client as vi is driving me a little bit nutty. I am using Debian 3.1r1 (sarge) but the logfile for vncserver indicates that no font files are being found, not even the default font 'fixed'. If anyone has experience of vnc and can give me some help by pm I will be forever in their debt.

[ducasi]

Not sure I completely understand what you're trying to do...

A bluetooth keyboard as an output device?

Are you wanting to interact with Debian through the bluetooth connection, or interact with another device?

As for vnc, I'm not sure how that will save you from vi, but most vnc servers on Unix that i've seen, work by pretending to be a X server, and so will need a set of fonts, or a font server...

[El Salsero Gringo]

Originally Posted by ducasi

Not sure I completely understand what you're trying to do...

A bluetooth keyboard as an output device?

Are you wanting to interact with Debian through the bluetooth connection, or interact with another device?

As for vnc, I'm not sure how that will save you from vi, but most vnc servers on Unix that i've seen, work by pretending to be a X server, and so will need a set of fonts, or a font server...

Got my () central heating controller built, installed, and working. It's configured via a bluetooth interface - using the rfcomm protocol. That means I can talk to it by BT browsing for it, pairing, binding its rfcomm service and accessing it via a "virtual" COM13 and Hyperterm on my PC, and /dev/rfcomm0 from my (new) linux install.

The idea is then to pipe the input/output of a TCP socket to rfcomm0 so I can 'telnet' to the controller from anywhere I please using the Linux box as a middleman. (This is a temporary solution, until I can write or modify a TCP stack for a microcontroller and build the hardware to run it.)

Back in Linux-world, netpipes will (using 'faucet') open a socket, as a daemon, and wait for incoming connections. Faucet's other argument is a expression to execute when the remote client connects to which input and output is directed in lieu of stdin and stdout.

So I need the shell command that will take stdin and send it to /dev/rfcomm0 and take output from /dev/rfcomm0 and direct it to stdout. Faucet will do the rest. Currently I can do it one way, or the other (cat < /dev/rfcomm0 for instance) but I don't know how to do both.

A nice option would be to parse for, say, the string 'done' and exit.

I hope vnc will save me from vi because I may be able to find an X editor to run over it. The debian package manager installs loads of stuff with vnc, including X bit'n'bobs, but it doesn't seem to get round to any fonts. Or at least, if it does, I can't get vnc to look at them.

[ducasi]

OK... What you really want then is a simple terminal emulator for the linux box to talk to the remote host... Maybe ckermit, or minicom...

Or perhaps ser2net is what you need...

As for vnc, I dunno... Could you run an X server on your PC? Or use Samba to edit the files on Windows?

[El Salsero Gringo]

Originally Posted by ducasi

OK... What you really want then is a simple terminal emulator for the linux box to talk to the remote host... Maybe ckermit, or minicom...

Been trying minicom, can't get it to open the rfcomm device. I think, on your suggestion that ser2net is the way to go. Thanks for the idea.

Originally Posted by Ducasi

As for vnc, I dunno...

Got it sorted now - had to install the right fonts as well.

[El Salsero Gringo]

And as for the anonymous repper who wonders how I can possibly not be single: if you have to ask...

[Dreadful Scathe]

Originally Posted by El Salsero Gringo

Got my () central heating controller built,

g33k central What have you got computer controlled now then ?

Im considering the lights myself but my current projects are a full arcade emulator cabinet for a friend and remote controled helicopter with on board camera for the garden in better weather (got all the bits, just need the time )

[El Salsero Gringo]

Originally Posted by Dreadful Scathe

g33k central What have you got computer controlled now then ?

Im considering the lights myself but my current projects are a full arcade emulator cabinet for a friend and remote controled helicopter with on board camera for the garden in better weather (got all the bits, just need the time )

Lights and heating - but they're controlled by embedded systems, not computer. Otherwise this place would be dark and cold every time a computer crashed.

[Clive Long]

Originally Posted by El Salsero Gringo

Lights and heating - but they're controlled by embedded systems, not computer. Otherwise this place would be dark and cold every time a computer crashed.

I've seen it.

Very clever, but more than a little disturbing when he can dim the lights from his mobile phone.

Tin foil hat ...... on!