ProTerm
Encyclopedia
ProTERM is a classic telecommunication
program
for the Apple II and Macintosh line of personal computers. Published by Intrec Software and most popular in the late 1980s and 1990s, it was most commonly used for calling bulletin board systems
(BBSes) via a computer's modem
.
ProTERM was rich in features such as an extensive "scrollback" buffer
limited only by the computer's memory, an optional mouse-based interface in the Apple II version (standard on the Mac), an easy-to-use and very powerful text editor
, autolearning macros, and a variety of terminal emulations such as VT-100 and the powerful but proprietary ProTERM Special Emulation (also: PSE or PTSE) which used Apple's semigraphical MouseText
character set. Supported file transfer protocols ranged from Kermit
and Xmodem
to Ymodem
(4K and G) and Zmodem
.
The latest published versions of ProTERM were v3.1 for the Apple II and v1.5 for the Macintosh.
On April 15, 2009, the most recent Apple II version, 3.1, was relicensed as freeware
and is now available for download.
Telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information over significant distances to communicate. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals, such as beacons, smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs, or audio messages via coded...
program
Computer program
A computer program is a sequence of instructions written to perform a specified task with a computer. A computer requires programs to function, typically executing the program's instructions in a central processor. The program has an executable form that the computer can use directly to execute...
for the Apple II and Macintosh line of personal computers. Published by Intrec Software and most popular in the late 1980s and 1990s, it was most commonly used for calling bulletin board systems
Bulletin board system
A Bulletin Board System, or BBS, is a computer system running software that allows users to connect and log in to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, a user can perform functions such as uploading and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging...
(BBSes) via a computer's modem
Modem
A modem is a device that modulates an analog carrier signal to encode digital information, and also demodulates such a carrier signal to decode the transmitted information. The goal is to produce a signal that can be transmitted easily and decoded to reproduce the original digital data...
.
ProTERM was rich in features such as an extensive "scrollback" buffer
Buffer (computer science)
In computer science, a buffer is a region of a physical memory storage used to temporarily hold data while it is being moved from one place to another. Typically, the data is stored in a buffer as it is retrieved from an input device or just before it is sent to an output device...
limited only by the computer's memory, an optional mouse-based interface in the Apple II version (standard on the Mac), an easy-to-use and very powerful text editor
Text editor
A text editor is a type of program used for editing plain text files.Text editors are often provided with operating systems or software development packages, and can be used to change configuration files and programming language source code....
, autolearning macros, and a variety of terminal emulations such as VT-100 and the powerful but proprietary ProTERM Special Emulation (also: PSE or PTSE) which used Apple's semigraphical MouseText
MouseText
MouseText designed by Bruce Tognazzini is a set of 32 graphical characters first implemented in the Apple IIc. They were then retrofitted to the Apple IIe forming part of the Enhanced IIe upgrade. A slightly revised version was then released with the Apple IIgs....
character set. Supported file transfer protocols ranged from Kermit
Kermit (protocol)
Kermit is a computer file transfer/management protocol and a set of communications software tools primarily used in the early years of personal computing in the 1980s; it provides a consistent approach to file transfer, terminal emulation, script programming, and character set conversion across...
and Xmodem
XMODEM
XMODEM is a simple file transfer protocol developed as a quick hack by Ward Christensen for use in his 1977 MODEM.ASM terminal program. XMODEM became extremely popular in the early bulletin board system market, largely because it was so simple to implement...
to Ymodem
YMODEM
YMODEM is a protocol for file transfer used between modems. YMODEM was developed by Chuck Forsberg as the successor to XMODEM and MODEM7, and was first implemented in his CP/M YAM program...
(4K and G) and Zmodem
ZMODEM
ZMODEM is a file transfer protocol developed by Chuck Forsberg in 1986, in a project funded by Telenet in order to improve file transfers on their X.25 network...
.
The latest published versions of ProTERM were v3.1 for the Apple II and v1.5 for the Macintosh.
On April 15, 2009, the most recent Apple II version, 3.1, was relicensed as freeware
Freeware
Freeware is computer software that is available for use at no cost or for an optional fee, but usually with one or more restricted usage rights. Freeware is in contrast to commercial software, which is typically sold for profit, but might be distributed for a business or commercial purpose in the...
and is now available for download.