NAME

getty − Sets the terminal type, modes, speed, and line discipline

SYNOPSIS

getty [−h] [−t time] line speed_label terminal line_discipline

getty −c file

OPTIONS

−hHold the carrier during the initialization phase; do not hang up. 

−t time
Set the time period to the specified number of seconds.  Drop the line after that amount of time if nothing is typed. 

−cCheck the specified gettydefs file. 

DESCRIPTION

The getty command sets and manages terminals by setting up speed, terminal flags, and the line discipline. If command options are provided, getty adapts the system to those specifications.  getty prints the login prompt, waits for the user to enter a username, and invokes the login command. 

getty uses the /etc/gettydefs file for terminal information.  The line argument refers to the device name in /dev. The speed_label argument is a pointer into the /etc/gettydefs file where the definitions for speed and other associated options are located. The terminal argument specifies the name of the terminal type. The line_discipline argument specifies the name of the line discipline. 

The second syntax for the getty command provides a check option.  When getty is invoked with the −c option and filename argument, it checks the specified file in the same way it scans gettydefs for terminal information, then prints the results to standard output. 

By default, the getty daemon writes the login string specified in the message field of the /etc/gettydefs file to any terminal spawned or respawned from the /etc/inittab file. If an /etc/issue file is present, getty reads the file and writes its contents to the terminal prior to writing the login string specified in the /etc/gettydefs file. 

FILES

/usr/sbin/getty
Specifies the command path.

/etc/gettydefs
Specifies the terminal line database file.

/etc/issue
Specifies the path name for the issue identification file.

SEE ALSO

Commands: init(8), login(1), stty(1)

Files: issue(4).