A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer

user interface In the industrial design field of human–computer interaction, a user interface (UI) is the space where interactions between humans and machines occur. The goal of this interaction is to allow effective operation and control of the machine f ...

. It is a feature of some

Unix-like A Unix-like (sometimes referred to as UN*X or *nix) operating system is one that behaves in a manner similar to a Unix system, although not necessarily conforming to or being certified to any version of the Single UNIX Specification. A Unix-li ...

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common daemon (computing), services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems scheduler (computing), schedule tasks for ef ...

s such as

Linux Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which i ...

, BSD, illumos, UnixWare, and

macOS macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. Within the market of ...

in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between multiple virtual consoles to access unrelated user interfaces. Virtual consoles date back at least to Xenix
United States Patent 4945468 lists Xenix as prior art in this area. and Concurrent CP/M in the 1980s. In the Linux console and other platforms, usually the first six virtual consoles provide a text terminal with a login prompt to a

Unix shell A Unix shell is a command-line interpreter or shell that provides a command line user interface for Unix-like operating systems. The shell is both an interactive command language and a scripting language, and is used by the operating system t ...

. The graphical

X Window System The X Window System (X11, or simply X) is a windowing system for bitmap displays, common on Unix-like operating systems. X provides the basic framework for a GUI environment: drawing and moving windows on the display device and interacting ...

traditionally starts in the seventh virtual console (tty7), although this is configuration dependent. In Linux, the user switches between them by pressing the

Alt key The Alt key (pronounced or ) on a computer keyboard is used to change (alternate) the function of other pressed keys. Thus, the Alt key is a modifier key, used in a similar fashion to the Shift key. For example, simply pressing ''A'' will ...

combined with a

function key A function key is a key on a computer or terminal keyboard that can be programmed so as to cause an operating system command interpreter or application program to perform certain actions, a form of soft key. On some keyboards/computers, func ...

– for example + to access the virtual console number 1. + changes to the previous virtual console and + to the next virtual console. To switch from the X Window System or a

Wayland compositor Wayland is a communication protocol that specifies the communication between a display server and its clients, as well as a C library implementation of that protocol. A display server using the Wayland protocol is called a '' Wayland composit ...

, + + works. (Note that users can redefine these default key combinations.) If several

sessions Sessions may refer to: * Sessions (surname), a surname * Sessions (clothing company), an American apparel company * Sessions Clock Company, an American clock manufacturer in the early 20th century Arts, entertainment, and media * ''The Sessions' ...

of the X Window System are required to run in parallel, such as in the case of fast user switching or when debugging X programs on a separate X server, each X session usually runs in a separate virtual console.

Implementation details

Unix systems

Unix workstations, such as those manufactured by Sun or Silicon Graphics, did not include virtual consoles. The only purpose of a console would be to fix the system so that the graphical environment could start. Sun Niagara-based servers running

virtualization In computing, virtualization or virtualisation (sometimes abbreviated v12n, a numeronym) is the act of creating a virtual (rather than actual) version of something at the same abstraction level, including virtual computer hardware platforms, st ...

with Logical Domains get virtual console services from the ''Control domain''.

Notes

References

* FreeBSD Handbook, chapte
3.2 Virtual Consoles and Terminals

External links

Linux command chvt to switch vt from cmdline

XENIX -- Microsoft's Short-lived Love Affair with Unix
{{DEFAULTSORT:Virtual Console (Pc) Computer terminals Terminal multiplexers User interfaces

Implementation details

Unix systems

See also

Notes

References

External links