Accessing the CSIL Unix Prompt
from Windows using PuTTY

Introduction

In many Computer Science courses at UCSB, you may need to use the Unix Shell Prompt on the "CSIL" machines.

The most effective way to use the CSIL machines is to come in person to the CSIL lab in Harold Frank Hall.

However, there are times when this may not be convenient, and you might prefer to try to get some work done by connecting to CSIL over the Internet from your own computer. For some assignments in CS8 and CS16—and beyond—you may be able to complete the entire assignment this way. This is more often the case when the assignments don't involve graphics, and

This document describes how to connect with PuTTY, a free secure shell program for Windows.

• If you are connecting from Mac or Unix, there is a separate page that describes how to do that.

PuTTY provides only command line access to CSIL—no graphics!

Connecting with PuTTY does not work if you need graphics. With PuTTY you can only access the CSIL Unix command line.

For example, in CS8, this means:

• You can get to the Python command prompt.
• You cannot use IDLE, and you cannot use Turtle Graphics.

In CS16, this means:

• You can emacs or vim to edit (but not in graphics mode)
• You can complete most C programming assignments

If you are unsure whether a particular assignment can be completed using this method of accessing CSIL, ask your TA or your instructor.

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A quick version of the instructions

In the spirit of not letting the "perfect" be the enemy of the "good", here is a quick version of the instructions that may suffice for most folks. A more detailed version may come later when I have time.

1. Download and install Putty from http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/download.html
   The link you want is the "Windows installer for everything except PuTTYtel
   
   If you need help, see the screenshots 1-16 in my list of images (these are images that I eventually hope to turn into a more complete set of instructions.)
   
   
2. To bring up PuTTY after it is installed, you should be able to find PuTTY in your start menu, like this:
   
   
3. When you bring up PuTTY, you'll see this screen. Fill in the values as shown and click Open:
   
   
   
   
4. Now you can connect to CSIL with your username/password.
   
   
   
5. Now you can use CSIL. Be aware that you must use only your arrow keys and the delete/backspace key to move around—the mouse will not work for moving the cursor around.
   
   
6. The backspace/delete key can be a particular issue—for example in programs such as emacs, vi, and other editors. If that is an issue, see the troubleshooting section below.
   
   
   
7. It is good practice to type "exit" in your Unix shell when logging out—it is best to do that before you hit the red X to close the window. (If you hit the red X anyway, it isn't the end of the world, but you may end up using up extra computing resources if your session doesn't close cleanly, so typing exit first is a good habit to develop.)

 

Troubleshooting and adjusting settings

 

If you need to adjust settings, here's how: click on the little icon at the upper left hand corner of the PuTTY window:

When this comes up, the setting that you may most often need to change is the way the backspace key works—i.e. whether it sends a backspace or a delete character to the computer you are connecting to.

This image shows how to adjust this:

 

Last update: P. Conrad, 10/05/2009