SY.CHRISTINE@CU20B.COLUMBIA.EDU (Christine M Gianone) (05/28/86)
Info-Kermit Digest Tue, 28 May 1986 Volume 4 : Number 31
Special Edition: MS-DOS Kermit 2.29 Released
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Date: Wed 28 May 86 11:08:51-EDT
From: Frank da Cruz <SY.FDC@CU20B.COLUMBIA.EDU>
Subject: Announcing Version 2.29 of MS-DOS Kermit
Keywords: MS-DOS Kermit, IBM PC, Rainbow, HP110, HP150, Heath/Zenith-100
Keywords: NEC APC, Sanyo MBC, TI PC, Victor 9000
This is to announce version 2.29 of MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM PC family and
compatibles, the DEC Rainbow, Heath/Zenith-100, HP-1xx, NEC APC, Sanyo MBC, TI
PC, Victor 9000, several other systems, and generic MS-DOS. This version
replaces version 2.28, which was released June 10, 1985.
The new release was prepared by Joe R. Doupnik of Utah State University
(JRD@USU.BITNET) over many long months of detailed work. Joe began by adding
full DOS 2.0 file support to 2.28 along with a range of server functions, and
fixing the bugs that were listed in the .BWR file. Then he took the VT100
emulation code from James Harvey of Indiana/Purdue University (which was
written for version 2.27) and merged it in, adding features to bring it up to
nearly complete VT102 emulation, while leaving the VT52 and Heath-19 emulation
intact. Joe has also added many new features and commands, and has tirelessly
coordinated testing of the new program on different systems through many
generations of prerelease, and cheerfully checked and merged in improved
support for various systems (like the Z100).
The result is finally ready for distribution. In addition to the new programs,
there is a completely new MS-DOS Kermit chapter for the Kermit user guide, new
help and beware files, and other new material. On most systems, the new
version requires less memory than the previous one, and only slightly more disk
space. On the IBM PC family, the program needs about 60K to run, but will
allocate more if it can.
New Features of This Release:
. Full DOS 2.0 file system support in all commands. DOS 1.x support removed.
. On the IBM PC family, emulation of VT102, VT52, H19, and dumb terminal.
. Support for host control of 25th line during terminal emulation on IBM PC.
. Screen rollback memory now dynamically sized rather than fixed.
. IBM PC VT102 emulation includes all major VT102 features except
132 columns, smooth scrolling, printer control, and diagnostic functions.
. On IBM PC family, peaceful coexistence with TopView, DesqView, MS Windows.
. Some support for IBM Extended and Professional Graphics Adapters.
. New SET TERMINAL command for setting terminal type and parameters,
including foreground and background color and intensity on systems that
support it (currently only for IBM family).
. New screen dump feature (on the DEC Rainbow and IBM family only).
. Increased screen rollback memory on Rainbow & IBM.
. HANGUP command for dropping DTR & RTS, to signal modem to hang up phone
(IBM family only).
. Heath/Zenith-100 port i/o now interrupt driven, therefore much faster.
. The MS-DOS Kermit server now responds to advanced server commands (REMOTE
DIR, REMOTE HOST, REMOTE DEL, REMOTE TYPE, REMOTE CWD, etc).
. SET RETRY n command for changing the packet retry threshold.
. Improved file name handling, to prevent destruction of directory, system,
hidden, read-only, and volume label files. File renaming algorithm much
improved for conversion of incoming file names to DOS conventions, and for
filename collision avoidance.
. LOG command now also logs debugging information (packets, terminal session)
if SET DEBUG ON command has been given.
. New file transfer display options: SET DISPLAY QUIET, REGULAR, SERIAL.
. Serial display used by default in generic MS-DOS Kermit.
. Program segments are now ordered independently of MASM/LINK version, without
any special switches required for building.
. Assembles with MS MASM 1.25, IBM MASM 2.0 aka MS MASM 3.0, and MS MASM 4.0,
as well as Intel RMX assembler. As released, the programs were assembled
with Microsoft MASM 4.00 and Link 3.05. Runs under all existing versions of
MS/PC-DOS, 2.0 and higher.
. All known bugs in version 2.28 fixed including:
Severe problems if program assembled and linked improperly
GET command filename confusion
Many problems with file renaming, name truncation, etc.
Exported filenames with no filetype no longer end with period
SET DEST PRINTER didn't work correctly
Problems with dynamic memory allocation
Display problems on early PC, Compaq
Heath-19 emulation bug regarding receipt of CR or LF at col 80 vs autowrap
The "C?" bug in the command parser
^C of a file transfer now honors SET INCOMPLETE KEEP
Lost clusters on disk if BYE command given with log file open
RUN command did not default file types .EXE, .COM, .BAT
Long debug lines would overflow screen
Overruns of half duplex systems at high baud rates
Control-prefix operands in packets not range checked
Interrupt and performance problems on IBM PC family
Numbers sometimes disappearing from file transfer display
Problems parsing SET PORT options in generic MS-DOS Kermit
Program crashed with "divide overflow" when transferring very long file
Tendency to hangup Hayes 1200B internal modem upon startup
Problems when padding with more than 2 or 3 characters
Incompatibilities with previous release:
. SET HEATH gone, replaced by SET TERMINAL { HEATH, VT102, VT52 }
. SET AUTOWRAP gone, replaced by SET TERMINAL WRAP
. Filename completion (recognition) no longer works, because of support for
fully qualified DOS 2.0 pathnames.
Tested on the following systems:
. IBM PC, XT, AT, PCjr, Portable PC, Convertible PC, and RT with AT DOS option
. Compaq, Z150, Z160, and other IBM compatibles
. DEC Rainbow
. Heath/Zenith-100
. HP-150, HP-110, and Portable Plus
. NEC APC and APC-3
. Victor 9000 / Sirius 1
. ACT Apricot
. Sanyo MBC 550
. Texas Instruments Professional PC
. Intel 300 series with iRMX-86
. Generic MS-DOS
Needs testing on:
. Wang PC
. Olivetti M24 PC
. Grid Compass II
. DECmate-II,III with XPU (MS-DOS) option
IBM PC family H19 and VT102 emulators tested successfully with:
. EMACS (DEC-20, CCA, GNU, and others, using line/char insert/delete)
. EDT, PHONE (VAX/VMS)
. 1-800-DEC-DEMO
. UNIX vi, sysline, etc
. Various torture tests
The new files are in KER:MS*.* on CU20B, available on the Internet via
anonymous FTP, and in MS* * on CUVMA, available on BITNET through KERMSRV at
CUVMA. Within a few days they should also be available for UUCP transfers from
okstate (Oklahoma State University). The executable programs are encoded in
"BOO" format (a printable 4-for-3 encoding of the .EXE file, with compression
of repeated zeros). The BOO files are in KER:MSV*.BOO (for instance, the
version for the IBM PC family is in KER:MSVIBM.BOO), which may be decoded with
the program MSBPCT.BAS (slow) or MSBPCT.EXE (fast, but you need the Basic
program to get the fast version in the first place, because it too is
BOO-encoded). BOO files for the old release (2.28) are still available as
KER:MSO*.BOO.
The new manual chapter is in KER:MSKERM.DOC (long, about 122K). A summary of
the Kermit-MS invocation and commands is in KER:MSKERM.HLP (shorter, about 9K).
KER:MSKERM.BWR lists the known bugs and deficiencies, along with some
implementation notes. KER:MSR229.UPD contains the release notes for this
version (somewhat similar to this message).
Before you get all of the KER:MS*.* files over the network, first get the
following files, which will help you zero in on the particular files you need:
. KER:MSAAAA.HLP - describes the organization MS-Kermit files in detail.
. KER:MSBAAA.HLP - describes the bootstrapping procedure for BOO files.
. KER:MSSAAA.HLP - describes how to build the program from source files.
Most people will not need the source files, which add up to quite a chunk.
If you are new to Kermit network distribution, then even before you get these
files, you should get and read KER:AAAREAD.ME (AAAREAD ME on BITNET KERMSRV).
If you can't access CU20B or CUVMA by network, you can order diskettes by mail
from:
Kermit Distribution
Columbia University Center for Computing Activities
612 West 115th Street
New York, NY 10025
Include a check for $10 US ($15 if you also want a Kermit User Guide) payable
to Columbia University Center for Computing Activities, to cover our
reproduction and handling costs. To order from outside North America, write
to the above address for further information.
Please send inquiries, bug reports, comments, complaints, and suggestions to
Info-Kermit-Request@CU20B, or by postal mail to the above address. In
particular, reports that the program works (or doesn't) on the as-yet-untested
machines will be most welcome.
P.S. It might take a while for the files to show up on BITNET, due to
temporary troubles with our network connection to CUVMA.
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End of Info-Kermit Digest
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