pyoung.pasa@XEROX.ARPA (10/23/85)
Apologies in advance because I know this was on the net recently but can someone remind me where we can find the most recent Kermit for VMS. Thanks, Phil
SYSTEM@CRNLNS.BITNET (10/24/85)
Phil,
Here is how to get a current copy of KERMIT:
The following is a copy of the most recent network access infomation
from CUVMA KERMSRV. Not mentioned is the fact that Bitnet file requests
are usually not completed until after Midnight, presumably to avoid
clogging the network during prime time.
AANETW.HLP (23 Sep 85)
Accessing Kermit Files Via Computer Network
This file describes how to get Kermit files over computer networks. You
should also read AAFILES.HLP if you need more complete descriptions of the
Kermit files themselves.
* BITNET from the Columbia University CUVMA System:
To learn how obtain Kermit files from the Columbia IBM mainframes via BITNET,
type the following command to your BITNET host:
SMSG RSCS MSG CUVMA KERMSRV HELP
[or
SEND/REMOTE CUVMA KERMSRV HELP
if you are using VMS jnet]
Here is a brief summary of KERMSRV operation:
For users on BITnet, Kermit files can now be obtained using a server
similar to Bitserve. A disconnected machine, KERMSRV, running on BITnet
host CUVMA, accepts requests via the MSG command, or single-line commands
may be punched to its reader. The following commands are available:
HELP Send a short help message.
? Same as Help.
SEND { DIR | fn ft | ? }
PUNCH { DIR | fn ft | ? }
SEND returns information in netdata format, PUNCH
uses punch format. If PUNCH is used, files with
LRECL 80 or under will be punched Class A. Others
will be disk-dumped Class N. SEND/PUNCH DIR
produces a list of available Kermit files.
DIR [filespec | ?] (obsolete, superseded by SEND/PUNCH DIR)
To send any of these commands to KERMSRV:
SMSG RSCS MSG CUVMA KERMSRV <fill in command here>
[or
SEND/REMOTE CUVMA KERMSRV "<fill in command here>"
if using VMS jnet]
* Internet from the Columbia University CU20B System:
First, consult the FTP manual for your own system in order to learn how to
use your FTP program.
To get Kermit files via the Internet, use FTP, connect to host CU20B
(Internet Host number [192.5.43.128]), login as user ANONYMOUS, password
KERMIT, and use the GET or MULTIPLE GET commands to retrieve the desired
files from the area KER:, e.g. "GET KER:AAAREAD.ME", "MULTIPLE GET
KER:CK*.*". Network users may consult the file KER:AAVNEW.HLP from time to
time to see what new versions of Kermit have been installed recently.
Sites whose FTP programs do not support the DIRECTORY or MULTIPLE GET
commands may GET the file AAFILES.DIR from the desired Kermit area (see
below) to obtain an up-to-date directory listing.
After logging in anonymously, you may also attempt to set your default path
to the desired Kermit directory, KER: or K2: (see below), using FTP's CWD or
CD command. If you are prompted for a password, provide a null one; if a
message advises you to send a password, ignore the message. Since our network
software is in a state of transition, this operation may or may not work. The
following discussion assumes it does not work; if it does, you can follow the
same instructions, but leave off the prefix KER: or K2: from any file
specifications.
Internet access to CU20B is currently unrestricted, but if sufficiently large
numbers of anonymous FTP logins occur regularly during prime (eastern) time
hours to interfere with our own user community, some restrictions on anonymous
logins will have to be imposed.
Those accessing CU20B via network should note the existence of several Kermit
file areas:
KER: - Microcomputer, PC, workstation Kermit implementations, plus
Kermit documentation of a general nature.
K2: - Mainframe and minicomputer Kermit implementations.
KB: - True binary (executable) files for selected implementations.
KT: - Tools -- cross assemblers and linkers, etc.
KE: - "Extra", old, redundant, or esoteric Kermit implementations.
KER: corresponds to Tape A, K2: corresponds to tape B.
These areas are "logical device names", which should be used rather than
physical DEC-20 DEVICE:<DIRECTORY> names, which may change from time to time as
our systems are rearranged. The logical name KER: includes all the others
(K2:, KB:, etc) in its search path, so to obtain a single file you should
prefix its name by KER:.
When getting either single or multiple files, and your own system is a DEC-20,
then it is also sufficient to prefix the file specification by KER:.
When getting multiple files from CU20B's FTP server from non-DEC-20 systems,
you should first change working directory (CWD or CD) to the area containing
the files you want to get, either KER: or K2:. If you don't, then each file
will be sent back to you with its fully qualified name which in some cases
may be longer than the longest permissible filename on your system, which in
turn can cause files whose names differ only in the last few characters to
overwrite each other as they arrive.
Alphabetic case is insignificant in DEC-20 file names (lowercase is mapped to
upper). The dot separating the file name and file type is significant; the
name and type are separate fields.
File groups may be specified in MULTIPLE GET commands using the following
"wildcard" notation:
* matches any string of 0 or more characters in the current field
% matches any single character in the current position
For instance, KER:CK*.* matches all files whose names start with CK.
KER:CK*.% matches all files whose names start with CK and whose types are
exactly one character long (like KER:CKUCMD.C).
Each implementation of Kermit has a prefix. All files relating to that
implementation have names that start with that prefix. Since the dot is
significant in DEC-20 file names, the way to refer to all the files in a
specific implementation is "KER:xx*.*", where xx is the prefix.
A few cautionary words about DEC-20 logical names: the search path is followed
only so long as files are not found that match the given file specification.
This can cause some confusion; for instance, the command "DIRECTORY KER:"
will only list the files in the primary (Tape A) Kermit directory, because
when no file specification is given, "*.*" is assumed, and all files in the
primary directory match "*.*", so subsequent directories are not searched.
Similarly, "KER:C*.*" will not search subsequent directories if the primary
directory contains any files that start with "C". Note that "KER:*.DOC"
(whose intention might be to refer to all the Kermit documentation files)
would only find .DOC files in the primary Kermit directory.
Care has been taken to ensure that files are arranged so that if they are
referred to by prefix, they will be found in the KER: search path. For
instance, the C-Kermit files, having the prefix "CK" will be found if
referred to as "KER:CK*.*", even though they are really in K2:. However,
this principle applies only to the two principal directories, KER: and K2:.
It does not apply to KB:, which is used to separate binary files from
"printable" files. Therefore, KER:MS*.* will find all of the printable
MS-DOS Kermit files, but will not find the .EXE files, which are in KB:, and
must be referred to separately as KB:MS*.*.
Before you attempt to get binary files from the KB: or KT: directories with
FTP, you should know something about the way the DEC-20 stores these files:
. Native DEC-10 or DEC-20 programs are stored in 36-bit binary format, and
will be transferred correctly to other DEC-10 or -20 systems without doing
anything special. They probably can't be transferred to other kinds of
systems.
. "Foreign" 8-bit binary files are stored 4 8-bit bytes left justified within
the 36-bit word. You can get these files from another DEC-10 or -20 without
doing anything special, but to get them from some other kind of system, you
have to give FTP the command "TYPE L 8" or "TENEX" first.
If you are originating your FTP requests from a DEC-20 or TENEX system, no
special precautions are necessary regarding file types or name conversion.
If you are coming from another kind of system, you will probably find that the
files you obtain are stored with names contrary to your system's naming
conventions. For instance, if you tell Unix FTP to "mget ck*.*", you may
find the files stored in your directory with names like
PS:<KERMIT>CKAAAA.HLP.2
when you really want stored with names like
ckaaaa.hlp
A special program is available to Unix sites for doing the appropriate file
name conversions, called xxu.c ("get ker:xxu.c"). The recommended procedure
for FTP'ing files to a Unix system is to make a new directory for them, cd
to it, then get the files, including ker:xxu.c, then build xxu.c (it should
run under any version of Unix), then do "xxu *" to convert the names. See
the xxu.c source comments for details.
* CCnet:
CCnet is a DECnet network of cooperating universities. Kermit files may be
accessed using NFT to CU20B::KER:xxx, where xxx is the name of the file or
file group you want to get. Some sites (regarded as "secure") may specify
/USER:ANONYMOUS, but most sites will have to supply a valid CU20B user ID and
password. If your system is on CCnet and you cannot get anonymous NFT access
to CU20B, you'll have to ask your system manager to get the files for you.
Read the Internet section above about device, directory, and wildcard
conventions.
* Mail:
There is a network mailing list for Kermit information; it is available to
users of BITNET and the Internet and most networks that are connected to them,
inclusing CSnet, Usenet, Mailnet, CCnet, and others. To get on the mailing
list, send mail to
Info-Kermit-Request@CU20B
CU20B is a mail host on both Internet and BITNET, and is reachable from
CSnet, Mailnet, Usenet, the DEC Engineering network, and other networks via
explicit host routing, e.g.
Info-Kermit-Request%CU20B.ARPA@CSnet-Relay (CSnet)
Info-Kermit-Request%CU20B.ARPA@WISCVM (BITnet)
* Dialup:
UUCP and Kermit access to the complete Kermit distribution is available from
the Department of Computing and Information Sciences, Oklahoma State
University, Stillwater, Oklahoma.
- UUCP -
You need to set up "okstate" as a site in your "L.sys" UUCP dialing file
using the information listed below. You can then issue the following
command on your system:
uucp okstate\!/u/kermit/cpm\* /usr/spool/uucppublic
(this example will retrieve the CP/M version of Kermit)
"/usr/spool/uucppublic" was chosen as the destination on your system since
the destination must be WIDE OPEN (drwxrwxrwx) to everyone. You should
not remove files from your uucppublic until the entire transfer is complete
including any redials that are necessary. If you do remove some files,
our system may retransmit them, resulting in a higher phone bill for
you.
There are 2 files available that contain information about the entire
distribution. We recommend that you retrieve these files first. They
are "00readme.txt" which explains the file name conventions used, and
"00directory" which is a complete listing (by name) of all files in the
/u/kermit directory. These files will enable you to choose the right files
the first time to save those high dollar phone bills.
---- UUCP Login information ----
Site Name : okstate
Phone number : (405) 624-6953 (one line only)
Login name : uucpker
Password : thefrog
Hours : 24 hours per day, 7 days a week
Problem : okstate!uucp-support (UUCP)
reports : uucp-support%okstate@csnet-relay (ARPA)
The phone number is for 300/1200 baud (bell compatible).
The following is a sample L.sys line (\r is a carriage return).
You might want to put a time restriction on Any. ("Any2100-900" in
Illinois)
okstate Any ACU 1200 405-624-6953 "" \r ogin: uucpker word: thefrog
Just a few notes on how to best retrieve parts of the Kermit distribution
using UUCP...
- Install the proper L.sys entry and test it using the debugging option
of UUCICO (-x). Repeat this step until you successfully complete a
"no work" connection, this will verify that your L.sys entry is correct
and will minimize frazzled nerves.
- Retrieve the files `00readme.txt' and `00directory' with the following
commands:
uucp -c -d okstate!/u/kermit/00readme.txt /usr/spool/uucppublic
uucp -c -d okstate!/u/kermit/00directory /usr/spool/uucppublic
You will have to escape the exclamation point if you are using the
C shell (i.e. ...okstate\!/u/kermit...).
- Choose the versions of Kermit that you wish to transfer and issue the
proper UUCP command. Some systems don't seem to like wildcards, but
in any case the wildcards will have to be escaped from your shell. The
following command would retrieve the files relating to C-Kermit:
uucp -c -d okstate!/u/kermit/ck\* /usr/spool/uucppublic
PLEASE NOTE THE USE OF /usr/spool/uucppublic! Unless you *really*
understand how UUCP's protections work you should not change this! A
number of people have queued >100 files and had their systems refuse
to store them in out of the way places. This results in wasted phone
time!
- KERMIT SERVER ACCESS TO THE KERMIT DISTRIBUTION AREA. -
Okstate also provides access to the KERMIT distribution via a KERMIT Server.
The number is the same as above for the uucpker login, so the line may be busy
quite a bit. This server is a specialized server with controlled access. At
present, the server is only allowed access to the /u/kermit directory on our
machine. By issuing the command "REMOTE HELP" from your KERMIT, you will see
a description of the commands that the server will recognize, and a line like
-> /u/kermit: r
This means that the server can read files from the directory /u/kermit. Other
possibilities exist, there is w-Write access, d-Delete access, and x-Execute
access. At any rate, you can only read from the /u/kermit directory at this
time, and it is the only directory that you may access.
KERMIT login : kermsrv
Password : piggy
Parity : even
Data path : 7 bit
Available : 24 hours/day, 7 days a week
When the login is completed, the server will start, and you should escape
back to your local KERMIT to issue further commands. If the server remains
idle for a period of time around 10 minutes, it will be stopped. While the
server is receiving data other than NAK packets, it will continue to run.
The best place to start after logging on is "REMOTE HELP", followed closely by
the desired "REMOTE DIR" commands. If you don't include an argument to REMOTE
DIR, you should be prepared for more than 600 lines of output. It is usually
better to read the 00README.TXT file (using REMOTE TYPE perhaps) and then do
the DIR with some kind of wildcard (like "REMOTE DIR ck*").
If you are having problems connecting to okstate system PLEASE send mail
to {cbosgd, ea, ihnp4, isucs1, mcvax, uokvax}!okstate!uucp-support
or contact Mark Vasoll at:
UUCP: {cbosgd, ea, ihnp4, isucs1, mcvax, uokvax}!okstate!vasoll
ARPA: vasoll%okstate.csnet@csnet-relay.arpawls@astrovax.UUCP (10/29/85)
The uucp information given in that article is wrong. I received this message
from Mark Vasoll of site okstate.
From: allegra!ihnp4!okstate!vasoll
To: astrovax!wls
Subject: Re: kermit
Date: 28 Oct 85 08:45:08 CST (Mon)
Bill,
The procedure has indeed changed. I don't know who posted that
information recently (I can't receive mod.computers.vax because it's name
is not unique within 14 characters). Anyway, the distribution was moved
to ~uucp/kermit-a/* (for micro computer versions) and ~uucp/kermit-b/*
for mini and mainframe computer versions. 00readme.txt is now called
aaaread.me and is in the kermit-a directory. 00directory is now called
aafiles.dir and there is one in each area giving a directory of that area.
If you need further information, please feel free to ask.
Mark Vasoll
Department of Computing and Information Sciences
Oklahoma State University
UUCP: {cbosgd, ea, ihnp4, isucs1, mcvax, pesnta, uokvax}!okstate!vasoll
ARPA: vasoll%okstate.csnet@csnet-relay.arpa