Rick_Allen_Huebner@cup.portal.com (10/15/87)
Have I got a deal for you... I'm the developer of the ZModem file transfer protocol implementation used in the Opus BBS system. ZModem is about the best protocol available for micros these days, and users worldwide have been enjoying its use on Opus for some time now. But I have a problem... my BBS is Amiga-oriented, not PClone- oriented like most other Opus boards. And there are no PD/Shareware ZModem capable terminal programs available for my users to use! Online! 2.0 added it in, sort of, though they didn't do a very good job of it (forced ACKs every 1K, no resumption of aborted downloads). But most of my users use one of the various PD/Shareware terminal programs out there, like Handshake or Comm. It's very frustrating to have gone to all the trouble of adding ZModem to Opus, only to have it sit around unused on my own board. I keep thinking about adding my code into one of the better Amiga terminal programs, but I never seem to be able to find the time. And the best I could hope to manage would be adding it into a single PD program, which would then age and become obsolete. What I'd really like is for ZModem to get added to SEVERAL of the better programs available, and for those programs to be living, evolving programs actively supported by their authors. So, here's the deal. I have available on my BBS the complete source code and documentation for the original external Opus ZModem driver. This driver has since been integrated into Opus itself, and so is no longer needed as an external driver, but was well-tested and widely used. It's a relatively clean implementation, with all extraneous code removed. It should be fairly simple for an Amiga programmer to port the bulk of the driver directly into their terminal or BBS program. I also have the complete ZModem spec and Unix source available. I would be delighted to answer questions and give support to any Amiga programmer interested in porting my code into their software. You still do the work, but I help you figure it out. Sound fair? Interested parties may call and download (or file request, if you have FidoNet access) OZ_111.ARC (the driver) and ZMODEM.ARC (spec & Unix code). I'd post it to the net, but it's around 200K total B-). Any takers? Rick Huebner Sysop, The Wind Dragon Inn FidoNet node 1:14/614; 402-291-8053, 3/12/2400 bps rick_huebner@cup.portal.com ...!sun!portal!cup.portal.com!rick_huebner
keithd@cadovax.UUCP (Keith Doyle) (10/16/87)
In article <959@cup.portal.com> Rick_Allen_Huebner@cup.portal.com writes: > > Have I got a deal for you... > > I'm the developer of the ZModem file transfer protocol implementation used >in the Opus BBS system. ZModem is about the best protocol available for micros >these days, and users worldwide have been enjoying its use on Opus for some >time now. But I have a problem... my BBS is Amiga-oriented, not PClone- >oriented like most other Opus boards. And there are no PD/Shareware ZModem >capable terminal programs available for my users to use! Ok, so what does ZModem do that's fantastic? I've been enjoying comm 1.34's WXmodem (xmodem with sliding windows) speed, and been frustrated that most of the BBS's don't support it. And what I really want, is the ability in a comm program to be transferring a file via xmodem to a friend, and while it's doing it, we're conversing over another window with the characters being send interleaved with the XModem blocks. Comm 1.34 seems like it is supposed to do that, (It's got a window for it) but I haven't been able to make it happen. I can't get too excited about adding yet another xmodem version to all the terminal programs which will end up making them all larger, more buggy, and take longer for them to be released. But I guess I can understand why someone would. Knowing a little more about what using ZModem buys us might make it a little easier to gain support, and from your posting, I haven't the faintest idea. 'best protocol available' sounds like marketing hype to me, without some real information. Keith Doyle # {ucbvax,decvax}!trwrb!cadovax!keithd Contel Business Systems 213-323-8170
anthes@geocub.UUCP (Franklin Anthes) (10/19/87)
In article <1810@cadovax.UUCP> keithd@cadovax.UUCP (Keith Doyle) writes: >In article <959@cup.portal.com> Rick_Allen_Huebner@cup.portal.com writes: >> >> Have I got a deal for you... >> >> I'm the developer of the ZModem file transfer protocol implementation used >>in the Opus BBS system. ZModem is about the best protocol available for micros >>these days, and users worldwide have been enjoying its use on Opus for some >>time now. But I have a problem... my BBS is Amiga-oriented, not PClone- >>oriented like most other Opus boards. And there are no PD/Shareware ZModem >>capable terminal programs available for my users to use! > >Ok, so what does ZModem do that's fantastic? Well I'm certainly not an expert on Zmodem, but I have looked over the unix version of it, and it seems to combine a lot of nice features: - Windowing protocol - Multiple file sends (like Kermit) -"intelligent" file name translation when sending between different OS's - Unix implementation readily available (I have it:-) ) - Translation of EOL markers, for different OS's - I don't think it has xmodem's file length problems From what the author of the Unix version (Chuck Forsberg) says, zmodem will get you a transfer rate pretty close to the raw speed of your modem. While using kermit I only get 300 b/s, using a 1200 b/s modem! For that alone, I think it's worth implementing. (this is using a packet switching network, with a pretty long latency, that's why windowing is such a big win) As a matter of fact, I am seriously considering integrating zmodem into vt100. But what's the advantage of starting out from the OPUS zmodem, rather than the Unix Zmodem? (Huh Rick?) -- Frank Anthes-Harper Usenet: ....!ucbvax!decvax!uunet!mcvax!inria!geocub!anthes