currier@romeo.cs.duke.edu (Bob Currier - DCAC Network Comm. Specialist) (04/28/89)
Greetings, I have been able to transfer hqx files from Sumex-aim, rascal.ics.utexas, etc etc with no problems. Stuffit unpacks, decodes these files perfectly. The bin files do NOT work, tho... I have tried ftp in both bin and ascii mode, and Kermit (from my Unix host) in no and even parity, only to have Stuffit and and binhex barf. What is special about the bin files? What am I doing wrong? I am trying to get McSink from rascal, and am about to pull my hair out... Is it possible that the copy of McSink on rascal is munged? Thanks, bob currier rdc@dukeac.ac.duke.edu currier@romeo.cs.duke.edu dynamo@tucc.bitnet
knapp@cs.utexas.edu (Edgar Knapp) (04/28/89)
In article <14326@duke.cs.duke.edu> currier@romeo.cs.duke.edu (Bob Currier - DCAC Network Comm. Specialist) writes: [..] >The bin files do NOT work, tho... I have tried ftp in both bin and ascii mode, >and Kermit (from my Unix host) in no and even parity, only to have Stuffit and >and binhex barf. What is special about the bin files? What am I doing wrong? The following works for me: After binary FTP I use Kermit with 'set file type binary 8' and macbinary Kermit in VersaTerm. Edgar (knapp@cs.utexas.edu)
werner@molokai.sw.mcc.com (Werner Uhrig) (05/02/89)
In article <14326@duke.cs.duke.edu>, currier@romeo.cs.duke.edu (Bob Currier - DCAC Network Comm. Specialist) writes: > > I have been able to transfer hqx files from Sumex-aim, rascal.ics.utexas, > etc etc with no problems. Stuffit unpacks, decodes these files perfectly. > The bin files do NOT work, tho... I have tried ftp in both bin and ascii mode, > and Kermit (from my Unix host) in no and even parity, only to have Stuffit and > and binhex barf. What is special about the bin files? What am I doing wrong? > I am trying to get McSink from rascal, and am about to pull my hair out... > Is it possible that the copy of McSink on rascal is munged? it is of course possible that the copy of McSink on all the archives is "bad", but I doubt it; we would have heard about it. if what you are saying is that any and all files do not work for you once you get them in binary, even when you retrieve and download the *.hqx version, then I must assume that somewhere along the path you have a "6-bit" narrow ... (-: Seriously, though, if you retrieve a *.bin file and download it with binary XMODEM or MacBinary Kermit, and you also GET the corresponding hqx-file, download that and use Binhex or equivalent on your Mac, and if the 2 binary files are identical when you compare them with MacZapTools (or equivalent) - and neither of them work.... ... then have someone else try to download the files at another site (like the maintainer - me) and if the binary file proves unusable there also, we probably have found a BAD original binary file submitted to the archives.... you can find McSink on RASCAL in: werner on rascal <301> cd ~ftp/mac werner on rascal <302> ll NEW-in-89*/* | fgrep McSink 1 -rw-r--r-- 3 werner 566 Mar 14 00:11 NEW-in-8903/McSink_6.5_DA_intr o 61 -rw-r--r-- 3 werner 62080 Mar 13 22:02 NEW-in-8903/McSink_6.5_sit_bin 84 -rw-r--r-- 1 werner 85369 Mar 13 21:59 NEW-in-8903/McSink_6.5_sit_hqx
milne@ics.uci.edu (Alastair Milne) (05/02/89)
knapp@cs.utexas.edu (Edgar Knapp) writes > currier@romeo.cs.duke.edu writes: >[..] >>The bin files do NOT work, tho... I have tried ftp in both bin and ascii mode, >>and Kermit (from my Unix host) in no and even parity, only to have Stuffit and >>and binhex barf. What is special about the bin files? What am I doing wrong? > >The following works for me: After binary FTP I use Kermit with 'set >file type binary 8' and macbinary Kermit in VersaTerm. > >Edgar If you are bringing binary files from UNIX to the Mac, you *have* to make sure you are using *binary* mode (usually to the data fork). If you leave it in text mode, Kermit will apply any regularising that a Mac text file would need, and you lose the file's format. The only use I have ever seen in parity, at least when communicating with UNIX, is to drop the data path to 7 bits to allow for possibly restricted communications hardware, which might cause trouble with 8 bits. And I haven't had to try that for quite some time now. Unless even using binary mode fails you, I wouldn't even give a thought to parity (beyond, of course, being certain it's the same at both ends). BTW, you should be aware that MacKermit will have no idea what the file type or creator should be, so it applies its own. When we get a version that recognises MacBinary format, perhaps that will change. (Though it seems that the Kermit protocol in VersaTerm already has it, and there maybe other communications programs with Kermit that do.) Alastair Milne