[net.unix-wizards] talk program

MKL@SRI-CSL.ARPA (Mark K. Lottor) (03/04/85)

Is the protocol used by the talk program (for network talks)
documented somewhere?  I was going to write network talk
programs for Tops-20.

Mark
-------

guy@rlgvax.UUCP (Guy Harris) (03/04/85)

> Is the protocol used by the talk program (for network talks)
> documented somewhere?  I was going to write network talk
> programs for Tops-20.

Unfortunately, it isn't.  Also unfortunately, "talk" doesn't understand
that there is an Internet standard byte order.  It should also have some
facilities like VMS' "phone" program, like conference calls, the ability
to inject files into the conversation, etc..  You might want to write your
own, put it back on UNIX, document the protocols, and send it to "net.sources"
as a possible replacement for "talk".

	Guy Harris
	{seismo,ihnp4,allegra}!rlgvax!guy
-- 
	Guy Harris
	{seismo,ihnp4,allegra}!rlgvax!guy

ron@BRL-TGR (Ron Natalie) (03/06/85)

Not only does talk not understand the INTERNET byte order (what ever
that is supposed to mean), but it also makes use of the 4.2BSD C
compiler's idea of how things are padded when packet into a structure.

-Ron

laura@utzoo.UUCP (Laura Creighton) (03/06/85)

Arrgh! Try to wruite something a lttle less obnoxious than talk!
At a bear minimum, it should allow shell escapes...

Laura Creighton
utzoo!laura	[quick! how do I get out of this hooter?]

jay@unm-la.UUCP (03/08/85)

> Arrgh! Try to wruite something a lttle less obnoxious than talk!
> At a bear minimum, it should allow shell escapes...

Aaarrrgghh!!  Do away with shell escapes!  Ban Un*s without job
control!!

			-- Jay Plett

[ ps - talk is one of the nicer things that appeared w/ 4.2 ]
[ pps - now if only it would (optionally) make a transcript of both sides
	of the conversation :-]
-- 
	Jay Plett
	{{ucbvax,gatech}!unmvax, lanl}!unm-la!jay

thomas@utah-gr.UUCP (Spencer W. Thomas) (03/15/85)

In article <264@unm-la.UUCP> jay@unm-la.UUCP writes:
**From Laura Creighton:
>> Arrgh! Try to wruite something a lttle less obnoxious than talk!
>> At a bear minimum, it should allow shell escapes...
>
>Aaarrrgghh!!  Do away with shell escapes!  Ban Un*s without job
>control!!
>			-- Jay Plett

I had a version of talk with a shell escape once upon a time (pre 4.2,
never ported the (grotty) code I added to the new talk).  The
difference, and the reason it HAD to be in talk, was that the output
from the program being run was added to the conversation.  Really nice
for demonstrating some bug to someone.  Sure would be nice if someone
would hack it back in.

-- 
=Spencer
	({ihnp4,decvax}!utah-cs!thomas, thomas@utah-cs.ARPA)
	"The truth remains that, after adolescence has begun, `words,
	words, words,' must constitute a large part, and an always
	larger part as life advances, of what the human being has to learn".
	-William James

dcmartin@ucbvax.ARPA (David C. Martin) (03/23/85)

In article <553@rlgvax.UUCP> guy@rlgvax.UUCP (Guy Harris) writes:
>> Is the protocol used by the talk program (for network talks)
>> documented somewhere?  I was going to write network talk
>> programs for Tops-20.
>
>...
>facilities like VMS' "phone" program, like conference calls, the ability
>to inject files into the conversation, etc..  You might want to write your
>own, put it back on UNIX, document the protocols, and send it to "net.sources"
>as a possible replacement for "talk".

I wouldn't bother with this, the 4.3 group here is "supposedly" developing
a phone program that will handle this.  If you're willing to wait, that is.

David C. Martin
--------
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Computer Systems Support Group
arpa: dcmartin@berkeley                       usps: 237 Cory Hall
uucp: ..!ucbvax!dcmartin                            Berkeley, CA 94720
at&t: 415/642-9489