dave@lsuc.UUCP (David Sherman) (12/04/85)
The Law Society's central members' records system is being
replaced (it's presently an ICL ME29), and they're looking
at an IBM System 38. The question has arisen as to whether
and how it can communicate with this machine, the Education
Department's computer, a Perkin-Elmer 3220 running v7 UNIX.
In their proposal, IBM didn't address the issue of communication
to this machine (they seem to believe there's nothing outside
the IBM world).
We've identified that a user with an IBM PC can use both machines,
by switching between System 38 communications software and conventional
ASCII communications software (Crosstalk or whatever) and changing
physical connections. Now we need to figure out the extent to
which the machines can communicate directly.
From my understanding, we'd like to have:
1. a "cu" equivalent for someone on UNIX to call out and
get interactive access to the System 38;
2. a "cu" equivalent for someone on the System 38 to
get interactive access to the UNIX system;
3. some file transfer capability, including sending
plain ASCII files from UNIX to the S/38 and sending
Displaywrite-coded word processing files from the S/38
to UNIX.
Has anyone worked on this problem before?
David Sherman
The Law Society of Upper Canada
Osgoode Hall
Toronto, Canada M5H 2N6
(416) 947-3466
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{ ihnp4!utzoo pesnta utcs hcr decvax!utcsri } !lsuc!davedennis@rlgvax.UUCP (Dennis Bednar) (12/10/85)
> > From my understanding, we'd like to have: > 1. a "cu" equivalent for someone on UNIX to call out and > get interactive access to the System 38; > 2. a "cu" equivalent for someone on the System 38 to > get interactive access to the UNIX system; > 3. some file transfer capability, including sending > plain ASCII files from UNIX to the S/38 and sending > Displaywrite-coded word processing files from the S/38 > to UNIX. > > Has anyone worked on this problem before? If C-kermit is available for your System 38, then I would recommend you look further into it. By the way, kermit is in the public domain, and therefore the source code is FREE. For more info, contact Frank da Cruz Columbia University Center for Computing Activities New York, New York 10027 Here is a list of kermit documentation that I am aware of (perhaps those in net.dcom can add to this list? - send replies to dennis@rlgvax.UUCP, and I will post a later summary to net.dcom) Kermit Protocol Manual, 5th Edition, April 5, 1985, by Frank Cruz. A manual for people who must implement the kermit protocol, not intended for the casual reader. "Kermit", PC Tech Journal, January 1985, by Augie Hansen. A nice, easy to read, discussion of the Kermit protocol. Kermit is compared to the 7-layer OSI Reference Model. Im- plementations and user experience are also briefly mentioned. UNIX Kermit, DRAFT, March 1985, Frank da Cruz, et al. A must, but somewhat painful, reading. It is a user's manual for C-kermit, a version of kermit written in the C program- ming language for UNIX systems. The command line options are discussed in detail, and would only be useful for knowing how to invoke remote kermits, assuming that it is the UNIX C- kermit version. Also, the interactive commands are discussed in detail. The interactive commands section is a must read- ing, since it can be very useful for defining additional characteristics of the physical interface, but which are not settable from OFFICEPOWER. "Kermit: A File-Transfer Protocol For Universities, Part 1: Design Considerations and Specifications", Byte, June 1984, by Frank da Cruz and Bill Catchings. An excellent article that discusses the motivation for the development of the protocol: the need for cheap but reliable file transfers between mainframes and micros at a university campus. An excellent case study of what kinds of things can go wrong when you try to design a general purpose point-to- point data link protocol that must work between a multitude of different computers, each with their own incompatible nu- ances. "Kermit: A File-Transfer Protocol For Universities, Part 2: States and Transitions, Heuristic Rules, and Examples", Byte, July 1984, by Frank da Cruz and Bill Catchings. The internals of packet formats, and the state transitions used for reliable file transfers. Kermit User Guide, 5th edition, March 2 1984, Frank da Cruz, editor. Sections 1-4 serve as an excellent tutorial on how to use kermit, independent of the version. Section 9 is UNIX- specific, but is currently out of date, since the options flags are passed differently. -- Dennis Bednar Computer Consoles Inc. Reston VA 703-648-3300 {decvax,ihnp4,harpo,allegra}!seismo!rlgvax!dennis dennis@rlgvax.UUCP