Info-IBMPC@WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL ("Info-IBMPC Digest") (04/02/91)
Info-IBMPC Digest Tue, 26 Mar 91 Volume 91 : Issue 71
Today's Editor:
Gregory Hicks - Rota Spain <GHICKS@WSMR-Simtel20.Army.Mil>
Today's Topics:
Re: CMOS to floppy disk
Re: Disable Control-C (V91 #53)
Re: System Problem (V91 #60)
Re: Memory Hype? (V91 #48)
Re: NumLock as a normal key
Re: Power C by Mix Software (V91 #60)
Re: SIMTEL20 file names
Re: Software to Print Cyrillic Characters wanted
Upgrading XTs
Today's Queries:
PS/2 mouse on AT
Testing Video RAM?
Upgrading XTs
VGA
New Uploads:
INDX18EU.ZIP - Indexed files UNIT (export version) for TP 4-6
MS-DOS Kermit v3.10 uploaded to SIMTEL20
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<INFO-IBMPC@WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL>
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Archives of past issues of the Info-IBMPC Digest are available by FTP
only from WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL in directory PD2:<ARCHIVES.IBMPC>.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 20 Mar 91 18:59:35 CST
From: david@wubios.wustl.edu (David J. Camp)
Subject: Re: CMOS to floppy disk
In Reply to this Note From: Chuck R. <346b36g@cmuvm.bitnet>
>I would like to know if there is a way to copy a CMOS test program to
>a floppy disk. I have a program in CMOS (or is it ROM?) which tests all
>the components of your computer, monitor, keyboard, drive controller,
>etc. Can I copy this program to a floppy disk?
If it is in ROM (probably), you can dump it to a file using debug.com.
You will need to know the address of the rom, but a simple debug
session should do it. -David-
# david@wubios.wustl.edu ^ Mr. David J. Camp#
# david%wubios@wugate.wustl.edu < * > +1 314 382 0584
# ...!uunet!wugate!wubios!david v "God loves material things." #
# abs (investment#1 - investment#2) << abs (anyinvestment - anydebt)
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 20 Mar 91 19:24:39 CST
From: david@wubios.wustl.edu (David J. Camp)
Subject: Re: Disable Control-C (V91 #53)
In Reply to this Note From: <HC Eng>
>>From: "VAXA::ANDY" <andy%vaxa.decnet@nusc-npt.navy.mil>
>>I have a freind who is in charge of the PC where he works. He has all
>>the users run a security program that prompts for a name and password
[text deleted]
>Yes, this is possible. Make your last line of CONFIG.SYS:
> SHELL=COMMAND.COM /c MYPROG parms
[text deleted]
You might have better luck using an INSTALL= directive instead of
SHELL=. The above command will probably lock the computer when the
program exits, because the shell is commanded to simply run that
program and exit. You may get an error message if the security program
exits normally, instead of using the TSR exit. It can probably be made
to TSR with very few bytes reserved. -David-
# david@wubios.wustl.edu ^ Mr. David J. Camp#
# david%wubios@wugate.wustl.edu < * > +1 314 382 0584
# ...!uunet!wugate!wubios!david v "God loves material things." #
# abs (investment#1 - investment#2) << abs (anyinvestment - anydebt)
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 21 Mar 91 01:42 AST
From: 802377655%RUMAC@UPR1.UPR.CLU.EDU
Subject: Re: System Problem (V91 #60)
In a recent mail from Vincent Chant He wrote about his computer not
recognizing AUTOEXEC.BAT. Your problem might be something missing in
the Config.sys file. If you have a line that say something like:
SHELL=C:\COMMAND.COM /E:NNNN
You should end this line with /P ... This will cause the computer to
recognize AUTOEXEC.BAT
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 20 Mar 91 19:09:42 CST
From: david@wubios.wustl.edu (David J. Camp)
Subject: Re: Memory Hype? (V91 #48)
In Reply to this Note From: <CHAA006@vax.rhbnc.ac.uk>
>>I am considering the purchase of a 386DX system. The problem concerns
>>*memory hype*. Many mail order firms advertise >>4Mb<< of ram. Does
>>this mean 4 MEG of 8 bit memory or 4 MEG of 32 bit memory? Some of the
>>motherboards I have seen contain memory sockets for 8 SIMS. Ads for
>>SIMs are 1MEG of 8 bit memory. So how do I know if mail order computers
>>are 4Mb or 4MEG of 32 bit memory? Also, if these computers have only
>>4Meg of 8 bit memory, aren't they misleading the public? That is 4Mb
>>is really only 1Meg of 32 bit memory. Or are these systems arranged as
>>8 bit memory, requiring 4 memory fetchs to load a 32 bit instruction?
>The answer lies in the little `b' of `Mb'; `b' => `bytes'. Ergo, in
>your terms, `4 MEG of 8 bit memory'; 1 byte = 8 bits.
In my experience, the little 'b' means bits, and the big 'B' means
bytes. I think the original poster may be used to mainframes, where
memory is packaged in different units. I have never seen memory for an
IBM PC compatible advertised in any quantity other than bytes, unless
you were buying indvidual chips. All the computer brands are rated in
terms of KB (Kilobytes) or MB (Megabytes). -David-
# david@wubios.wustl.edu ^ Mr. David J. Camp#
# david%wubios@wugate.wustl.edu < * > +1 314 382 0584
# ...!uunet!wugate!wubios!david v "God loves material things." #
# abs (investment#1 - investment#2) << abs (anyinvestment - anydebt)
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 20 Mar 91 19:05:36 CST
From: david@wubios.wustl.edu (David J. Camp)
Subject: Re: NumLock as a normal key
In Reply to this Note From: <Joe Morris>
>In INFO-IBMPC 91:54 Chengi Jimmy Kuo writes:
>>wolfgang wuerz <wuerz-w%vax.hmi.dbp.de@RELAY.CS.NET> writes:
>>>I want to use the upper row of keys on the numeric-pad; my problem is
[text deleted]
>If you want to use the NumLock key for some new function (not replacing
>an existing keyboard key) you'll probably have to write a complete INT
>9 handler. A good example of how this can be done (and, in fact, one
>which uses both NumLock and ScrolLock as active keys) is the original
>release of YTERM from Yale.
I believe that Fansi Console from Hersey Micro Consulting will let you
do this, and much more. I have no affiliation with them, other than a
very satisfied customer. -David-
# david@wubios.wustl.edu ^ Mr. David J. Camp#
# david%wubios@wugate.wustl.edu < * > +1 314 382 0584
# ...!uunet!wugate!wubios!david v "God loves material things." #
# abs (investment#1 - investment#2) << abs (anyinvestment - anydebt)
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 20 Mar 1991 19:42:00 -0500
From: <SELMYS@SENECA.BITNET>
Subject: Re: Power C by Mix Software (V91 #60)
>From: "Chuck R." <346B36G%CMUVM.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
>Subject: Mix compiler
>I saw another ad for a C compiler from Mix Software for $19.95. It had
>a make utility and a library including graphics routines (which is what
>I'm looking for.) Has anybody bought this? If so, any comments about
>it, good or bad?
Chuck,
We use Power C from Mix Software exclusively in our C and GRAPHICS
courses and as far as I'm concerned it is definitely the BEST buy for
your $$$$. (NO, I don't work for or am affiliated in any way with MIX
SOFTWARE!) One drawback is that it doesn't come with an editor so the
students use one developed by a colleague of mine. Another is that the
graphics routines are geared only to CGA and hercules. From my
viewpoint, however, this is not really a disadvantage. I teach the
graphics course and get the students to develop their own primitives
(based on GKS standard) using Power C. Everything we've done so far is
for the EGA/VGA and it works just great.
john selmys
SELMYS@SENECA
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 20 Mar 91 17:55:50 EST
From: Keith Petersen <w8sdz@WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL>
Subject: SIMTEL20 file names
p.campbell@trl.OZ.AU (Peter Campbell) writes:
> PD1:<MSDOS.GRAPHICS>GRAFWK48.ZIP (I don't understand the weird Simtel
> naming system).
Peter, it's not so weird. It works like this:
PD1:<MSDOS.GRAPHICS>GRAFWK48.ZIP
^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^--filename
^ ^ ^--subdirectory name
^ ^--top level directory name
^--disk drive device name
ftp> cd pd1:<msdos.graphics>
ftp> get grafwk48.zip
When you display the directory you will see a trailing period and a
number which is simply the file generation number. If a new version of
the file is written using the same name this number will increase by
one.
Example: GRAFWK48.ZIP.1
However, you should not specify the generation number when downloading
in order to be sure to get the latest version. The latest generation
number is the default when the generation number is omitted.
GrafWorks has recently been updated. The latest is GRAFWK51.ZIP.
Keith Petersen
Maintainer of SIMTEL20's MSDOS, MISC & CP/M archives [IP address 26.2.0.74]
Internet: w8sdz@WSMR-SIMTEL20.Army.Mil or w8sdz@vela.acs.oakland.edu
Uucp: uunet!wsmr-simtel20.army.mil!w8sdz BITNET: w8sdz@OAKLAND
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 20 Mar 91 13:31:44 MST
From: ccampbe@phoenix (Carter Campbell <agt!phoenix!ccampbe> JBORNE)
Subject: Re: Software to Print Cyrillic Characters wanted
In comp.sys.ibm.pc.digest you write:
>I have been trying for several years to find some software to print
>Cyrillic characters. I used to use Lettrix, which worked OK, but I
>could only assign letters to the basic ascii characcter set. No that
>Word Perfect has the Cyrllic character set, I'd like to be able to
>print these out. They will print out as bit-mapped graphic without
>special fonts, but it takes about an hour to do one page.
> I have tried two font packages that were supposed to work with
>dot-matricx printers that emulate IBM proprinter, but neither worked as
>advertised. All my Russian text is being held hostage on disk until I
>can solve this problem. Any suggestions?
Geoff, there is a company called Paragraph in Moscow that writes fonts
and other programs for processing Cyrillic text. Their lastest venture
is a Cyrillic version of Word. They have outlets in the States, but at
present, I don't have their address. If you wuold like, I will send it
to you. I use their fonts and screen font drivers, etc. You might
want to talk to them and see if their products can suit your needs.
Carter Campbell
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 21 Mar 91 00:47:54 MEZ
From: Thomas <UNP072%DBNRHRZ1.BITNET@uga.cc.uga.edu>
Subject: Upgrading XTs
On Wed, 20 Mar 91 17:42:42 EST James Williams said:
>I have eight offbrand XTs which I am upgrading to 386 motherboards. For
>those of you who have already done this, I am curious about two things.
>First, which brand of 386 motherboard did you choose, how was the
>installation, and how do they perform? I am more interest in
>reliability than speed. Second, did you find yourself having to
>upgrade other hardware also (i.e. HD, Floppy Drive, or Controller)?
They have done this in my favorite computer magazine with the following
result: you *can* use most of the parts of the old computer, but do you
want it? The only thing you definitely *must* exchange is the
HD/FD-con- troller. If you don't, you'll most probably experience
trouble. Of course, you cannot reuse the old Rams neither, they are far
too slow. In most cases you *can* reuse your graphics card + monitor,
your IO-card, your case + power supply, your HD and floppies. BUT: are
you willing to continue to use a slow HD (sometimes it's electronics is
too slow for interleave 1), a 360K-floppy drive, this old keyboard (i'm
not sure if it works) with a high performance '386?
Don't you want to use a more ergonomic VGA instead of a Hercules or
even CGA card etc. etc.
If you say 'NO', then ask yourself: what is left from my XT in this new
computer? If you decide to use a low-budget '286-board instead of a
'386, timing problems on the AT-bus will be more serious -- maybe, even
your graphics card and/or your IO card wont work anymore. (Timing on a
'386 or on a '286-NEAT is more flexible then on a low-end '286)
So maybe a complete new '386 bought from a cheap mail order firm will
be less expensive than an upgrade with lots of new parts -- the
difference in price may not be big, the difference in performance is...
- Thomas
------------------------------
Subject: Today's Queries:
Date: Thu, 21 Mar 91 11:28:37 MEZ
From: Paul Hosken <RMCB%DLRVM.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU>
Subject: PS/2 mouse on AT
Is it possible to connect a PS/2 mouse on a normal PC AT?
A friend has been given a PS/2 mouse and would like to use it on his
AT. He if of the impression that he just needs to replace the DIN plug
with one that fits his machine, but I don't think that life will be
that easy. I expect that the PS/2's micro-channel will spoil things for
him, and that will need to use some kind of adapter. Who is correct?
Any info on this matter will be gratefully received.
Thanks,
Paul Hosken
DLR - research institute, Oberpfaffenhofen, West Germany.
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 20 Mar 91 20:11:55 -0500
From: jguo@cs.NYU.EDU (Jun Guo)
Subject: Testing Video RAM?
Hi,
When I switch to 1024x768x16 mode, there seems something wrong on
the first line. I guess it might be because of defective video RAM.
Where can I find a video RAM tester to run on a SVGA card?
Thanks.
Jun
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 20 Mar 91 17:42:42 EST
From: James Williams <James_Williams@ESS.NIAID.pc.niaid.nih.gov>
Subject: Upgrading XTs
I have eight offbrand XTs which I am upgrading to 386 motherboards.
For those of you who have already done this, I am curious about two
things. First, which brand of 386 motherboard did you choose, how was
the installation, and how do they perform? I am more interest in
reliability than speed. Second, did you find yourself having to
upgrade other hardware also (i.e. HD, Floppy Drive, or Controller)?
Please post answer either to the list or to me directly at:
| James Williams |
| Bitnet: JWW%ESS%NIAID@NIH3PLUS.BITNET |
| Internet: JWW@ESS.NIAID.PC.NIAID.NIH.GOV |
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 20 Mar 91 15:50 EST
From: <BBRADLEY%UTKVX2.BITNET@uga.cc.uga.edu>
Subject: VGA
Could someone send me instructions on how to access a VGA card directly
without using bios calls. I need to be able to turn on graphics mode
and turn it off. I am using Turbo C.
Bob Bradley
University of Tennessee, Martin
BBRADLEY@UTKVX (BITNET)
------------------------------
Subject: New Uploads:
Date: Wed, 20 Mar 91 14:39:19 EST
From: Thomas Jenkins <C0361@UNIVSCVM.CSD.SCAROLINA.EDU>
Subject: INDX18EU.ZIP - Indexed files UNIT (export version) for TP 4-6
Summary: Reposted by Keith Petersen
I have uploaded to SIMTEL20:
pd1:<msdos.turbopas>
INDX18EU.ZIP Indexed files UNIT (export version) for TP 4-6
INDX18EU is an indexed files UNIT for Turbo Pascal versions 4-6. All
the mechanics of writing/reading is handled by the UNIT. You control
the index. This version includes new AsmRoutines UNIT with some useful
asm FUNCs for TP - .ASM and .OBJ files included. Encryption has been
removed from this version. Those with State-side NODEs can request the
encryption UNIT from the author, but not for general release ( increase
in speed and encryption through assembly ).
tom
THOMAS E. JENKINS, JR. +--------+ FROM SHOE +--------+
|"IS THE COMPUTER STILL GIVING |
PROGRAMMER, | YOU TROUBLE?..." |
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA |"NO, NOT ANYMORE..." |
C0361 AT UNIVSCVM.BITNET |"WHAT DID YOU DO?..." |
C0361 AT UNIVSCVM.CSD.SCAROLINA.EDU |" I TURNED IT OFF." |
+-------------------------------+
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 18 Mar 1991 12:27:37 EST
From: Christine M Gianone <cmg@watsun.cc.columbia.edu>
Subject: MS-DOS Kermit v3.10 uploaded to SIMTEL20
Summary: Posted by Keith Petersen <w8sdz@WSMR-SIMTEL20.ARMY.MIL>
MS-DOS Kermit v3.10 and associated files are now available from SIMTEL20:
pd1:<msdos.kermit>
MSKER310.ZIP MS-Kermit v3.10 comm pgm for IBM-compatibles
MSKR-EM2.ZIP MS-Kermit v3.1 term emulation & graphics info
XSEND051.ZIP Makes Kermit script files to send entire disk
Here is a list of MS-Kermit's major new features;
. Support for Cyrillic character sets during file transfer
. Automatic parity detection during file transfer
. Support for full-duplex RTS/CTS flow control
. User-settable serial port address and IRQ line
. Improved and expanded network support
. Text and graphics terminal emulation improvements
. Improved printer control
. Additional script programming functions and variables
. Bugs fixed
MAJOR NEW FEATURES:
Support for Cyrillic character sets during file transfer: SET FILE
CHARACTER-SET CP866, SET TRANSFER CHARACTER-SET CYRILLIC (ISO 8859-5
Latin/Cyrillic). This allows Cyrillic text to be transferred with IBM
mainframe Kermit 4.2 and C-Kermit 5A with correct translation to or
from the various system-specific Cyrillic character sets. Languages
covered by ISO 8859-1 and CP866 include Bulgarian, Byelorussian,
English, Macedonian, Russian, Serbian, and Ukrainian. There is as yet
no built-in support for Cyrillic terminal character sets, but this can
be accomplished on Cyrillic PCs with SET TERMINAL CHARACTER SET
TRANSPARENT plus user-constructed SET TRANSLATE INPUT tables.
Automatic detection of EVEN, ODD, or MARK parity during file transfer
(SPACE parity cannot be automatically detected). Reduces file transfer
failures when using a 7-bits-with-parity connection when you have
forgotten to give a SET PARITY command.
RTS/CTS full-duplex hardware flow control is selectable with the new
command SET FLOW RTS/CTS for smooth operation with high-speed modems,
terminal servers, and other high-speed devices that support this
feature.
A new command for telling Kermit the address for COM ports 1, 2, 3, or
4, as well as their IRQ line numbers. IRQ values other than 3 and 4
can be used with nonstandard serial communication boards. Now you can
adapt Kermit to just about any serial communications configuration.
However, the PC hardware provides no protection against spurious IRQ
values, so you must use the new IRQ selection feature with great
caution (for example, to avoid accidentally interfering with your hard
disk).
New or improved network support:
. Support for Novell's TELAPI TCP/IP telnet program via the new command
SET PORT TELAPI <internet-address>.
. Support for Interconnections Inc TES terminal emulation over Novell Netware
to Netware-equipped VAX/VMS computers via SET PORT TES <hostname>.
. Improved support for IBM EBIOS / LANACS. Baud rate can now be set for ACS,
server port name can be selected so REDIRECT program no longer needed,
HANGUP and BREAK work with ACS.
. Support for AT&T StarGROUP Asynchronous Gateway service (via EBIOS).
. Improved grouping of escape sequences sent by function and arrow keys.
. Improved operation over slow network connections.
. Networks supported now include:
3COM BAPI
AT&T StarLAN / StarGROUP
DECnet CTERM and LAT
IBM EBIOS / LANACS
Intel OpenNET
NetBIOS
Novell Netware NASI / NACS
Novell Netware TELAPI
Interconnections Inc / Novell TES
Ungermann-Bass Net/One
plus any BIOS Interrupt 14 interceptor for TCP/IP or other services
New terminal emulation features:
. Improved 132-column support. New command SET TERMINAL WIDTH {80, 132}
allows you to specify the screen width from the keyboard, and Kermit also
responds to host-generated escape sequences for switching screen width
between 80 and 132 columns. Video adapters supported for automatic
screen-width switching include:
ATI EGA and VGA Wonder (NEW)
AST, Dell, and other boards based on Western Digital VGA boards (NEW)
AT&T / Olivetti
Everex Viewpoint EV-659, FVGA-673, EV-678, Micro Enhancer Deluxe (NEW)
IBM XGA (NEW).
Paradise AutoSwitch EGA Mono (NEW)
Paradise VGA Plus 16 (ROM BIOS 003056-xxx firmware) (NEW)
Paradise VGA Plus (ROM BIOS 003056-xxx firmware) (NEW)
Paradise VGA Professional (ROM BIOS 003056-xxx firmware) (NEW)
STB VGA/EM (Tseng TVGA)
STB VGA/EM Plus (Tseng 4000), VGA/EM-16, VGA/EM-16 Plus (NEW)
Tseng Labs EVA board with 132-column kit installed
Tseng Labs UltraPAK mono/Hercules with 132 column modes
Video 7 Vega Deluxe with 132X25.COM driver installed and Video 7 VGA
Other 132-column capable adapters are supported via automatic execution of
user-provided COLS80.BAT and COLS132.BAT files.
. SET TERMINAL CHARACTER-SET <name[ G0 [ G1 [ G2 [ G3 ] ] ] ]. The new
trailing parameters let you explicitly designate a particular character set
to one or more of the terminal emulator's G0..G3 areas. This is necessary,
for example, for using an 8-bit character set in the 7-bit environment with
Shift-In / Shift-Out.
. The host may now designate 7-bit National Replacement Character sets to
G0..G3 using standard ISO 2022 or DEC character-set designation escape
sequences.
. Key definition strings can now contain a mixture of keyboard verbs and
regular characters. Verbs can be not only built-in \K verbs (like
\Kbreak), but also names of user-defined macros (like {\Kmymacro}).
. New command SET TERMINAL ARROW { CURSOR, APPLICATION } lets you switch
arrow key modes manually.
. SET KEY LK lets you tell Kermit that you are using a DEC LK250 keyboard
with an external LK250 driver loaded.
. New SET TERMINAL BELL option, NONE, tells Kermit to ignore incoming bell
characters, rather than sounding them (AUDIBLE) or flashing the screen
(VISIBLE).
. Keyboard control sequences and strings are now grouped together in network
packets.
. Transparent printing is now done a line at a time, rather than a character
at a time.
. Improved coordination with DesqView during terminal emulation.
. VT100 terminal type added. This is the same as the VT102, but sends the
VT100 identification string in response to "what are you?" queries to
prevent host applications from sending VT102-specific escape sequences such
as insert / delete character.
. HONEYWELL terminal type added. Same as VT102, but with built-in ENQ and
other responses to mimic a Honeywell VIP7809 terminal. This allows MS-DOS
Kermit to be used with Honeywell DPS-6 computers. (MS-DOS Kermit does not
normally support the ENQ feature because it is a security risk.)
. Terminal emulations supported by the IBM version now include:
DEC VT52
Heath/Zenith 19
DEC VT100 (NEW)
DEC VT102
DEC VT320
Honeywell VIP 7809 (= VT102 but with several VIP-specific features) (NEW)
Tektronix 4010/4014 graphics with VT340 features
NONE (allows external console drivers to provide other emulations)
Tektronix graphics terminal emulation improvements:
. Graphics-mode fore- and background colors now user-selectable via new
SET TERMINAL GRAPHICS COLOR command. Separate fore- and background colors
can be used for text screens and graphics screens. Graphics screen colors
are now preserved after a clear-screen operation.
. A text cursor is now available in graphics mode, selectable with the new
SET TERMINAL GRAPHICS CURSOR command.
. New built-in support of the Microsoft mouse for moving GIN-mode
crosshairs.
. The GIN mode crosshair cursor is now full-screen for increased visibility.
. Various BYPASS mode improvements.
. Improved character placement and rendition.
. Tektronix graphics are supported on the following display adapters:
AT&T / Olivetti (in CGA mode)
Hercules and compatibles
IBM CGA, EGA, VGA, XGA and compatibles (VGA and XGA used in EGA mode)
Wyse 1280x800, 1280x780, and 1024x780 models
Printer control:
. New SET PRINTER command lets you redirect printing to a selected file or
device during terminal emulation, for example SET PRINTER OOFA.TXT (file)
or SET PRINTER NUL (device). This applies to your use of the Print-Screen
and Ctrl-Print-Screen keys as well as to Transparent Print and Autoprint
escape sequences received from the host during terminal emulation.
New file transfer features:
. New command REMOTE PRINT <filespec<optionsto send a local PC file to a
remote Kermit program and ask the remote Kermit to print it with the
specified options (such as printer name, number of copies, etc).
. New SET SEND DOUBLE-CHAR <charcommand, to cause the specified character
to be doubled in outgoing packets. Useful for transferring files through
PADs, TIPs, Honeywell mainframes, etc, that use a printable character as an
escape and require two copies in order to pass one copy through.
. New SET RECEIVE IGNORE-CHARACTER <charcommand, to tell MS-DOS Kermit to
discard and ignore the given character when received during file transfer.
Useful for getting around communications processors that insert line feeds
or similar characters in the data stream, e.g. for "screen wrapping".
. New REMOTE SET FILE COLLISION UPDATE command requests the remote Kermit to
reject all incoming files that are not newer than existing files of the
same name.
. SET FILE COLLISION { OVERWRITE, RENAME, DISCARD } tells what to do when an
incoming file has the same name as an existing file.
. New REMOTE LOGIN syntax allows imbedded spaces in username, passwd, acct.
. Pressing Q or Ctrl-Q during file transfer now sends an XON character to
break XOFF deadlocks.
New script programming features:
. New IF commands added: IF LLT <word1<word2("lexically less than") and
IF LGT <word1<word2("lexically greater than") for lexical string
comparisons (IF EQUAL was already available), similar to IF <, IF >, IF =
for numeric comparisons. Both forms may be used with NOT, e.g. IF NOT LLT
\%a \%b ...
. New PRODUCT macro, similar to TERMINALS/TERMINALR. Invoked when host sends
CSI Pn;..Pn ~. If macro named PRODUCT is defined, it is invoked with its
arguments set to the numeric Pns (up to 9 of them). Designed to let host
applications invoke custom procedures on the PC, e.g. for VAX Lotus to
automatically invoke a Kermit key mapping command file to set up the PC's
keyboard for using VAX Lotus.
. New CLS command to clear screen while in command mode.
. New ON_EXIT macro, executed automatically (if the user has defined it) by
the EXIT or QUIT command. Useful for restoring video modes, etc.
. Built-in variables of the form \v(name) added to command parser, for use in
script programs, TAKE files, etc:
\v(argc) macro argument count
\v(count) current value of loop counter (SET COUNT / IF COUNT)
\v(date) current date dd-mm-yyyy, e.g. 08-02-1991
\v(ndate) numeric date yyyymmdd, e.g. 19910208
\v(directory) current disk and directory, e.g. C:\LETTERS
\v(errorlevel) current value of ERRORLEVEL variable (SET ERRORLEVEL)
\v(keyboard) IBM PC keyboard type: 88, 101, or (for LK250) 250.
\v(platform) PC type, e.g. IBM-PC, DEC-RAINBOW
\v(program) Program name, MS-DOS_KERMIT
\v(speed) Current transmission speed (only for COM1..4)
\v(status) 0 if previous command succeeded, nonzero if it failed.
\v(system) MS-DOS
\v(time) Current time of day, hh:mm:ss, e.g. 12:30:01
\v(version) Numeric program version, e.g. 310 for version 3.10.
These variables can be used in any context in any command where a \%x
variable can be used, except they cannot be the objects of DEFINE, ASSIGN,
or ASK commands; that is, they are read-only. View all built-in variables
with the new SHOW VARIABLES command.
. Read access of DOS environment variables via \$(name), for example \$(PATH).
. WAIT command now accepts modem signal names without backslashes: CD CTS DSR
(for compatibility with C-Kermit), as well with with them: \CD, \CTS, \DSR.
. New, more flexible WRITE command.
Bugs fixed since 3.01:
. Redirection of REMOTE command output has been fixed
. Unwanted echo of path from CD command in command files or macros
. REMOTE LOGIN operation fixed
. Corrected operation of ASK operation if used within a macro
. Corrected operation of SET LOG command within macros
. Latin1 transfer character set identification changed from I2/100 to I6/100
. Serial port input buffer now cleared at start of a file-sending operation
. Improvements in half duplex operation
. Corrected calculation of screen rollback space for small and big memories
. Corrections to character set translation tables
. Corrections to VT300 UDK (user-defined keys) feature
. Corrections to transparent printing
. Corrections to split/speed Xon/Xoff flow control
. Corrected operation with remote servers that don't understand I-packets
. Correction to print-screen operations with local-echo on
. Various minor VT and Tektronix terminal escape sequence bugs fixed
. PC disk i/o errors during file transfer now reported to other Kermit
. Corrected recovery from disk-full errors when logging a terminal session
INCOMPATIBILITIES BETWEEN MS-DOS KERMIT 3.10 and 3.00/3.01:
Macro arguments are now "stacked", saved at each macro entry and restored
upon exit, so that calling macro B from within macro A does not destroy macro
A's arguments. Note: this changes the operation of the LOOKUP macro
described in "Using MS-DOS Kermit" (1st edition). Variable \%0 now holds the
name of the currently active macro.
An INPUT command interrupted by keyboard activity now sets a FAILURE status
rather than SUCCESS, by popular demand. You can use IF ALARM to test whether
failure was because of timeout or keyboard interruption.
The REPLAY command now allows screen rollback, dump, print, etc. At the end
of the replay file, use regular terminal emulation keys (PgUp, Ctrl-End,
PrintScreen) to invoke these functions, and use Alt-X, Ctrl-]C, or Ctrl-C to
get back to the prompt. Previously, any keystroke would return to the prompt.
BYE, FINISH, or LOGOUT commands that fail (e.g. because the remote server has
these operations disabled) no longer behave as if they had succeeded.
WRITE command has new format: WRITE <destination<text>. The <textmay
contain any Kermit variables, including \v(...) variables.
CRLF is now supplied automatically at the end of WRITE and ECHO text.
Keith Petersen
Maintainer of SIMTEL20's MSDOS, MISC & CP/M archives [IP address 26.2.0.74]
Internet: w8sdz@WSMR-SIMTEL20.Army.Mil or w8sdz@vela.acs.oakland.edu
Uucp: uunet!wsmr-simtel20.army.mil!w8sdz BITNET: w8sdz@OAKLAND
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End of Info-IBMPC Digest V91 #71
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