markd@silogic.UUCP (Mark DiVecchio) (01/03/90)
PC-Apollo Connection
If you are like many owners of Apollo DN3xxx and DN4xxx workstations,
you have a resource on your machine which is most likely underutilized.
That resource is the Serial Input/Output (SIO) port. The SIO port is an
RS-232 compatible port which is sometimes used for a digitizing tablet
or serial printer. On most machines, though, it is unused.
You can make use of the port as a connection to a personal computer for
remote login and for transferring ASCII files between the machines. I
have a set of programs for your Apollo and PC to do this. I've installed
and tested these programs on our DN3010 and an IBM PC Compatible.
The software comes in two parts. First there are a set of scripts and a
C language program for the Apollo and second there is program which runs
on the PC. The program for the PC is PC-VT, a program which I wrote
several years ago that emulates a VT100 Video Display Terminal and also
performs file transfer using the XMODEM file transfer protocol. The C
language program for the Apollo is a public domain program (originally
written by Lauren Weinstein and modified by many others, most notably
Richard Conn) which performs the XMODEM file transfer protocol on the
Apollo.
For remote login, PC-VT is used as a dumb terminal emulator. You can
login to an AEGIS shell and execute most commands that don't require a
graphics output device. For file transfer, the XMODEM file transfer
program is started on the Apollo and it communicates automatically with
PC-VT running its XMODEM subroutines to move ASCII files between the
machines.
First let me say that there is nothing new here. The Apollo
documentation describes how to configure the port for remote login and
the Apollo C Compiler provides the C language procedural interface for
the file transfer program. The XMODEM file transfer protocol has been
around since the days of CP/M and was originally developed by Ward
Christensen.
How to Get the Programs
Bulletin Board
You can download all of the DOS sources, DOS executables and Apollo
sources from my Bulletin Board. The phone number is 619-549-3927. The
board is open 24 hours a day 7 days a week. The modem is a USR HST9600
so you can call at any baud rate up to 9600 baud.
The Apollo files are in an archived file named SIO.ZIP in the area
titled 'Apollo AEGIS/UNIX Programs and Files'.
The DOS files are in an archived file named PC-VT100.ZIP in the area
titled 'PC-VT (Version 10.0) and Related Files'.
If you do not have a ZIP archive management program, you will also need
to download PKZ101.EXE.
If you get the programs this way, you will need the Apollo C language
compiler to compile 'UMODEM.C' and 'ESC.C'.
Mail
Send me two diskettes, one 1.2Meg DOS formatted floppy and one 1.2Meg
AEGIS floppy. I will copy all of the sources (both DOS and Apollo) and
the DOS executables onto the DOS diskette and I will create a WBAK
diskette with all of the Apollo software - sources and executables.
When you send me the diskettes, include a mailer which I can use to
return the diskettes to you and put enough postage on the mailer to
satisfy the Postal Service.
In place of the AEGIS floppy, you can send me a cartridge tape.
If you get the programs this way, the WBAK diskette or tape will contain
the compiled versions of 'UMODEM.C' and 'ESC.C' so you won't need the
Apollo C language compiler.
--
Mark DiVecchio, Silogic Systems, 619-549-9841 K3FWT
9888 Carroll Center Road, Suite 113, San Diego, CA 92126
...!ucsd!celerity!celit!silogic!markd ...!ucsd!ucsdhub!celit!silogic!markd
celit!silogic!markd@fps.com BBS 619-549-3927