CMSMAINT@BROWNVM.BITNET (Peter DiCamillo) (08/09/88)
Please forgive the posting of this announcement to several relevant
distribution lists.
The first release of Brown University's tn3270 for the Macintosh is now
available. This program consists of the NCSA TCP/IP kernel by Tim
Krauskopf and Gaige B. Paulsen, Telnet 3270 option negotiation code
developed by Greg Minshall at Berkeley, and 3270 emulation and Macintosh
user interface code developed at Brown. It allows a Macintosh with a
TCP/IP connection to access a host as a full-featured 3270 terminal.
tn3270 is available via Internet anonymous FTP, over BITNET, or from
Brown for a small distribution fee. Details of tn3270's features and
availability are provided below.
NETWORK FEATURES
tn3270 includes all the features of version 2.0 of the NCSA TCP/IP
kernel. These include support for both Ethernet connections and
LocalTalk connections via a Kinetics gateway, a built-in FTP server,
and domain nameserver support. Also, tn3270 supports dynamic IP number
assignment when a Kinetics gateway is running KIP code, and allows the
user to override the default Telnet terminal type and port number.
EMULATION FEATURES
On all Macintoshes, tn3270 emulates a 3278 with extended highlighting,
APL, and the APL/Text character set. In addition, most graphics
capabilities of a 3179 G or PC/GX are emulated. tn3270 also supports
several 3270 enhancements, including typeahead and special blank
processing.
On a Macintosh II (or other Macintosh with color Quickdraw) tn3270
supports 3279 base color, four color, and eight color text, and eight
color 3179 graphics. On Macintoshes with large screens, tn3270 supports
either 9 or 12-point text for 24 lines, and 32 lines using 9-point text.
Although primarily a 3270 emulation program, tn3270 also provides basic
line mode Telnet support, and emulates a VT-52 terminal.
MACINTOSH FEATURES
tn3270 allows the 3270 cursor to be moved with a single mouse click, and
allows the user to set the function of a double mouse click. Full
MultiFinder support is provided, and on color Macintoshes the standard
color picker may be used to set any screen colors. tn3270 utilizes
offscreen bitmaps for fast, flicker-free screen refreshing. The speed
of tn3270 can approach that of a locally-connected 3270, with updates
as fast as two screens per second.
SPECIAL FEATURES
In addition to FTP server support, special support is provided for
VM/CMS file transfer. Easy-to-use CMS RMAC and WMAC commands may be
used to upload and download files during a CMS terminal session
through the Telnet connection. Data transfer rates can be as high as
10K bytes/second.
Brown also distributes an asynchronous terminal program, Term, which
provides a user interface nearly the same as tn3270's when used with an
IBM 7171. The combination of Term and tn3270 provides users with a
consistent terminal interface, whether they have a high-speed network
connection or a modem connection. The same CMS RMAC and WMAC commands
also work with Term.
HOW TO OBTAIN TN3270
Brown encourages tn3270 to be freely distributed, provided the program
is not modified and the copyright notices are retained. tn3270 can be
obtained in any of the following ways:
Anonymous FTP from BROWNVM.BROWN.EDU (128.148.128.40):
The distribution files are in the highest level directory. Begin
by retrieving the file $READ-ME.FIRST which describes the other
files.
Anonymous FTP from NCSA (128.174.20.50):
The distribution files are the contents of the directory
NCSA_Telnet/tn3270.
BITNET distribution from LISTSERV@BROWNVM.BITNET:
Request the distribution files by sending LISTSERV the command
"get tn3270 package". This command may be sent as a message
over BITNET, or as the first line of text in standard RFC 822
formatted mail. Other packages available are "tn3270xf" for the CMS
file transfer programs, and "term" for the Term program. Issue the
command "get local filelist" for a complete list of available
files.
Mail order from Brown:
Starting on September 1, Brown will accept mail orders for copies
of the tn3270 disk and documentation. To place an order, send a
check payable to Brown University for $20 to:
tn3270 Distribution
Brown University Computer Store
P.O. Box 1885
Providence, RI 02912
(Orders from Rhode Island must include 6% sales tax.)
KEEPING UP-TO-DATE
The NCSA Telnet Digest will be used for discussing issues related to
tn3270, as well as NCSA Telnet. To subscribe to the digest, send a
request to telnet-request@ncsa.uiuc.edu.
SOURCE AVAILABILITY
tn3270 source is written for Manx Aztec C, using the MPW-compatible
library and include files. Brown intends to distribute the source in
the near future. An announcement of source availability will be made
in the NCSA Telnet Digest mentioned above.
Peter DiCamillo
BITNET: CMSMAINT@BROWNVM
Internet: CMSMAINT%BROWNVM.BITNET@MITVMA.MIT.EDU
U.S. Mail: Computing and Information Services, Brown University,
P.O. Box 1885, Providence, RI 02912
Phone: (401) 863-7582