cmg@WATSUN.CC.COLUMBIA.EDU (Christine M Gianone) (04/05/89)
Info-Kermit Digest Tue, 4 Apr 1989 Volume 9 : Number 6
Today's Topics:
New Network Address for Kermit Distribution
Kermit File Server Available on LISTSERV@HEARN
Proposed Kermit Protocol Extension for International Character Sets
New Release of C-Kermit Available for Testing
C-kermit on apollo under SR10!
Announcing the Final Test of OS/2 Kermit
Announcing Kermit for Hewlett-Packard BASIC Workstations
TSO Kermit-370 through VTAM
Terminal Controller Detection in Kermit-370
Graphics devices and CMS Kermit
CMS Kermit for IBM 3174 w/AEA
Send digest submissions to Info-Kermit@CUNIXC.CC.COLUMBIA.EDU, requests for
addition to or deletion from the Info-Kermit subscriber list to
Info-Kermit-Request@CUNIXC.CC.COLUMBIA.EDU or to KERMIT@CUVMA.BITNET.
Kermit files may be obtained over networks and by mail order. On the
Internetwork, use FTP to log in to host CUNIXC, CUNIXC.CC.COLUMBIA.EDU, a
VAX 8700 running UNIX (Ultrix). The IP host number is 128.59.40.130.
Login as user anonymous (note, lower case), any password, and GET the
desired files. The Kermit files are in directories kermit/a, kermit/b,
kermit/c, kermit/d, and kermit/e. You can also get Kermit files over
BITNET/EARN; to get started send a message with text HELP to KERMSRV, the
Kermit file server, at host CUVMA. For detailed instructions, read the
file kermit/a/aanetw.hlp (AANETW.HLP on KERMSRV). To order by mail,
request a complete list of Kermit versions and an order form from Kermit
Distribution, Columbia University Center for Computing Activities, 612
West 115th Street, New York, NY 10025 USA.
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Date: Wed Mar 13 11:42:49 1989
From: Christine M Gianone <cmg@watsun.cc.columbia.edu>
Subject: New Network Address for Kermit Distribution
Keywords: cunixc, watsun, Network Distribution of Kermit
The home system for Kermit distribution has moved from cunixc.cc.columbia.edu
(a VAX 8700 running Ultrix 2.2) to watsun.cc.columbia.edu (a SUN-4/280 running
SUNOS 4.0). The Internet host number for watsun is 128.59.39.2.
Cunixc will remain active and accessible to anonymous ftp, and its Kermit
files will remain up-to-date until further notice. Internet users are
encouraged to ftp from watsun rather than cunixc, because cunixc is a busy
system that tends to be overloaded and slow during peak hours, and watsun
should be able to handle the ftp traffic better.
You should begin sending e-mail to Info-Kermit and Info-Kermit-Request at
watsun rather than cunixc. The cunixc e-mail addresses will remain effective
until further notice.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 23 Mar 89 16:28:45 MET
From: "INFOatHEARN (EARN-NL Info Service)" <INFO@HNYKUN11.BITNET>
Subject: Kermit File Server Available on LISTSERV@HEARN
Keywords: HEARN, LISTSERV, Netherlands, Kermit File Servers
Since several weeks the complete KERMIT database is available on the EARN node
HEARN in The Netherlands. All files from the Kermit server in the USA
(KERMSRV@CUVMA) are available on the Dutch node and every week in the night
from Sunday onto Monday the Dutch server is updated.
All files are available via LISTSERV@HEARN and are listed in KERMIT FILELIST.
This file can be requested by:
VM/CMS: TELL LISTSERV AT HEARN GET KERMIT FILELIST
VAX/VMS: SEND LISTSERV@HEARN GET KERMIT FILELIST
A specific file is requested by:
VM/CMS: TELL LISTSERV AT HEARN GET fn ft KERMIT
VAX/VMS: SEND LISTSERV@HEARN GET fn ft KERMIT
The use of the word KERMIT at the end of the command prevents LISTSERV from
searching in other databases.
Marc de Lyon / Frans-Jozef Sprengers,
INFOatHEARN (EARN Info Service in The Netherlands)
Acknowledge-To: <INFO@HNYKUN11>
[Ed. - Many thanks to the brave people at INFOatHEARN for setting up a
European Kermit Distribution area for BITNET/EARN. This will greatly
alleviate the transatlantic network congestion that has occurred in the past
when new versions of Kermit are announced from Columbia. European users are
urged to obtain their Kermit files from LISTSERV@HEARN rather than
KERMSRV@CUVMA from now on.]
------------------------------
Date: Mon Apr 3 11:42:49 1989
From: Christine M Gianone <cmg@watsun.cc.columbia.edu>
Subject: Proposed Kermit Protocol Extension for International Character Sets
Keywords: International Characters, National Characters, ISO Standards
Keywords: Japanese
A very rough, preliminary draft proposal for an extension to the Kermit file
transfer protocol is now available for review. Its purpose is to allow the
transfer of multi-language text files between unlike computer systems. The
new transfer syntax uses the 8-bit character sets defined in the ISO 8859 and
similar standards, and mechanisms for switching among them defined in ISO
2022. Japanese and other multi-byte character sets are handled by similar
mechanisms.
If you would like to read this document (about 70K), it can be ftp'd from
watsun or cunixc as kermit/test/isok2.txt, or, on BITNET, obtained from
KERMSRV@CUVMA as T:ISOK2.TXT. The "2" denotes draft #2. Future drafts will
be isok3.txt, isok4.txt, etc. (but not too many of them!). A special splinter
group e-mail list, "isokermit", has been set up for those who would like to
discuss these issues in detail. If you would like to join this group, please
let me know.
------------------------------
Date: Mon Apr 3 10:01:15 1989
From: Frank da Cruz <fdc@watsun.cc.columbia.edu>
Subject: New Release of C-Kermit Available for Testing
Keywords: C-Kermit, UNIX Kermit, Attribute Packets, SUN, Ultrix, VAX/VMS
Xref: File Attributes, see Attribute Packets
This is to announce a test release of C-Kermit, 4F(077). The major new
feature is limited support for file attribute packets. C-Kermit can send
attribute packets containing system ID, file sizes (K and bytes), and
encoding method (text or binary), and will honor positive and negative
responses. The command 'set attributes {on, off}' was added, to allow
attribute packet processing to be disabled in case of misunderstandings; it
is enabled by default.
C-Kermit also receives and reads attribute packets but so far does nothing
with these attributes except for "Disposition" (Attribute "+"). If the
disposition is M, then the file is mailed to the designated address(es). If
the disposition is P, then the file is printed with the specified options.
These operations are currently done in the obvious, crude way (via
"system()"), and only for UNIX. The LOG DEBUG command will record attributes
in the debug log.
MS-Kermit users will notice that when receiving files from C-Kermit, the
percent transferred will be displayed, and that MS-Kermit will refuse to
receive files from C-Kermit that are too big for the available disk space.
Also the MS-Kermit MAIL command will work with C-Kermit in RECEIVE or SERVER
mode.
Other changes include:
- Improved speed when sending files, most noticable on slower machines.
Thanks to Paul Placeway of Ohio State University for supplying a new
buffered file input function, along with reorganizing the packet encoding
functions.
- The SET SERVER TIMEOUT command was added to control the rate at which the
C-Kermit server issues NAKs during command wait, 0 = no NAKs at all. The
server's periodic NAKs can interfere with originate/answer devices like
digital PBXs or autodial modems, putting them in originate mode when the
user wanted the device to be in answer mode. SET SERVER TIMEOUT 0 can now
be used in such situations.
- Make C-Kermit send NAKs: ckcpro.w, ckcfns.c, ckcfn2.c, ckcmai.c. Up till
now, C-Kermit has always responded to a corrupted packet or a timeout by
resending its previous packet. It turns out that when talking to a more
generalized Kermit program -- i.e. one that provides for sliding-window
packet transfer, in which a window size of 1 is just a special case --
that it is better for C-Kermit to send NAK packets in response to
corrupted packets or timeouts, which a sliding-windows Kermit will act
upon immediately.
- Cure a longstanding protocol bug in which Kermit would sometimes fail to
send files whose names started with capital X or Z.
- Fixes to ensure that UNIX versions catch the HUP (hangup) signal, and
clean up and disappear properly in the event of a telephone disconnection.
- In remote mode, when file transfer is done over the job's controlling tty,
use file descriptor 0 (stdin) rather than obtaining a new file descriptor
on the terminal. This allows UNIX "idle line monitors" to properly detect
Kermit activity and not log out Kermit users in the middle of 40-megabyte
file transfers because the tty line appears to be idle.
- Add UNOS support from David MacKenzie, edf@rocky2.rockefeller.edu.
- Slightly better support for Hayes modems -- catch the case where user
dials out at 2400 but gets connected at 1200.
- Several minor bug fixes.
See the file ckuker.upd for details about the changes.
This release needs to be tested thoroughly on as many different kinds of UNIX
systems as possible -- pure Berkeley (2.9, 2.10, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3), AT&T (System
III, V, and VR3), Xenix (all varieties), etc etc. It has been tested so
far on 4.2BSD-based systems (Ultrix 2.0 and SUNOS 4.0) and AT&T System-V
systems (the AT&T Unix PC).
For now, the new release is available via ftp from cunixc.cc.columbia.edu, in
the directory kermit/test/ck*. Please get the files, try them out, and report
any problems to me. After the kinks are worked out, version 4F will replace
the current standard 4E release.
BITNET/EARN users may also access the test files in the new KERMSRV test area.
Refer to these files as T:CKU*.*, T:CKC*.*, and T:CKW*.*, for instance:
TELL KERMSRV AT CUVMA MAIL DIR T:*.*
TELL KERMSRV AT CUVMA SEND T:CKC*.*
Among the files in the test area, you will also find updated VAX/VMS support
files for C-Kermit from Mark Buda at DEC. These are a "work in progress" and
are not quite usable yet. If you would like to look at them, their names all
begin with the letters "ckv" (in KERMSRV, they are T:CKV*.*). They will be
updated from time to time, as will the other files in this area, as bugs are
fixed, etc. Watch forthcoming issues of Info-Kermit for announcements of
improved VMS versions of C-Kermit, and a real release of version 4F in general.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 4 Apr 89 20:05:36 +0200
From: hanche@imf.unit.no
Subject: C-kermit on apollo under SR10!
Keywords: C-Kermit, Apollo Kermit
I asked earlier about making C-Kermit work under SR10 on an Apollo. I
now have the answer, thanks to our local Apollo representative.
Although the silence following my query was deafening---suggesting
that no one on this list uses Apollos---I will now report the fix.
The problem is basically this: The C-kermit code is full of special
code to handle Apollos. All this code turns out to be unnecessary
(and indeed harmful) when running under SR10, since the operating
system is now much more Unixlike. Unfortunately, even the C compiler
provided with the 4.3BSD environment of SR10 defines the preprocessor
symbol aegis, thereby activating the unwanted code. I fixed this by
inserting a new item in the makefile, looking like this:
#Apollos running SR10.0 or later:
sr10-bsd:
make wermit "CFLAGS= -DBSD4 -DDEBUG -DTLOG -Uaegis"
I also needed to add one line to ckcmai.c (anywhere near the beginning):
#undef apollo
and then the program compiled like a charm.
I also discovered that you must use /dev/tty??, not /dev/sio? as the
latter access the serial lines at a lower level than is standard on
Unix systems.
- Harald Hanche-Olsen Division of Mathematical Sciences
hanche@imf.unit.no The Norwegian Institute of Technology
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 15 Mar 89 13:34 CST
From: C.J.Adie@edinburgh.ac.uk
Via: LOWEY%SASK.USask.CA@cuvmb.cc.columbia.edu
Subject: Announcing the Final Test of OS/2 Kermit
Keywords: OS/2 Kermit, IBM PS/2, PS/2
This is to announce a new version of C-Kermit for OS/2 for the IBM PS/2
family. Version 1.0p fixes a number of bugs in the VT100 terminal emulator,
which is now upgraded to a VT102. Many thanks to all those who commented on
the previous releases, and particularly to Kevin Lowey at the University of
Saskatchewan and to Peter White of the University of New Brunswick for their
advice on the emulation. The documentation is also updated, to explain better
the interaction of Kermit with the OS/2 MODE utility.
If no bugs are reported to me by Monday 1st May 1989, this version will become
the first full (ie. non-beta-test) release of C-Kermit for OS/2, at which
point the version number will be changed to 1.0 and the sources will be
released.
Please send bug reports to "C.J.Adie@edinburgh.ac.uk"
Chris Adie
[Ed. - Thanks to Chris, and to Kevin for relaying the material to Columbia.
The new release replaces the previous one in the Kermit Distribution "B" area
as files cko*.*.]
------------------------------
Date: Wed Mar 1 11:42:49 1989
From: Christine M Gianone <cmg@watsun.cc.columbia.edu>
Subject: Announcing Kermit for Hewlett-Packard BASIC Workstations
Keywords: HP-9000 Kermit, BASIC Kermit
Xref: Hewlett-Packard, See HP
This is to announce Kermit for the HP 9000 Series 200 and 300 BASIC
workstations, written in HP-BASIC by Andrew Campagnola of Hewlett-Packard
Measurement Systems Division in Loveland, Colorado, with contributions from
Keith Moore at the HP NJ Division labs. This version, Kermit-RMB 1.0, of the
program is the initial release. Kermit-RMB is capable of both remote and
local operation, transfers text and binary files over both 8-bit and 7-bit
connections, emulates the DEC VT100 terminal, does raw uploads and downloads,
includes logging functions, has a macro facility, and handles Kermit File
Attribute packets. It also printer control, a hex editor and dump facility,
and a file type conversion utility. It lacks certain other capabilities
including wildcard send, 2- and 3-character checksums, server functions, and
long packets. The program runs on any Series 200/300 computer with 1MB of
memory and BASIC 5.0 or greater, and will run on any HP serial interface
available for these computers.
Kermit-RMB comes with an extensive manual, BASIC source code, and binaries
encoded in hexadecimal format. The files are in the "C" area of Kermit
Distribution, kermit/c via anonymous FTP, or on the C tape, as files whose
names start with HPB. The program will also be distributed by Interex, the
international HP computer user group, on native-format 3.5" diskettes, and
can also be obtained over BITNET from KERMSRV at CUVMA.
Many thanks to Andy for contributing this program.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 1989 Feb 13 13:54:52 EST
From: (John F. Chandler) PEPMNT@CFAAMP.BITNET
Subject: TSO Kermit-370 through VTAM
Keywords: Kermit-370, Protocol Converters, VTAM, TSO
A new update is now available, thanks to Herb Huston at GSFC, for
automatically detecting the presence of VTAM controlling a line-mode
connection on TSO. The new code then sets the controller type to VTAMTTY and
removes the necessity for the user to do it by hand (or to rely on the Kermit
installer for setting the default controller type to VTAMTTY). The update is
available in IKTKER.UPD in the Kermit distribution. This update is
particularly useful at sites with both VTAM and TCAM TTY lines, since no
default there would satisfy everyone.
------------------------------
Date: Mon, 1989 Feb 27 13:10:35 EST
From: (John F. Chandler) PEPMNT@CFAAMP.BITNET
Subject: Terminal Controller Detection in Kermit-370
Keywords: Kermit-370, Protocol Converter, VTAM
Release 4.1 of Kermit-370 has code for automatically detecting whether a
full-screen terminal is a SERIES1-type or not by issuing a SERIES1 status
request (which is "illegal" for controllers not compatible with the Yale ASCII
communication system). Unfortunately, some users report that VTAM refuses to
allow such a command through. Can anyone familiar with VTAM operation suggest
a way of making it more amenable?
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 1989 Mar 31 17:16:16 EST
From: (John F. Chandler) PEPMNT@cfaamp.bitnet
Subject: Graphics devices and CMS Kermit
Keywords: Kermit-370, Graphics, VM/CMS Kermit
I'm looking (again) for anyone who is interested in getting CMS Kermit to run
with the class of protocol converters known as Graphcis devices (including
MICOM, PCI, and LeeData models, among others). This time, I have not one, but
two, new possibilities of code to try as alternatives to the standard-issue
CMS Kermit 4.1. The few people who have tried CMS Kermit with Graphcis
devices in the past (and bothered to report their results) have been
frustrated by failure, but there is now a very good prospect of getting at
least one version to work. Please, let me know if you're interested. Also,
if you happen to have tried CMS Kermit successfully with one of these devices
(I'm still hoping), I would love to have the details.
John
BITNET: PEPMNT@CFAAMP
Internet: PEPMNT@CFAAMP.HARVARD.EDU
SPAN: CFAPS2::CHANDLER
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 29 Mar 89 10:05:59 PST
From: GEORGE WESTLUND <DI001%CALPOLY@cuvmb.cc.columbia.edu>
Subject: CMS Kermit for IBM 3174 w/AEA
Keywords: Kermit-370
I've tried the IBM-NETS and LIAISON groups with little or no success, so
now I'll ask you guy's...
Are you aware of a version of IBM-CMS Kermit that will work with an IBM 3174
Remote communications controller with ASCII Emulation Adapters? If one
exists, I need to know the version number so I can convince our systems people
to upgrade. If one doesn't exist, is there a chance of one in the near
future? Can you put me in touch with anyone who could provide more
information.
I have already received a couple of querries from users who would also
like this capability.
All help appreciated!
[Ed. - Others have asked about this. Anyone?]
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End of Info-Kermit Digest
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