"Jerry E. Pournelle" <POURNE@mit-mc.ARPA> (11/20/84)
A recent letter from a reader reminds me that BYTE did a lukewarm review of KERMIT and no one else seems interested. I ught to do something about that. That means I need to have KERMIT running on something. I have about 35 machines. Most do not have modems but there is no problem about buying a good modem. (I suspect that KERMIT is not likely to work with an ancient PMMI at 300 baud in an S-100 CompuPro 8/16 is it?) Need: recommendation on which machine (PC, PCLONE, 8/16, or what); which modem[s] would be acceptable; and HOW to get KERMIT aboard said machine in easiest way. Also ought to have information on how readers can get KERMIT. Any help appreciated. I recall going through a bit of this in the past with no outcome; this tends to be an interrupt driven household. However, This Time For Sure. Bullwinkle-- ah, no, Jerry Pournelle
kermit@okstate.UUCP (11/26/84)
/***** okstate:net.micro / brl-tgr!"Jerry / 1:43 am Nov 23, 1984 */
A recent letter from a reader reminds me that BYTE did a
lukewarm review of KERMIT and no one else seems interested.
I ught to do something about that.
That means I need to have KERMIT running on something.
I have about 35 machines. Most do not have modems but
there is no problem about buying a good modem.
(I suspect that KERMIT is not likely to work with an
ancient PMMI at 300 baud in an S-100 CompuPro 8/16 is it?)
Need: recommendation on which machine (PC, PCLONE, 8/16,
or what); which modem[s] would be acceptable; and HOW to get
KERMIT aboard said machine in easiest way. Also ought to have
information on how readers can get KERMIT.
Any help appreciated. I recall going through a bit of
this in the past with no outcome; this tends to be an interrupt
driven household. However, This Time For Sure.
Bullwinkle-- ah, no, Jerry Pournelle
/* ---------- */
Jerry,
Before you get all strung out on a KERMIT implementation, check
the list below for versions that are already available from Columbia
University, and Oklahoma State University via uucp. Most of these
implementations are updated frequently as bugs appear. For more
information see the info-kermit notes file.
Gregg Wonderly <kermit@Okstate>
Department of Computing and Information Sciences
Oklahoma State University
00README.TXT (26 July 1984)
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY KERMIT DISTRIBUTION
The KERMIT distribution area includes all the versions of Kermit which are in
our possession. The files have names of the form
NAME.TYPE
where NAME is the name of file, and TYPE is its type (program source,
documentation, executable core image, etc). No NAME is more than 9 characters
long (the maximum accepted by VAX/VMS), and every NAME is unique in the first 6
characters (the maximum under TOPS-10, RSTS/E, etc). On TOPS-10 BACKUP
Interchange tapes, names longer than 6 will be truncated to 6. No type is
longer than 3 characters. NAME and TYPE are separated by a period.
* Prefixed Files:
The file names for files associated with each implementation of KERMIT are
prefixed by a few characters denoting the implementation. The following are
presently used:
-- "mainframes" --
Prefix Machine(s) Operating System Language
170 Cyber 170 NOS Fortran-77
20 DECSYSTEM-20 TOPS-20 MACRO-20
AOS Data General AOS Ratfor
CMS IBM 370 Series VM/CMS IBM Assembler
HPM Hewlett-Packard 1000 RTE Fortran
K10 DECsystem-10 TOPS-10 MACRO-10
K11 PDP-11 RSX-11, RSTS/E, RT-11 MACRO-11
MP PDP-11 MUMPS (M/11) MUMPS
MTS IBM 370 Series MTS Assember, Pascal
MU Honewyell MULTICS PL/I
PRI PRIME PRIMOS PL/P (PL/I)
RT PDP-11 RT-11 OMSI Pascal
ST HP3000, Univac, etc Software Tools Ratfor
TSO IBM 370-series MVS/TSO Assembler
UN Sperry/Univac-1100 EXEC Assembler
UX VAX, SUN, PDP-11, etc UNIX C
VF VAX VMS Pascal and Fortran
VMS VAX VMS Bliss-32
VX VAX VMS C
-- "micros" --
800 Luxor ABC-800 ABCDOS BASIC-II
86 Rainbow-100, NEC APC CP/M-86 ASM86
APC NEC APC binaries CP/M-86 ASM86
APO Apollo Aegis Fortran
APP Apple II 6502 Apple DOS DEC-10 CROSS
ATA Atari Home Computer DOS Action!
CPM 8080, 8085, or Z80 CP/M-80 ASM
HP1 HP-150 MS DOS HP-150
HP9 HP-98xx UCSD p-System HP Pascal
MDS Intel Development System ISIS PL/M
MS Various MS-DOS or PC-DOS MASM
PRO DEC Professional-350 P/OS Bliss
RBK Rainbow binaries CP/M-86 ASM86
RBL "LCTERM" for Rainbow MS DOS C
PC IBM PC or Zenith Z100 PC DOS, MS DOS MASM
SIR Sirius-1 MS DOS MASM
SEE Seequa Chameleon MS DOS, CP/M-86 MASM
TA2 Tandy 2000 MS DOS MASM
TRS TRS-80 I and III MS DOS Z80 Assembler
UCT Terak 8510a UCSD p-System II.0 Pascal, Macro-11
UCI IBM PC UCSD p-System IV.x Pascal
VIC Sirius 1/Victor 9000 CP/M-86 ASM86
(The VAX/VMS Bliss version is also provided in MACRO-32 (.MAR) source form for
those sites that do not have a Bliss compiler. YOU DON'T NEED TO HAVE BLISS IN
ORDER TO RUN THIS VERSION.)
(The VAX/VMS C version is based on an old version of UNIX Kermit; the VMS
support has yet to be merged with the current UNIX Kermit.)
(The K11 files include support for RSX, RSTS, and RT11 -- See K11INS.DOC for
details.)
(The Victor, Seequa, Tandy, and some other MS DOS versions are based on older
versions of IBM PC Kermit; these have yet to be merged with the current
MS/PC-DOS version.)
In some cases, binaries (.REL, .EXE, .COM, etc) are not supplied. For
instance, no binaries come with the UNIX sources, since these can be compiled
to run on many different machines, under different versions of UNIX. Binaries
are provided when it makes sense, however: DEC-10 and DEC-20 .EXE files are
provided on DEC-10 and -20 distribution tapes, MODULE files for CMS KERMIT on
the IBM VM/CMS tape. In any event, all necessary files for building each
version of Kermit from program source (assuming you have the appropriate
compilers) are included on all tapes.
When working with one of these implementations, you would normally copy them
to a separate area and strip the prefix from the file names, and install the
programs on the appropriate systems without the prefix. For instance, on the
DEC-20 you would copy 20KERMIT.MAC to KERMIT.MAC, then assemble it, and store
the result as KERMIT.EXE in SYS:. The VAX/VMS, TOPS-10, PRO-350, TRS-80 and
some other versions are exceptions; in these cases you would replace the "VMS",
"K10", "PRO", etc, prefixes with "KER".
Before doing anything with any particular version, look for an associated file
with the suffix ".HLP" (help) or ".BWR" (beware). These files will often tell
you special things you should know before starting to put together a working
program from the distribution.
The following .BOO files (and also .EXE if your tape format and size allows)
are provided for current MS-DOS implementions:
MSGENER.BOO Generic MS-DOS
MSHP150.BOO Hewlett-Packard 150
MSIBMPC.BOO IBM PC, XT
MSRB100.BOO DEC Rainbow 100
MSWANG.BOO Wang PC
MS*.ASM Sources
MSKERMIT.DOC Manual chapter
The following .HEX files for specific CP/M-80 implementations are included:
CPMBASE.M80 The current, working source file for CP/M KERMIT.
CPMKERMIT.DOC User documentation (chapter from the manual).
CPMAPPLE.HEX Apple II with Z80 Softcard & DC Hayes Micromodem
CPMBRAIN.HEX Intertec SuperBrain
CPMDMII.HEX DECmate II with CP/M
CPMGENERI.HEX "Generic" CP/M Kermit.
CPMHEATH.HEX Heath/Zenith 89
CPMKAYPRO.HEX Kaypro-II
CPMMDI.HEX Morrow Decision I
CPMMIKKO.HEX Nokia MikroMikko
CPMOSBORN.HEX Osborne 1
CPMOSI.HEX Ohio Scientific
CPMPLUS.HEX For any system running CP/M-Plus (3.0)
CPMROBIN.HEX DEC VT180 "Robin"
CPMTELCON.HEX Telcon Zorba
CPMTRLB.HEX TRS-80 II with Lifeboat CP/M 2.25
CPMTRPT.HEX TRS-80 II with Pickles & Trout CP/M
CPMVECTOR.HEX Vector Graphics
CPMZ100.HEX Heath/Zenith Z100 with CP/M-85
"Generic Kermit" can be used on CP/M-80 micros not specifically supported, if
the CP/M IOBYTE facility is implemented, and the fields of the IOBYTE point to
the right devices. The CP/M-Plus version should be able to run "generically"
on any CP/M 3.0 system. See the User Guide and CPMGENERI.DOC for details.
The Kermit User Guide contains instructions for installing or bootstrapping
the various versions of Kermit.
* Manuals:
There are two Kermit manuals: KUSER and KPROTO, a user's guide and a protocol
manual, respectively. Four versions of each files are provided:
.MSS Scribe (UNILOGIC Ltd text formatter) source.
.LPT Line Printer format (overstriking, underscore, etc).
.DOC No special effects, suitable for reading on line.
.FOR Like .LPT, but with Fortran-style carriage control.
If you have Scribe and the appropriate Scribe device drivers, you can run the
.MSS files through it to produce output suitable for printing on any device
supported at your site, including the Xerox-9700, Imagen Imprint-10, or other
multifont laser printers or photocomposers. As of this writing, Scribe is not
entirely bug-free; you may notice some problems with the footnotes in the .DOC
and .LPT files. Note that some parts of the user manual rely on underlining
to clarify examples; the underlines are missing from the .DOC files, but will
be found in the .LPT and .FOR files.
The user's guide is intended for users of Kermit (including those who want to
install it), the protocol manual is for those who would like to write a new
implementation (i.e. a Kermit program for a new machine or operating system).
IMPORTANT: The Users Guide is always out of date. New implementations of
KERMIT, and new versions of old ones, arrive in a steady stream. It's
impossible to keep the manual totally current. The general description of
KERMIT operation remains valid, but detailed descriptions of the various
versions are better obtained from the accompanying help (.HLP), beware (.BWR),
documentation (.DOC), memo (.MEM), or manual (.MAN) files. Look to these files
for information missing from the user manual.
ASCII.MSS is the ASCII/EBCDIC character table, which is included as an
appendix in both manuals.
MANUAL.HYP is a hyphenation dictionary for building the manual with Scribe.
BYTE.MSS is the manuscript of the KERMIT article that was published in
BYTE Magazine in June and July, 1984. BYTE.DOC is suitable for reading at
the terminal, BYTE.MSS may be run through Scribe to produce output for
various printing devices.
* Other Files:
00README.TXT is this file, which should appear at the top of any alphabetical
directory listing, and is the first file on the tape.
FLYER.DOC is a short KERMIT "brochure", explaining the distribution policy.
MAIL.* is the archive of the CCNET/BITNET/ARPANET KERMIT discussion group.
MAIL.TXT is the current, active mail file. MAIL.yyx (e.g. MAIL.83A) files
contain older messages.
CURRENT.DOC is a list of the current versions of KERMIT in reverse
chronological order, to help you see what has changed since the last time
you looked.
VERSIONS.DOC is a list of all known versions of KERMIT, even those that aren't
being distributed yet, showing their status, who's working on them, etc.
COMMER.DOC is a policy statement concerning commercial use of KERMIT.
KERBOO.FOR is a short receive-only version of Kermit written in Fortran,
to be used for bootstrapping Kermit onto systems that don't have a real
Kermit from a system that does.
* Tools:
The following tools are specific to DECsystem-10 and DECSYSTEM-20 computers,
and might not appear on distribution tapes for other kinds of systems.
The files MAC80.*, M80UNV, etc, are an 8080/8085/Z80 cross assembler that runs
on the DEC-10 or DEC-20; MAC80.DOC is a brief description. TORTUR.M80 is
an 8080 instruction set "torture test" for MAC80, which illustrates its
features. ZORTUR.M80 is a Z80 instruction set torture test. MAC80 is used to
assemble CP/M KERMIT, and is mostly compatible with the standard CP/M 8080
assembler.
HEXIFY.* is a program for converting a CP/M .COM file resident on the DEC-10
or DEC-20 to a CP/M .HEX file. This is handy when binary file transfers are
failing to work for some reason. The .HEX file can be LOADed on the CP/M
system in the normal way to reconstruct the original .COM file. HEXCOM.* is
the inverse of HEXIFY, and provides .HEX-to-.COM file conversion.
The files CROSS.* are a general purpose cross assembler that runs on the DEC-10
and -20; CROSS.DOC is the manual. CROSS is used to assemble Apple DOS KERMIT.
WRITEL is a program to write ANSI labeled ASCII tapes on the DEC-20.
TTLINK is a terminal linking program for the DEC-20, allowing you to log in
to another system over a TTY line (e.g. using an autodialer). KERMIT-20 runs
TTLINK to execute the CONNECT command.
EZFIX is a utility for converting EasyWriter files sent to the DEC-20 from
the IBM PC into ordinary text form. STRIP is a program for stripping away
the 8th bit.
* Finally...
If you make any modifications to Kermit, fix any bugs, or write any new
implementations or documentation, please send them back to us on magnetic tape
so we can distribute them to other Kermit users:
KERMIT Distribution
Columbia University
Center for Computing Activities
612 West 115th Street
7th Floor
New York NY 10025
or via network mail notify
CC.FDC@COLUMBIA-20.ARPA
SY.FDC@CU20B.BITNET (or .CCNET)
We'll return your tape to you with the latest Kermit distribution (if you send
a full-size reel).guest2@smu.UUCP (11/28/84)
Can be reached by ...convex!smu!txsil!gertjan We have used kermit quite a lot now. As connection between a variety of machine and indeed we have the CompruPro S100 also but alas no kermit on there. However there is a generic kermit which swabs the IOBYTE. We have kermit running on: UNIX RT11 TSX VMS RAINBOW CP/M Osborne (1 and Executoy) Kaypro(1,2,10) MSDOS (Compaq) and specially made the Sharp PC5000 It performs really good and under unix we use command files like ctsx: kermit clb /dev/tty03 4800 stsx: kermit slb /dev/tty03 4800 $* the 4800 baud is mainly because of the crazy TSX stuff and DL11 boards TSX just decides to go down if you feed it too much. The others run fine on 9600 A challenge is making the right cable. Dumb dl11 boards don't have modem control. so shortwire 4-5 and 6-8-20 at the DZ or DH side. sources available on request, because we are still working on the
fair@dual.UUCP (Erik E. Fair) (12/01/84)
Because there was sufficient interest expressed in it, the INFO-KERMIT
digest from the ARPA INTERNET is now being gatewayed into
fa.info-kermit on the USENET by ucbvax. If you go read fa.info-kermit,
the first digest has probably reached your site by now. If your site is
not getting fa.info-kermit, go poke your netnews administrator.
Mr. USENET for ucbvax & dual,
Erik E. Fair ucbvax!fair fair@ucb-arpa.ARPA
dual!fair@BERKELEY.ARPA
{ihnp4,ucbvax,cbosgd,hplabs,decwrl,unisoft,fortune,sun,nsc}!dual!fair
Dual Systems Corporation, Berkeley, California