[comp.sys.mac.comm] whats different in NCSA Telnet +/- MacTCP?

ireland@ac.dal.ca (04/09/91)

Hello, could somebody explain the difference between the version of 
NCSA Telnet that requires MacTCP and the one that doesn't? Does the
one that uses MacTCP enable one to do more? I have MacTCP but don't
have a very good idea of what it's doing.

Thanks for your help.
Keith Conover
ireland@ac.dal.ca

german@uxh.cso.uiuc.edu (Gregory German) (04/09/91)

ireland@ac.dal.ca writes:

>Hello, could somebody explain the difference between the version of 
>NCSA Telnet that requires MacTCP and the one that doesn't? Does the
>one that uses MacTCP enable one to do more? I have MacTCP but don't
>have a very good idea of what it's doing.

MacTCP provides you with a common interface to the TCP/IP world.  Using it for
your applications will allow you to avoid duplicating entries such as IP#,
gateway IP#, netmask, etc. for each application.  It will also aid you in
getting multiple TCP/IP applications to run together.  If every application
had its own implementation of the TCP/IP stack there would be very little hope
that you could get them to cooperate with regards to access to the network
interface.

>Thanks for your help.
>Keith Conover
>ireland@ac.dal.ca

--
         Greg German (german@sonne.CSO.UIUC.EDU) (217-333-8293)
US Mail: Univ of Illinois, CSO, 1304 W Springfield Ave, Urbana, IL  61801
Office:  129 Digital Computer Lab., Network Design Office

dorner@pequod.cso.uiuc.edu (Steve Dorner) (04/09/91)

In article <4355@ac.dal.ca> ireland@ac.dal.ca writes:
>Hello, could somebody explain the difference between the version of 
>NCSA Telnet that requires MacTCP and the one that doesn't?

In order to participate on a TCP/IP network, you need software that
understands TCP/IP.

In the bad old days, this software was built into applications.  That
meant that only ONE such application could do TCP/IP at a time.  NCSA Telnet
was such an application (and still is, in the non-MacTCP version).  You
run NCSA Telnet, and nothing else that uses TCP/IP.

MacTCP is Apple's TCP/IP software, and it's written as a driver, meaning
that multiple applications can access it.  So, you can have the MacTCP
version of NCSA Telnet, and the HyperCard FTP stack, and a news reader,
and a mail program, and whatever other stuff you want, all going at the
same time.

If the only TCP/IP app you use is NCSA Telnet, it probably doesn't matter
much which one you use.  If you ever intend to use other TCP/IP services,
use the MacTCP version.
--
Steve Dorner, U of Illinois Computing Services Office
Internet: s-dorner@uiuc.edu  UUCP: uunet!uiucuxc!uiuc.edu!s-dorner