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000017_news@columbia.edu_Fri Jul 28 14:09:13 1995.msg
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From: fdc@watsun.cc.columbia.edu (Frank da Cruz)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.kermit.misc
Subject: Re: Kermit download from CompuServe.. best setup??
Date: 28 Jul 1995 14:09:13 GMT
Organization: Columbia University
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Message-Id: <3var29$nvm@apakabar.cc.columbia.edu>
References: <3uidtu$r5c@hpber004.swiss.hp.com> <DC7oIH.6IA@omen.com> <kwOFww8Z7GDV084yn@netcom.com> <DCCKKL.K63@omen.com>
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In article <DCCKKL.K63@omen.com>, Chuck Forsberg WA7KGX <caf@omen.com> wrote:
>I used the same very aggressively optimized .kermrc file I used
>for the Protocol Shootout. It is more aggressive (when sending
>to ZCOMM or Professional-YAM) than MSKermit allows.
>
Just as I said in my response to the same posting.
>It also disables Kermit's default file corruption transfer mode.
>
My goodness, what a terrible thing to say. Everybody knows that, because
of differences in text-file format among different computers, that when
transferring files between unlike systems (or, more precisely, systems
that have different text-file formats), one must choose between text and
binary mode. In other words, binary mode (= "No Presentation Layer")
works for all files only when:
(a) The two systems have the same text-file format (e.g. stream LF,
stream CRLF, stream CR), and then (usually) only when the files
are stream, rather than record oriented, and:
(b) Character-set conversion is not required.
Therefore, when conditions (a) and (b) are not met, one must pick text or
binary mode for each file transfer in order to avoid corruption. And that
implies that, for convenience, one must also have a default mode to be
used in the absence of a specific directive from the user. The rub, of
course, is that any given default will not fit every file transfer.
For X/Y/ZMODEM, the default is binary, which can corrupt text files. For
Kermit and FTP the default is text, which can corrupt binary files. It is
a sad fact that ordinary users must know about matters such as these, but
it is nevertheless a fact.
Kermit's default dates back to the old days when most file transfers did,
indeed, involve moving text between unlike systems. This is not the kind
of default that one changes lightly, as we can see from FTP, which has
been using the same default for over 20 years.
However, any Kermit user can change Kermit's default mode by putting the
command, SET FILE TYPE BINARY, in their Kermit initialization file.
Nevertheless, perhaps it is now appropriate for me to put the question:
WHEREAS the computing landscape has changed dramatically in the past
15 years, from a rich and diverse mixture of systems to the almost
uniform dominance of PCs with DOS and Windows to the exlusion of all
else, and...
WHEREAS nobody, not even the most inexperienced user, transfers any type
of file except ZIP and GIF and JPEG any more, and...
WHEREAS it is still, to this day, impossible in most cases for software
to determine by examining a file's characteristics whether it is a text
or binary file (a notable exception being VMS), and therefore to switch
into the appropriate mode automatically, ...
WHEREAS, as Chuck correctly points out, it is possible (though often
difficult) to correct the format of a text file transferred in binary
mode but it is impossible to fix a binary file transferred in text
mode, therefore:
BE IT RESOLVED THAT future release of Kermit software will use binary
file-transfer mode by default.
Is this the consensus of opinion among Kermit users? If so, we'll make
this change. It's not hard -- all we have to do is change a "0" to a "1"
and recompile :-)
My thanks to Chuck for bringing this issue to the fore at this very
appropriate time.
>The default for Professional-YAM and ZCOMM is to transfer files without
>translation. Professional-YAM and ZCOMM Kermit transfers feature
>automatic Kermit downloads. In fact these programs are so quick they
>often beat MSKermit on downloads from Unix CKermit.
>
>Despite Frank and Joe's expressed enthusiasm for quality Kermit
>implmentations, I rather doubt that ZCOMM and Professional-YAM will
>appear in any Columbia University list of efficient Kermit programs.
>
I'm perfectly willing to believe that you have produced excellent Kermit
implementations, Chuck. You are one of the few remaining members of a
dying breed that is dedicated to producing high-quality work rather than
glossy, slick, superficial trash. You can quote me on that :-)
- Frank