kermit.columbia.edu/kermit.columbia.edu.tar/kermit.columbia.edu/newsgroups/misc.19960715-19961006/[e-mail] _Thu Aug 22 20:07:45 1996.msg

Internet Message Format | 1996-11-03 | 8KB

Return-Path: [e-mail]
Received: from newsmaster.cc.columbia.edu (newsmaster.cc.columbia.edu [128.59.35.30]) by watsun.cc.columbia.edu (8.7.5/8.7.3) with ESMTP id UAA02108 for <[e-mail]>; Thu, 22 Aug 1996 20:07:44 -0400 (EDT)
Received: (from news@localhost) by newsmaster.cc.columbia.edu (8.7.5/8.7.3) id UAA16368 for kermit.misc@watsun; Thu, 22 Aug 1996 20:07:40 -0400 (EDT)
Path: news.columbia.edu!watsun.cc.columbia.edu!fdc
From: [e-mail] (Frank da Cruz)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.kermit.misc,comp.os.vms,comp.os.aos,comp.os.qnx,comp.os.os9,comp.sys.dec,comp.unix.aix,comp.os.linux.misc,comp.unix.solaris,comp.sys.hp.hpux
Subject: C-Kermit 6.0.192 Beta.029 Available
Date: 23 Aug 1996 00:07:10 GMT
Organization: Columbia University
Lines: 166
Distribution: inet
Message-ID: <4visne$[e-mail]>
NNTP-Posting-Host: watsun.cc.columbia.edu
Xref: news.columbia.edu comp.protocols.kermit.misc:5801 comp.os.vms:133728 comp.os.aos:792 comp.os.qnx:9141 comp.os.os9:8987 comp.sys.dec:41102 comp.unix.aix:95147 comp.os.linux.misc:140446 comp.unix.solaris:91984 comp.sys.hp.hpux:51798


This is to announce a third Beta-test edit of C-Kermit 6.0.192 for UNIX,
VMS, AOS/VS, QNX, BeOS, OS-9, and (not quite Beta) the Apple Macintosh,
hopefully to be joined by several other operating systems along the way.
The previous general release of C-Kermit was 5A(190) in October 1994.
The previous 6.0 Beta test, 6.0.192 Beta.026, was announced on June 13.
This is Beta.029 (there were a couple internal Betas that did not go out
to the public).  The changes are:

 . Major overhaul to dynamic timeouts and packet-length adjustments
 . New command-line option -Q to select fast file transfer
 . Default block check is now 3
 . SET FLOW-CONTROL AUTOMATIC ("do the right thing") is now the default
 . A new way to compare file-transfer CRCs after the transfer
 . A new way for the host to force C-Kermit to escape back to its prompt
 . Local variables can now be local to command files as well as to macros
 . New RETRIEVE command, like MOVE but in the other direction
 . ASK, ASKQ, GETOK now refrain from over-evaluating their prompt text
 . Functions now accept braces around arguments to preserve spaces or commas
 . New functions for getting checksums and CRCs of arbitrary text
 . \v(dialresult) now has extraneous control characters trimmed from end
 . MAIL and REMOTE PRINT can now be ENABLEd and DISABLEd separately
 . SET TRANSFER BELL OFF for people who hate the beep after a file transfer
 . Control characters can now be entered in ^X notation (e.g. SET ESC ^X)
 . Numerous display, statistics, and cosmetic improvements

Bugs fixed:

 . VMS labeled-mode file receives did not work
 . VMS OPEN READ and SEND files used the same channel
 . VMS TYPE command was too slow and could not be interrupted
 . Array elements could not be used for filenames
 . SET DESTINATION PRINTER fixed in UNIX version

New systems supported:

 . BeBox with BeOS DR7

BUILT AND TESTED ON...

   Apple Macintosh with Mac OS 6.03.

   DEC Alpha, OpenVMS 6.2 with and without TGV MultiNet.
   DEC VAXstation 3100 VAX/VMS 5.5-1 with and without UCX.
   DEC VAX 4000 VMS 5.5-2 + TGV MultiNet.

   Data General MV 2500/DC AOS/VS II 2.20.00.39 + TCP/IP.

   DEC 5800 with Ultrix 4.3.
   DEC Alpha with Digital UNIX 3.2
   DEC MicroVAX-II with Bell Labs Research UNIX 10th edition.
   DEC PDP-11/44 with BSD 2.11.
   HP 9000, many models, with HP-UX versions from 5.21 to 10.01.
   HP 9000 with BSD 4.4-Lite.
   IBM Power Series 400 AIX 4.1.
   NeXTstation, NeXTSTEP 3.1.
   PCs with BSDI 1.0-C and 2.1.
   PCs with Linux, various versions.
   PCs with QNX 4.22.
   PCs with SCO Open Server R5.0.
   PCs with Unixware 2.10.
   SGI Indigo with IRIX 5.3.
   Sun SPARC, SunOS 4.1.3_U1.
   Sun SPARC, Solaris 2.4, 2.5 with and without SunLink X.25 9.00.

Thanks to all of you who tested the last Beta and sent in reports.  Special
thanks to Peter Eichhorn for especially detailed and exhaustive tests (and
quite a few excellent suggestions), Michael P. Murphy for the BeBox
adaptation, Steven M. Schultz for help with 2.11BSD (where C-Kermit still
runs in 64K using overlays), James Jones for help with OS-9, and to Jeff
Altman as usual for tons of stuff.

Here are some notes about specific versions:

THE MACINTOSH VERSION
  Owing to the still-chronic lack of Macintosh programmers, the Macintosh
  version remains badly neglected.  Reportedly it does not work at all on
  some Macintosh platforms (it does on mine), or on certain kinds of
  communication ports but not others; many features are not filled in, etc
  etc.  It has been updated to the current C-Kermit beta level, but no
  Macintosh-specific changes have been made since the previous beta.

THE AOS/VS VERSION
  I can still build it myself for AOS/VS-II, but this version does not
  work on AOS/VS Classic, and some people have been asking for it.
  Somebody with an AOS/VS Classic system with the DG C compiler and
  linker needs to build it and make the binary available.

THE BEBOX VERSION
  Is rather primitive, but so is BeOS itself.  As Be continues to fill
  in the pieces, C-Kermit will get better.  Source code only for now,
  a binary should be available soon.

THE OS-9 / OS-9000 VERSION
  We hope to see binaries for OS-9 and perhaps also OS-9000 on selected
  platforms soon.  Current source code should be fine for OS-9.

The other versions: VOS, Amiga, Atari, etc, should appear soon too.

WHERE TO GET IT (same place as usual):

Quick access for Web users:
  http://www.columbia.edu/kermit
    Follow the "What's New" link (reload if necessary).

The new test version is available via anonymous ftp from:

  kermit.columbia.edu

in the kermit/test directory tree:

kermit/test/text/
  Contains individual source files, documentation files, makefiles, etc
  ftp in text mode.  The general formula for getting all the files you need
  for a particular version is:

    text
    prompt
    mget ck[cuw]*.[cwh] ck?*.*

  (where ? = v for VMS, m for Macintosh, etc)

kermit/test/macintosh/
  The macintosh binary as a BinHex 4.0 file, ckmker.hqx, plus accompanying
  documentation files, such as they are.  ftp in text mode.

kermit/test/tar/
  The complete UNIX sources, makefile, and documentation files as compressed
  tar archives: cku192.tar.Z (uncompress) and cku192.tar.gz (gunzip)

kermit/test/bin/
  Individual binaries, all of them used to transfer themselves (in binary
  mode, of course :-)  ftp in binary mode.  The READ.ME file in this
  directory explains what is what (text mode for this file only).

As always, the primary documentation for C-Kermit is the book "Using
C-Kermit", supplemented by the following files, in kermit/test/text/:

  NEWS.TXT    -- announcements
  ckcker.upd  -- documentation for new features.
  dialing.doc -- new dialing features
  modems.doc  -- new modem support and features
  ckuker.nr   -- UNIX man page
  ck?ker.bwr  -- "beware" file for ?=u (UNIX), v (VMS), etc.
  ck?ins.doc  -- installation instructions for u (UNIX), v (VMS), etc.
  ckccfg.doc  -- configuration options
  ckcplm.doc  -- program logic manual

Reports of all kinds -- good, bad -- are most welcome; please send them
straight to:

  [e-mail]

Bad ones tend to come anyway, but if you test this version of Kermit and
it's OK, please let us know about that too.  Please be specific about your
hardware platform, operating system and version, etc.

If anybody wants to furnish binaries for this Beta version that are not
already present -- e.g. for DG/UX, Solaris/Intel, VMS with other TCP/IP
products, etc -- please send email to [e-mail].

Watch the comp.protocols.kermit.misc newsgroup for further announcements.

Frank da Cruz and Christine M. Gianone
Managers, The Kermit Project
Columbia University