Columbia Kermit/kermit.zip/newsgroups/misc.19941031-19941221/[e-mail]_Wed Nov 30 03:12:27 1994.msg

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From: Yeechang Lee <[e-mail]>
Newsgroups: news.newusers.questions,comp.protocols.kermit.misc
Subject: Assorted MS-Kermit questions
Date: Tue, 29 Nov 1994 22:12:27 -0500
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On Tue, 29 Nov 1994 [e-mail] wrote:
> The only complaint I have, is
> that you cannot scroll back like you can with some other packages. (Or can
> you?  I don't know how.)

First, make sure you're running the latest version (3.13 is the latest
production version; 3.14 is in solid beta.  Both are available at
ftp://kermit.columbia.edu/kermit, or http://kermit.columbia.edu/)

To turn screen rollback on, put

SET TERM ROLLBACK ON

in your mscustom.ini file.  Then put

SET ROLLBACK xxxx (where xxxx=# between 1 and 8000)

to govern how many screens will be remembered.  By default, the grey PageUp
and PageDown keys will be used to scroll up and down--if you don't like
this, you can redefine the keys.

> I use GSZ, a Zmodem implementation, to download files -- I find it faster
> than Kermit.  On the other hand, I have frequently had difficulty
> downloading using Zmodem, and then I download the same file effortlessly,
> although more slowly, using Kermit.  Why is it more robust?

Kermit is a very cautious protocol.  It "escapes" or sort of specially-marks
all unusual control characters so they'll cross any link, whether a dialup
to a BBS, dialup to a university Unix system through a terminal server, or
whatever.  (This is one of the reasons for Kermit's slower performance
compared to Zmodem.) By contrast, ZModem was originally designed for 8-bit
clean lines (e.g., the kind of connection you get calling a BBS over the
phone).  It escapes no control characters at all (though this can be
changed--see your ZModem docs).  You can experiment with only escaping the
control characters on Kermit that cause problems for your system; this will
help your throughput a lot.  Get the Kermit 3.14 beta--it has a document,
PERFORM.DOC, that details all this and more.

> *  I have heard, and you mention the same, that Kermit is only marginally
> slower than Zmodem "if the settings are right".  I have tweaked the packet
> sizes, but I'm really only shooting in the dark.  I have seen faster
> transfers with longer packets, and my Unix machine, from which I sometimes
> down / upload, prompts me to change BLOCKS.  What are all these
> parameters, and what do I set them to? (And how do I know that is what I
> need to set them to?)

Blocks, for Kermit, refer to checksum schemes.  Type SET BLOCK 3 on both
your side and on the university's side; it'll help accuracy.

The 3.14 beta makes big improvements on all these fronts--not only is there
the PERFORM.DOC, plus more discussion of this "Most Frequently Asked
Question" in the main documentation (KERMIT.HLP, KERMIT.BWR), but there are
also some basic macros that will set things to go a lot faster than normal
automatically.

> *  I currently PUSH out of Kermit, and then run a batch file to download
> using Zmodem.  It works fine, but is cumbersome.  I have had many problems
> uploading, though, and I have a feeling it may be due to the PUSHing.  Is
> there a way to use Zmodem straight out of Kermit's bowels?  What Zmodem
> protocol implementation do you use?  Is there a freeware version? (Where
> do I find it?)

Yes.  I have these lines in my mscustom.ini file;

define rz run c:\kermit\dsz\dsz.exe F ha on port 1 G rz -mrr
define sz run c:\kermit\dsz\dsz.exe F ha both port 1 G sz -Q^ -m \%1 \%2,

Type the above lines _exactly_, including the case; just substitute in the
filepath of your ZModem program (I'd recommend you find and use dsz.exe;
it's quicker than gsz.com or dsz.com.).  The '-Q^' is required on my system
to escape a control code that causes problems for my server; it tells ZModem
to escape ASCII code 30, '^^'.  It probably won't be the same with your
system; take that part out and see how things work out.  Talk to your
sysadmins about what control characters need to be escaped on uploads and
downloads.  Anyways, with these commands you can just type 'sz xyz.txt' and
'rz' to up/download right from the MS-Kermit command line.

> I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Hope this helps.  I'll also crosspost this to comp.protocols.kermit.misc,
Kermit HQ on Usenet.

--   _____________________________________________________________________
     Yeechang Lee  ([e-mail])|Nevada Las Vegas Mission Jul'92-'94
     Columbia University/New York City|Celestial Kingdom through Taco Bell