Columbia Kermit/kermit.zip/newsgroups/misc.19971216-19980424/000051_news@newsmaster….columbia.edu _Sun Jan 4 21:29:26 1998.msg

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Date: Sun, 4 Jan 1998 18:19:44 -0700
From: [e-mail]
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: K/2 gotchas
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Xref: news.columbia.edu comp.protocols.kermit.misc:8219

To set the record straight, when I tried my first post on this thread,
[e-mail] failed,
and I had to use
[e-mail]
              (YYYYMMDD = date)
Possibly a change of policy with the new year at Zippo.com.

FDC>Subject: Re: K/2 Gotchas
FDC>From: [e-mail] (Frank da Cruz)
FDC>Date: Fri, 2 Jan 1998 17:50:34 -0800
FDC>Message-ID: <68k5ha$4kf$[e-mail]>
FDC>Newsgroups: comp.protocols.kermit.misc
FDC>
FDC>
FDC>In article <[e-mail]>,
FDC> <[e-mail]> wrote:
FDC>: .................
FDC>:
FDC>: On MS-DOS Kermit 3.14, the single back slashes were permitted even though

FDC>: the documentation clearly states that a double back slash should be used
FDC>: when a back slash is desired where escaped substitution occurs.
FDC>:
FDC>: .....................................
FDC>But yes, all of this is well documented.  The C-Kermit manual even has a
FDC>section devoted to "Taming the Wild Backslash".

Yep, page 48.

FDC>
FDC>Some day we'll look back on all this and laugh.
FDC>

Hey, I said some of this stuff might be trivial! :-)

FDC>: 3) When the command file got to the point where the mail package was bein
g
FDC>: generated, the BBS generates a stream of
FDC>:
FDC>: ^H|^H/^H-^H\^H|^H/^H-^H\^H...........
FDC>:
FDC>: to indicate that things are not dead while the package is prepared.
FDC>: This seemed to spas out the command file when run in Kermit/2, but
FDC>: not MS-DOS Kermit.  The problem was eliminated when the input buffer was
FDC>: increased from the default minimum size (256 bytes) to the maximum size
FDC>: (65,536 bytes).  I noticed that there was a listing in BUGS.TXT that the
FDC>: "input buffer was too small".  I don't think I have anything special abou
t
FDC>: the input buffer for my MK 3.14, so I conclude that either
FDC>:
FDC>: a) the circular buffer works with MK 3.14 and not with K/2
FDC>:
FDC>That can't be true, or we'd have been pilloried by angry mobs years ago.
FDC>
FDC>: or
FDC>:
FDC>: b) the ^H's effectively erase characters already in the input buffer
FDC>:    in MK 3.14 but not with K/2
FDC>:
FDC>No.  Bytes go into the buffer, no matter what they are (except NUL).
FDC>
FDC>What is the syntax of your INPUT command?
FDC>

How about this:

; *** File KINCYB.QWK (307954 bytes long) is now ready for download ***
input 500 is now ready for download ***

FDC>: 4)  Another problem was that a script seemed to stop, then fail on
FDC>: 'reinput' of a string that was obviously being recieved.  The real proble
m
FDC>: turned out to be in an earlier 'input' command.  The Gotcha! in this case

FDC>: was that besides going between versions of Kermit, there were two modems
FDC>: involved...
FDC>:
FDC>Well, this kind of script programming is a lot easier now that both K95 (K/
2)
FDC>and MS-DOS Kermit support the MINPUT command (INPUT looks for Many things a
t
FDC>once).  There is virtually no longer any need for REINPUT.

Thanks for pointing this out.
Is this a real command in MS-DOS Kermit 3.15?
I see where a macro MINPUT is shown in the KERMIT.BWR for 3.14 documentation
file.
I think a side effect of using this could be to simplify tangle of
script to deal with the occasional messages the BBS throws up to
try and distract from the mission of exchanging the mail.
I'll switch to MINPUT when I get 3.15 installed over 3.14, if not sooner.

FDC>................................................
FDC>
JA>Subject: Re: K/2 Gotchas
JA>From: [e-mail] (Jeffrey Altman)
JA>Date: Fri, 2 Jan 1998 18:08:35 -0800
JA>Message-ID: <68k6j3$522$[e-mail]>
JA>Newsgroups: comp.protocols.kermit.misc
JA>
JA>
JA>In article <68k5ha$4kf$[e-mail]>,
JA>Frank da Cruz <[e-mail]> wrote:
JA>: : 5)  Another problem was brought on when a dialup
JA>: : script ran.  Everything went OK until I went to connect mode.
JA>: : Then, as soon as anything was entered from the keyboard, K/2
JA>: : left connect mode back to command mode, the session froze up,
JA>: : the cursor went to lower left-hand corner and the session seemed to beco
me
JA>: : unkillable.  Any effort to stop the session would produce a message at t
he
JA>: : bottom of the screen, something to the effect of
JA>: : "!!! Recieved Kill Signal!!!", but the session lived on, hogging the
JA>: : COM port, still locked up until reboot.
JA>: :
..................................................
JA>
JA>Actually, "!!! Recieved Kill Signal!!!" is one of K2's messages.  It
JA>is produced when Kermit receives a KILL signal from the operating
JA>system.  Kermit as this point stops all operations, closes the current
JA>connection and attempts to exit.
JA>
JA>.........................................
JA>
JA>If you can reproduce this scenario with the LOG DEBUG command active
JA>we can attempt to trace system routine in which the problem is occuring.
JA>

I've never used LOG DEBUG before, but definitly have some documentation
on it, and will try it, probably tomorrow, Sunday.  I seemed to get into a
positive feedback loop when I encountered this problem - having to
reboot just increased the urgency to get typing as soon as logged in.
When I thought to slow down, the problem quit.

Trying to think of anything else that might be important on this,
the only other things I can think of are that I'm using an old style
83 key (or what ever - less than 90) keyboard (it never previously
caused any problem that I'm aware of), and the USR modem acts a little
flakey when we get what passes for winter weather out here.  I
really don't know if this last point is the modem or something with
the phone lines when they get cold or damp.  (I'll try it with the Zoom
internal as well to check on that.  The (slower) Zoom never seems to be
bothered by the weather.)

JA>
JA>    Jeffrey Altman * Sr.Software Designer * Kermit-95 for Win32 and OS/2
JA>                 The Kermit Project * Columbia University
JA>       612 West 115th St #716 * New York, NY * 10025 * [phone]
JA>    http://www.columbia.edu/kermit/k95.html * [e-mail]

JA>
JA>--------------------------------


Thanks & Best regards,
Dallas E. Legan II
(562) 862 - 4854 ext. '*'
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]

"But I found that the rulers were ordinary men, too, and frequently
as bewildered as I was."

                from "Solution Unsatisfactory"
                   by Robert A. Heinlein

I speak only for myself, and assume full responsibility for my statements.