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HOST-III
Version 1.1
Unattended Teons for the IBM Personal Computer
Requires a Hayes Smartmodem and 128K
Copyright 1984 William HT Bailey
All Rights Reserved
COMMERCIAL COMMERCIAL COMMERCIAL
--- REQUEST FOR CONTRIBUTION --
If you are using this program and find it to be of value then a $35
contribution is suggested.
William HT Bailey
P.O. Box 29723
Elkins Par, PA 19117-0923
Compuserve: 74145,1046
--- USER SUPPORTED CONCEPT ---
This HOST-III / HOSTCALL software package is being distributed under the USER
SUPPORTED concept. That is you are granted permission to copy and share this
program as long as no price is charged for the software or documentaion.
Contributions, although completely voluntary, will compensate the Author for
his effort and will ensure further development. Anyone may request a copy of
this package by either
1. Sending the Author a blank formatted double-sided diskette (or 2 single
sided diskettes) along with a self-addressed postage-paid mailer
or
2. Sending the Author $35 in which case the diskette, mailer and postage
will be supplied.
--- DISCLAIMER ---
In no event will the Author be liable to you for any damages, including any
lost profits, lost savings or other incidental or consequential damages
arising out of the use of or inability touse these programs, even if the
Author has been advised of the possibility of such damages, or for any claim
by any other party.
COMMERCIAL COMMERCIAL COMMERCIAL
HOST-III
Version 1.1
Unattended Telecommunications for the IBM Personal Computer
Requires a Hayes Smartmodem and 128K
CONTENTS
Page
I. eneral Description ............................................... 1
II. HOST-III Setup ................................................... 6
III. HOST-III Signon ................................................... 9
IV. User Commands ..................................................... 10
V. System Operator Commands ......................................... 13
VI. File Transmission ................................................. 15
VII. File Reception .................................................... 17
VIII. HOST-III Signoff and Reset ........................................ 19
HOST-III
I. General Description
This section has two objectives. They are:
1. To describe the uses of this program.
2. To provide enough information so that you can start using the program
immediately.
The second objective is possible, ecause the use of this program is quite
straight forward. You will find the details which will enable you to use
HOST-III to its fullest capability in the remaining sections.
If you and a friend have ever transferred files over the telephone lines using
manual communication packages, then you know that it involves a lot of message
typing to coordinate who is going to send what when and making sure that the
receiver is ready. HOST-III takes care of that coordination at your end. Your
friend at the other end transfers the files at his own pace while you watch or
attend to some other business. You could also use this program to transfer
files to and from your computer while you are omeplace else. These are just a
couple of examples of how HOST-III can be used. In general it can be used
whenever one end of a communications link must be automated. However, if the
computer at the other end is running HOSTCALL, then both ends of the
communications link will be automated.
In normal operation, HOST-III assumes tat the file it is transferring is an
ASCII file. However ANY type of file can be transferred if the user at the
other end invokes the XMODEM protocol of file transmission (and the user's
program supports this protocol). This protocol is invoked by appending a +X to
a filename specification. The XMODEM protocol is simply a sophisticated method
of transferring files.
HOST-III asks for a password before it allows files to be transferred.
Initially the password is WORD.
The program recognizes 9 commands from the user at the other end. They are:
A - List the fles on drive A.
B - List the files on drive B.
C - List the files on drive C.
D - List the files on drive D.
G - Signoff (GOODBYE).
M - Send message.
R - Receive a file from the remote location.
T - Transmit a file to the remote location.
? - Summarize the commands.
The program recognizes 4 commands from the ystem operator at its end. They
are:
CTRL Prtsc - Printout on / Printout off (of intercomputer correspondence). ALT D - Display files / View a file. (Inactive during a comm. link).
ALT M - Send message to remote location.
ALT X - Exit program.
-1-
HOST-III
Some other important notes concerning this program are:
1. HOST-III requires the use of a Hayes Smartmodem and 128K memory.
2. An active communication link is automatically closed, if 5 minutes of
inactivity passes.
3. If a file that is that is being received as an ASCII file already
exists, then the received file is attached to the end of the old file.
4. If a file that is being received under the XMODEM protocol already
exists, then the old file is first deleted.
After the simple setup procedure (dscribed in detail in section II), HOST-III
is ready to accept a telephone call. The 2 figures at the end of this secion
contain examples of HOST-III sessions. Note that the numbers on the right side
of these figures are not produced by the program. They are in these figures
for the sake of this discussion.
Figure 1 illustrates a session in wich the user at the remote location sends
the ASCII file PROG1.BAS to HOST-III and requests the ASCII file PROG2.BAS
from HOST-III. The following is a line by line discussion of figure 1.
Line 1. HOST-III asks for the password and the user responds with WORD.
Line 2. This is the program's message indicating a successful signon.
Lne 3. At the program's prompt (>), the user issues a ? command.
Ln 5-14. HOST-III lists the summary of commands.
Line 16. The user issues an R command.
Line 17. HOST-III requests the name of the file the user is about to
send. The drive on which the user wants the file to be stored
may be part of the specification. The user responds with
B:PROG1.BAS.
Line 19. After the program opens the file it is about to receive, it is
ready for the user to send it.
The file transfer occrs between lines 17 and 18. HOST-III lists
the file on the screen as the file is being received.
Line 20. At the end of the file, HOST-III pauses for about 15 seconds and
then asks the user to confirm that the end of file has been
reached. The user responds with Y.
Line 21. The program closes he file it has just received and issues this
message.
Line 22. The user issues a T command.
Line 23. HOST-III requests the name of the file the user wants it to send.
The drive on which the file resides may be part of the
specification. The user responds with B:PROG2.BAS.
Line 25. The program informs the user that he has about 15 seconds to
prepare his end to receive the file.
Line 26. The program informs the user that he may abort the transmission
by typing an X.
he file transfer occurs between lines 24 and 25. HOST-III lists
the file on its screen as the file is being sent.
Line 27. This is the end of file message. It is in the format of a BASIC
remark statement, so that a transmitted BASIC program may be used
without having to first edit it. (This message isnot sent when
HOST-III is operating with HOSTCALL).
Line 28. Notice that HOST-III does not issue a prompt after transmitting a
file. However it still ready for the next command. The user
issues the signoff command.
Line 29. The program responds with the signoff message.
-2-
HOST-III
Figure 2 illustrates a session in which the user at the remote location
requests that the file PROG.COM be sent from HOST-III under XMODEM protocol.
The following is a line by line discussion of figure 2.
Lns 1,2. Signon.
Line 3. The user issues a T command.
ine 4. HOST-III requests the name of the file. The user responds and
appends to the end of the filename specification a +X, indicating
that the program is to be sent under the XMODEM protocol.
The file transfer occurs between lines 4 and 5. The program lists
numerous transmission status messages on the screen throughout
the transfer.
Lns 5,6. Signoff.
-3-
HOST-III
PASSWORD? WRD -- 1
*** ENTER ? FOR SUMMARY OF COMMANDS *** -- 2
>? -- 3
-- 4
--- SUMMARY OF COMMANDS --- -- 5
A - LIST THE FILES ON DRIVE A -- 6
B - LIST THE FILES ON DRIVE B -- 7
C - LIST THE FILES ON DRIVE C -- 8
D - LIST THE FILES ON DRIVE D -- 9
G - SIGNOFF (GOODBYE) -- 10
M - SEND MESSAGE -- 11
R - RECEIVE A FILE FROM YOUR LOCATION -- 12
T - TRANSMIT A FILE TO YOUR LOCATION -- 13
? - PRINT THE SUMMARY OF COMMANDS -- 14
-- 15
>R -- 16
NAME OF FILE: B:PROG1.BAS -- 17
-- 18
*** READY TO RECEIVE FILE *** -- 19
.
.
.
RECEPTION SUSPENDED. END OF FILE? (Y/N) Y -- 20
***RECEPTION TERMINATED *** -- 21
>T -- 22
NAME OF FILE: B:PROG2.BAS -- 23
-- 24
*** TRANSMISSION BEGINNING IN 15 SECONDS *** -- 25
TYPE X TO ABORT TRANSMISSION -- 26
.
.
.
65529 ' *** TRANSMISSION COMPLETE *** -- 27
G -- 28
*** GOODBYE *** -- 29
FIGURE 1. Sample HOST-III session.
-4-
HOST-III
PASSWORD? WRD -- 1
*** ENTER ? FOR SUMMARY OF COMMANDS *** -- 2
>T -- 3
NAME OF ILE: A:PROG.COM+X -- 4
.
.
.
G -- 5
*** GOODBYE *** -- 6
FIGURE 2. Sample HOST-III session using XMODEM.
-5-
HOST-III
II. HOST-III Setup
This section describes the setup procedure that you must complete before
HOST-III will be ready to receive a telephone call. The setup procedure
involves getting the program started ad providing information on the
following items:
Password
Communication parameters
Screen width
Your setup will be saved and presented to you the next time you start the
program. Therefore the full setup must be completed only on the first time you
run the program, and when you want to change the setup.
Connect and turn on your Hayes Smartmodem. Insure that the lights above the TR
and MR are lit.
The following are the 2 steps required to get HOST-III loaded and running:
1 . Insert a disk containing the Disk Operating System into disk drive A
(the drive on the left) and turn on the computer. Answer any questions
the computer may ask you (such as DATE and TIME) until you get to the
point where the computer prompts you with
A>
2a. If the disk currently in drive A contains HOST-III then type
HOST-III
Press carriage return.
2b If the disk does not contain HOST-III then remove the disk and
insert your disk containing HOST-III into drive A. Type
HOST-III
Press carriage return.
-6-
HOST-III
HOST-III begins by printing a heading, a copyright ntice and the following
questions.
Current password is WORD
Is this OK? (Y,N):
A user of HOST-III must provide the current password before he/she is signed
on. If you do not want to change the current password, then enter Y (or y).
If you do want to change the current password, then enter N (or n).
Enter new password:
If you responded to the previous question with N, then the program will ask
for the new password. This new password of 8 characters or less will remain in
effect for this and all future uses of HOST-III, until it is once againchanged. UPPER AND LOWER CASE LETTERS ARE NOT INTERCHANGABLE. For instance, if
you change the password to abcdef, then program will not sign on a user if he/
she enters ABCDEF as the password. If you are using HOST-III with HOSTCALL,
then changing the password will have no effect on operations since HOSTCALL
bypasses the password requirement.
Do you want to lockout HOSTCALL? (Y,N):
Since HOSTCALL bypasses the password requirement, a person calling your system
using HOSTCALL could access your files despite a changed password. This option
permits you to prevent access of your system by HOSTCALL. Enter Y (or y) if
you want to lockout HOSTCALL. ENTER N (OR n) IF YOU DESIRE COMMUNICATIONS WITH
HOSTCALL.
Current communication parameters are:
SPEED 300
PARITY E
DATA BITS 7
STOP BITS 1
Are they OK? (Y,N):
If you do not want to change the communication parameters, the enter Y (or y),
and the program will skip the next 4 questions. If you do want to change the
communicatin parameters, then enter N (or n). If you do not understand this
question, then enter Y (or y) since the default parameters will suffice for
most cases.
SPEED (75,110,150,300,600,1200):
Enter transmission speed. (This question is skipped, if the current
communication parameters are OK).
PARITY (S,O,M,E,N):
Enter parity type. (This question is skipped, if the current communication
parameters are OK).
-7-
HOST-III
DATA BITS (4,5,6,7,8):
Enter the number of data bits. (This question is skipped, if the current
communication parameters are OK).
STOP BITS (1,2):
Enter the number of stop bits. (This question is skipped, if the current
communication parameters are OK).
Choose screen width (40,80):
Choose the number of characters you want displayed across your screen. You
shoul choose 80 unless your display does not have the resolution to handle an
80 column screen.
At this point the program will clear the screen, display the message
********* HOST COMPUTER III program active *********
and turn on the light above the AA on the Smartmodem. HOST-III is now ready to
receive a telephone call.
-8-
HOST-III
III. HOST-III Sinon
This section describes the signon procedure that a user calling into HOST-III
must complete before he/she will be allowed to transfer files.
When a user dials HOST-III, the program answers the telephone and asks the
user the question
PASSWORD?
If an incorrect password is given, then the program says
TRY AGAIN
If the correct password is not given in 3 tries, then the program tells the
user
*** GOODBYE ***
and signs off.
If the current password is received within 3 tries, then the program says
*** ENTER ? FOR SUMMARY OF COMMANDS ***
>
and signon is complete.
-9-
HOST-III
IV. User Commands
This section describes the commands that a user can issue to HOST-III once
he/she is signed on.
HOST-III recognizes 9 single character commands from the user. THey are:
A - List the files on drive A
B - List the files on drive B
C - List the files on drive C
D - List the files on drive D
G - Signoff (GOODBYE)
M - Send Message
R - Receive a file from the remote location
T - Transmit a file to the remote location
? - Summarize the commands
The prompt
>
indicates that the program is ready to accept a command. All commands must be
terminated with a carriage return. If HOST-III is expecting a command but
receives something longer than 1 character, then it issues the message
SINGLE CHARACTER CMMANDS PLEASE
A description of how HOST-III responds to each command follows.
A
The program responds with
FILES A
and sends the file directory of the disk in drive A. Possible error conditions
such as an open drive door or an empty drive will be detected and will result
in the program issuing a message followed by its prompt. The program will
then wait for the next command.
B
The program responds with
FILES B
and sends the file directory of the disk in drive B. Possible eror conditions
such as an open drive door or an empty drive will be detected and will result
in the program issuing a message followed by its prompt. The program will
then wait for the next command.
-10-
HOST-III
C
The progam responds with
FILES C
and sends the file directory of the disk in drive C. Possible error conditions
such as an open drive door or an empty drive will be detected and will result
in the program issuing a message followed by its prompt. The program will
then wait for the next command.
D
The program responds with
FILES D
and sends the file directory of the disk in drive D. Possible error conditions
suh as an open drive door or an empty drive will be detected and will result
in the program issuing a message followed by its prompt. The program will
then wait for the next command.
G
This is the signoff command. It must be issued before the user hangs up. Upon
receiving the signoff command, HOST-III issues a
*** GOODBYE ***
and resets itself so that it may receive the next call. The user may hang up
after he/she receives the
*** GOODBYE ***
M
This command allows the user to send a one line message to the system operator
(the operator at the computer which is running HOST-III). User messages are
received and printed without interpretation by the program. Upon receiving
this command, the program transmits
ENTER 1 LINE MESSAGE
At the same time HOST-III beeps its buzzer and prints on its screen
*** USER ESSAGE ***
At this point the user may enter his/her message followed by a carriage
return.
R
This command is described in section VII.
-11-
HOST-III
T
This command is described in section VI.
?
This command results in the printout of the user's command options. Upon
receiving this command the program transmits
--- SUMMARY OF COMMANDS ---
A - LIST HE FILES ON DRIVE A
B - LIST THE FILES ON DRIVE B
C - LIST THE FILES ON DRIVE C
D - LIST THE FILES ON DRIVE D
G - SIGNOFF (GOODBYE)
M - SEND MESSAGE
R - RECEIVE A FILE FROM YOUR LOCATION
T - TRANSMIT AFILE TO YOUR LOCATION
? - PRINT THE SUMMARY OF COMMANDS
-12-
HOST-III
V. System Operator Commands
This section describes the options available to the person at the computer
which is running HOST-III. This person (which is ou) is called the system
operator.
HOST-III recognizes 4 commands from the system operator. They are:
CTRL Prtsc - Printout on / Printout off (of intercomputer correspondence).
ALT D - Display files / View a file. (Inactive during a comm. link).
ALT M - Send message to remote location.
ALT X - Exit program.
They are activated by a double key depression. That is, the first key must be
pressed while the second key is hit, then both keys are released.
A description of how HOST-III responds to each command follows.
CTRL Prtsc
This command allows you to turn on the printout if it is off, or to turn off
the printout if it is on. With the printout on, all commands, responses and
messages transferred during an active communications link are listed on the
printer as well as the display. NOTE that printout is deactivated during file
transfer. If the printout is off when this command is issued, then HOST-III
turns the printout on, beeps and responds with
--- PRINTOUT ON ---
If the printout is on when this command is issued, then HOST-III turns the
printout off, beeps and responds with
--- PRINTOUT OFF ---
At startup the printout is initially off.
ALT D
This command allows you to both display the file directories on disk drives A
B, C and D and view an ASCII file. Viewing a file means displaying the
contents of an ASCII file on the screen. Upon receiving this command, the
program responds with
Drive A, B, C, D, View a file or Return? (A,B,C,D,V,R):
If you enter an A, B, C or D, the program will display the file directory of
the corresponding disk drive.
If you enter a V, the program will respond with
Name of file:
-13-
HOST-III
At this point you may enter the filename specification of the file you wish to
see. HOST-III will display 18 lines of the file at a time and prompt you to
continue by pressing the space bar. You may abort the viewing of a file by
hitting the ESC key.
To return to the program's normal mode, you must enter an when the program
asks you to select an option.
NOTE the program will ignore the ALT D command, if it is engaged in an active
communications link.
ALT M
This command allows you to send the user a one line message. Upon receiving
this command the program responds with
*** SYSTEM OPERATOR MESSAGE **
At this message you may enter a message followed by a carriage return, which
HOST-III will send to the user. NOT the user will not receive the prompt
>
after a system operator message, because the program is still waiting for a
response to the prompt it issued just before the message. Therefore the user
can issue his/her next command immediately after receiving the message.
ALT X
This command allows you to exit the program. HOST-III responds to this command
with
--- EXIT ---
and terminates the program.
-14-
HOST-III
VI. File Transmission
This section describes the protocol involved in transferring a file from the
HOST-III location to the user's location.
Upon receiving the command
T
from the user, the program responds with
NAME OF FILE:
HOST-III is asking the user to give it the full name of the file the user
wants to be transmitted. For instance if the user wants the file PROG2.BAS and
it resides on drive B, then the user may respond with
B:PROG2.BAS
followed by a carriage return. If HOST-III encounters an error such as "file
not found" or "disk not ready", then the prgram will inform the user of this
and send him/her a prompt for the next command.
If there are no errors then HOST-III tells the user
*** TRANSMISSION BEGINNING IN 15 SECONDS ***
TYPE X TO ABORT TRANSMISSION
The user now has 15 seconds to prepare his program to receive the file. The
user may abort transmission at any time by typig an X.
To denote the end of the file, HOST-III sends
65529 ' *** TRANSMISSION COMPLETE ***
The user may remove this trailing message with a text editor before using the
file. A prompt is NOT sent after file transmission Therefore the user may
issue his/her next command immediately after the transmission is complete.
NOTE that if the user is the program HOSTCALL, then a trailing message is not
attached to the end of the file since the two programs have a protocol to
determine the end of a file.
If the user's program supports the XMODEM protocol of fie transmission, then
he/she may elect to have HOST-III send him/her the file under this protocol.
To have HOST-III send the program PROG.COM from drive A, the user would
respond to the request
NAME OF FILE:
with
A:PROG.COM+X
-15-
HOST-III
As sown, the user invokes the XMODEM protocol by appending a +X to the
filename specification. During transmission HOST-III will display a number of
status messages on the screen. At the end of the file, the program will issue
its prompt and wait for the next command.
-16-
HOST-III
VII. File Reception
This section describes te protocol involved in transferring a file to the
HOST-III location from the user's location.
Upon receiving the command
R
from the user, the program responds with
NAME OF FILE:
HOST-III is asking the user to give it the full name of the file the user
intends to send. For instance if the user intends to send the file PROG1.BAS
and he/she wants to store it on drive B, the user may respond with
B:PROG1.BAS
followed by a carriage eturn. If HOST-III encounters an error such as "bad
file name" or "disk write protected", then the program will inform the user of
this and send him/her a prompt for the next command.
If there are no errors then HOST-III tells the user
*** READY TO RECEIVE FILE ***
The program will wait 15 seconds for the beginning of transmission. If
transmission has not begun within this time, the program transmits
RECEPTION SUSPENDED. END OF FILE? (Y,N)
If this happens, the user should just complete his procedure for transmitting
a file. NOTE however that if the END OF FILE question is asked before
transmission begins, then HOST-III assumes that the first character it
receives is the answer to its question. Therefore that first character is not
stored as part of the received file. Moreover if the first character of the
transmitted file is Y (or y), then reception is terminated. In short, itis
best for the user to initiate his transmission within 15 seconds.
At the end of transmission, the program pauses for about 15 seconds and
transmits
RECEPTION SUSPENDED. END OF FILE? (Y,N)
If the user responds with Y (or y) or if there is no response within 1 minute,
HOST-III terminates reception and tells the user
*** RECEPTION TERMINATED ***
-17-
HOST-III
If the user's program supports the XMODEM protocol of file transmission, then
he/she may elect to have HOST-II receive the file under this protocol. To
have HOST-III receive the program PROG.COM and store it on drive A, the user
would respond to the request
NAME OF FILE:
with
A:PROG.COM+X
As shown, the user invokes the XMODEM protocol by appending a +X to the
filename specification. During reception HOST-III will display a numbr of
status messages on the screen. At the end of the file, the program will issue
its prompt and wait for the next command.
-18-
HOST-III
VIII. HOST-III Signoff
This section lists the conditions which will cause HOST-III to sgn off.
When HOST-III is dialed and it initiates communications by answering the
telephone, there are 6 ways in which these communications can be terminated.
They are:
1. Normal signoff command - G.
2. Timeout after 5 minutes of inactivity.
3. Incorrect password in 3 tries.
4. Failing to detect a carrier (such as when it is called by a human
instead of a computer).
5. User hangup before correct password is issued.
6. User hangup during active communications.
In all cases HOST-III will clear the screen, issue the message
********* HOST COMPUTER III program active *********
and wait for the next telephone call.