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1 - - - - - 0 Kermit File Transfer Package - August 1986 - - - - - - - Copyright (C) 1981,1986 Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York 0 Permission is granted to any individual or institution to use, copy, or redistribute this document so long as it is not sold for profit, and provided this copyright notice is retained. 0 This manual, which is based on the Columbia University Kermit User's Guide, contains modifications made by the National Institutes of Health. - - Computer Center Division of Computer Research & Technology National Institutes of Health Bethesda, Maryland 20892 1 1 i - Table of Contents 0Statement of Kermit Software Support .................................. 1 0Preface ............................................................... 4 0How to Use This Manual ................................................ 7 01. Introduction ...................................................... 9 0 1.1. Why Kermit? ................................................. 10 1.2. How Kermit Works ............................................ 11 02. How to Use Kermit ................................................. 13 0 2.1. Transferring a File ......................................... 15 2.2. Basic Kermit Commands ....................................... 16 2.3. Real Examples ............................................... 19 2.3.1. IBM PC to DEC-10 Connection ......................... 20 2.3.1.1. Transfer Files Between the DEC-10 and IBM PC Using Server Mode .................. 20 2.3.1.2. Transfer Files Between the DEC-10 and IBM PC Using Send/Receive ................. 22 2.3.2. IBM PC to TSO Connection ............................ 24 2.3.2.1. Transfer Files Between TSO and IBM PC Using Server Mode ......................... 24 2.3.2.2. Transfer Files Between TSO and IBM PC Using Send/Receive ........................ 26 03. Kermit Commands ................................................... 29 0 3.1. Remote and Local Operation .................................. 30 3.2. The Command Dialog .......................................... 32 3.3. Notation .................................................... 34 3.4. Summary of Kermit Commands .................................. 35 3.5. The SEND Command ............................................ 37 3.6. The RECEIVE Command ......................................... 39 3.7. GET ......................................................... 40 3.8. SERVER ...................................................... 41 3.9. BYE ......................................................... 41 3.10. FINISH ..................................................... 41 3.11. REMOTE ..................................................... 42 3.12. LOCAL ...................................................... 44 3.13. CONNECT .................................................... 45 3.14. HELP ....................................................... 45 3.15. TAKE ....................................................... 45 3.16. EXIT, QUIT ................................................. 45 3.17. The SET Command ............................................ 46 3.18. DEFINE ..................................................... 55 3.19. SHOW ....................................................... 56 3.20. STATISTICS ................................................. 56 3.21. LOG ........................................................ 56 3.22. TRANSMIT ................................................... 56 3.23. INPUT ...................................................... 57 3.24. OUTPUT ..................................................... 57 1ii - 3.25. PAUSE ...................................................... 57 3.26. SCRIPT ..................................................... 57 04. Kermit Implementations ............................................ 59 05. DECsystem-10 Kermit ............................................... 63 0 5.1. The DECsystem-10 File System ................................ 64 5.1.1. TOPS-10 File Specifications ......................... 64 5.1.2. TEXT FILES AND BINARY FILES ......................... 65 5.1.3. FILES KERMIT-10 CANNOT HANDLE ....................... 67 5.2. Program Operation ........................................... 68 5.3. Remote and Local Operation .................................. 70 5.4. Conditioning Your Job for Kermit ............................ 71 5.5. Kermit-10 Commands .......................................... 72 5.5.1. Commands for File Transfer .......................... 72 5.5.2. Server Operation .................................... 76 5.5.3. Commands for Local File Management .................. 76 5.5.4. The SET, SHOW, and DEFINE Commands .................. 78 5.5.5. Program Management Commands ......................... 83 5.6. Raw Download ................................................ 84 5.7. Kermit-10 Examples .......................................... 85 06. TSO Kermit ........................................................ 87 0 6.1. The IBM MVS File System ..................................... 88 6.2. Program Operation ........................................... 90 6.2.1. Starting TSO Kermit ................................. 94 6.2.2. TSO Kermit Commands ................................. 94 6.3. Conditioning Your Session for Kermit ........................ 96 6.4. TSO Kermit Commands ......................................... 97 6.4.1. Server Operation .................................... 97 6.4.2. Commands for File Transfer .......................... 99 6.4.3. Commands for Local Data Set Management .............. 99 6.4.4. The SET, RESET, and SHOW Commands ................... 101 6.4.5. Program Management Commands ......................... 104 6.5. TSO Kermit Examples ......................................... 105 6.6. Additional Information ...................................... 109 6.7. Error Messages .............................................. 109 07. MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC ...................................... 111 0 7.1. The MS-DOS File System ...................................... 113 7.1.1. File Specifications ................................. 113 7.1.2. File Formats ........................................ 114 7.2. Program Operation ........................................... 115 7.3. Kermit-MS Commands .......................................... 120 7.3.1. Commands for Terminal Connection .................... 121 7.3.2. Commands for File Transfer .......................... 122 7.3.3. Commands Controlling Remote Kermit Servers .......... 127 7.3.4. Commands for File Management ........................ 128 7.3.5. The SERVER Command .................................. 134 7.3.6. The SET Command ..................................... 135 7.3.7. The SHOW Command .................................... 150 7.3.8. Command Macros ...................................... 151 1 iii - 7.4. Terminal Emulation .......................................... 152 7.4.1. Screen Scroll ....................................... 155 7.4.2. Screen Dump ......................................... 155 7.4.3. Printer Control ..................................... 156 7.4.4. Key Redefinitions ................................... 156 7.5. IBM-PC MS Kermit Terminal Emulator Summary .................. 158 7.5.1. Keyboard Layout and Characters Sent ................. 158 7.5.2. Responses to Characters Received by the Terminal Emulator ............................................ 161 7.5.3. DEC VT102 Functions while in VT52 Mode .............. 164 7.5.4. Heath-19 Functions .................................. 165 7.6. Installing MS-DOS Kermit on a Fixed Disk .................... 167 08. APPLE-DOS Kermit .................................................. 169 0 8.1. The DOS 3.3 File System ..................................... 170 8.2. Program Operation ........................................... 172 8.3. Remote and Local Operation .................................. 174 8.4. KERMIT-A2 Commands .......................................... 175 8.5. Matching KERMIT-A2 to Your System ........................... 190 0Appendix A -- When Things Go Wrong .................................... 193 0 A.1. Basic Connection Problems ................................... 193 A.2. Terminal Connection Works But The Transfer Won't Start ...... 194 A.3. Special Characters .......................................... 196 A.4. 3270 Protocol Emulators ..................................... 196 A.5. The Transfer Starts But Then Gets Stuck ..................... 197 A.5.1. The Microcomputer is Hung ........................... 197 A.5.2. The Connection is Broken ............................ 197 A.5.3. The Disk is Full .................................... 197 A.5.4. Message Interference ................................ 198 A.5.5. Transmission Delays ................................. 198 A.5.6. Noise Corruption .................................... 198 A.5.7. Host Errors ......................................... 199 A.6. File is Garbage ............................................. 199 A.7. Junk After End of File ...................................... 199 A.8. Data Set Problems Under TSO ................................. 199 0Appendix B -- ASCII and EBCDIC Tables ................................. 201 0 B.1. The ASCII Character Set ..................................... 201 B.2. ASCII to EBCDIC Translation Table ........................... 205 B.3. EBCDIC to ASCII Translation Table ........................... 207 0Appendix C -- Microcomputer to Microcomputer File Transfer ............ 209 0 C.1. Getting Ready to Use Kermit ................................. 209 C.2. Connecting the Computers .................................... 211 C.3. Communicating Between Computers ............................. 213 C.4. Sending and Receiving Files ................................. 215 C.5. Figuring Out Why (If) Kermit Does Not Work .................. 217 1iv - 1 v - List of Figures 0 Figure 1-1: A Kermit Packet ................................... 11 Figure 1-2: Kermit File Transfer .............................. 12 Figure 3-1: Local and Remote Kermits .......................... 31 1vi - 1 vii - List of Tables 0 Table 7-1: Kermit-MS Screen Scroll Keys ....................... 155 1viii - 1Kermit File Transfer Package 1 - Statement of Kermit Software Support 0Kermit is a unique product for the NIH Computer Center. There are two personal computer implementations (IBM PC and APPLE ][) that can be used with two host implementations (IBM TSO and DECsystem-10). For the various versions there are different points of contact for questions and problems. These points of contact are summarized in the table below. Users unsure as to which group to contact, should contact the PAL Unit or submit a Programmer Trouble Report (PTR) to get clarification. 0 NIH Users Non-NIH Users Kermit Version Who to Contact Who to Contact -------------- -------------- -------------- DECsystem-10 DEC-10 or PTR DEC-10 or PTR TSO PAL or PTR PAL or PTR MS-DOS for IBM PC PWO or PTR PTR APPLE ][ PTR PTR 0DEC-10 - DEC-10 Support (496-4823) PAL - Programmer Assistance and Liaison Unit (496-5525) PTR - Programmer Trouble Report (via ENTER PTR in WYLBUR or WYLBUR under TSO; via R PTR on the DEC-10) PWO - Personal Workstation Office (496-2282) 0The IBM TSO and DECsystem-10 implementations have been designated Level 1 Software and receive the full range of support services offered by the NIH Computer Center. 0The IBM PC and APPLE ][ implementations have been designated Level 2 Software. The "Definition of Support for Level 2 Software" can be found on the next page. 0Although other implementations of Kermit (not supported by the NIH Computer Center) may sometimes work successfully, problems that arise are wholly the responsibility of the user. Unsupported implementations may cease working without warning since Computer Center changes are preannounced only if they affect supported products. - - - - - - 0 Statement of Kermit Software Support 12 Kermit File Transfer Package - Level 2 Software Support (Revised August, 1986) -This software product, or a certain portion of it, has been assigned Level 2 support status. The Level 2 designation is made by the Computer Center for any of three reasons: First, an entire software product may be designated Level 2 if it is in test status, or the Center determines that rapid problem resolution and long-term product availability can not be ensured with the vendor support available. Second, an interface to specific peripheral hardware devices (e.g., terminals or plotters) will receive Level 2 support, even if the remainder of the product is designated Level 1. Third, an interface to processors not at the NIH Computer Utility (e.g., microprocessors or other computer installations) will receive Level 2 support, even if the remainder of the product is designated Level 1. 0If a hardware device/terminal is not specifically mentioned in the documentation for this product, no interface to it is supported (even as Level 2). While unsupported devices may sometimes function with the interfaces provided, any problems encountered are wholly the user's responsibility. This support policy is necessary in order to provide services for the large number of devices (e.g., terminals, plotters, microprocessors) commonly owned/used by end users. It is not practical for the NIH Computer Center to be familiar with the hardware characteristics of the myriad devices that can take advantage of these services. 0Users of this product should be fully aware that the support for Level 2 software provides documentation, non-critical Programmer Trouble Report (PTR) service, and limited INTERFACE preannouncement of changes, but does not guarantee continued availability or conversion assistance if this software is discontinued by the vendor or the Computer Center. 0In addition, no Programmer Assistance and Liaison (PAL) Unit consulting will be available on questions pertaining to the use of or problems with Level 2 software. The Computer Center will accept PTRs for problems if they are accompanied by all of the documentation necessary for diagnosis and resolution. When the Computer Center staff member responsible for the problem area described in a Level 2 PTR receives all pertinent documentation on the problem, the staff member will frequently act as a technical guide with the burden of the work remaining with the user. 0Resolving or circumventing problems with Level 2 software may require resources (e.g., hardware/terminals or source code) that are not available to the Computer Center staff. Since the Computer Center is often completely unfamiliar with the specific devices/terminals involved, the vendor may be the sole source of vital information required for problem resolution or circumvention. For this reason, the "Critical" designation for PTRs is not applicable and will be disregarded by the Center. Once a PTR and all supporting documentation is received by the Computer Center, the work to get a resolution is a mutual effort of the user, the Computer Center and the author or vendor for those products designated as Level 2. Since the Computer Center must rely on the cooperation/interest of the vendor/developer of a product, it is possible that some problems may never be resolved. - Statement of Kermit Software Support 1Kermit File Transfer Package 3 - The effects of the support given by the Computer Center to Level 2 software should be thoroughly considered before incorporating this software into critical applications. It must be stressed that the proper functioning or long-term availability of Level 2 software cannot be guaranteed by the Computer Center. 0The following chart outlines Computer Center services available for Level 2 software. For further information on Levels of software and how to submit PTRs, see the appropriate section of the Computer Center Users Guide If questions + ________ ______ _____ _____. remain on this policy, contact the PAL Unit Consulting Desk of the NIH Computer Center. -SERVICE SUPPORT FOR LEVEL 2 SOFTWARE 0CONSULTING (PAL DESK) a) personal visit No b) telephone No (Users will have to rely on technical documentation provided by the Computer Center and their own resources) 0PROGRAMMER TROUBLE REPORT (PTR) Yes 0"CRITICAL" PTR DESIGNATION No 0REFUNDS Yes 0DOCUMENTATION Yes 0TRAINING Resources permitting SOFTWARE MAINTENANCE a) Currency maintained with respect Resources to new versions and facilities permitting b) Formal change testing (Test Job No Stream) c) Informal change testing Yes d) Guarantee of orderly, fully No documented conversion if product is discontinued e) Preannouncement in INTERFACE of Resources all new facilities permitting f) Preannouncement in INTERFACE of Resources changes which cause old versions permitting of programs to function incorrectly or differently g) Preannouncement in INTERFACE of Yes discontinuance of support or changes in support status (Level) h) Preventive and corrective fixing Resources by Computer Center staff permitting - Statement of Kermit Software Support 14 Kermit File Transfer Package - Preface 0Kermit is the name of a protocol for transferring files from one computer to another over ordinary asynchronous terminal connections. Kermit implementations have been written for many different computers, and in general any two computers that have Kermit can exchange sequential files correctly and completely. This manual describes the use of Kermit. 0This manual describes an "ideal" Kermit implementation and then describes the Kermit implementations supported by the NIH Computer Center in detail. Each implementation of Kermit has a HELP facility that serves as an adjunct to this manual. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0Preface 1Kermit File Transfer Package 5 - History and Acknowledgements 0The Kermit file transfer protocol was designed at the Columbia University Center for Computing Activities (CUCCA) in 1981-82 mainly by Bill Catchings and Frank da Cruz. Bill wrote the first two programs, one for the DECsystem-20 and one for a CP/M-80 microcomputer. 0The initial objective was to allow CUCCA users on DEC-20 and IBM timesharing systems to archive their files on microcomputer floppy disks. The design owes much to the ANSI and ISO models, and ideas were borrowed from similar projects at Stanford University and the University of Utah. The protocol was designed to accommodate the "sensitive" communications front end of the full-duplex DEC-20 system as well as the peculiarities of half-duplex IBM mainframe communications. The protocol was soon implemented successfully on CUCCA IBM 4341 systems under VM/CMS by Daphne Tzoar of CUCCA. 0Meanwhile it was becoming apparent that Kermit was useful for more than just file archiving; IBM PCs were beginning to appear in the offices and departments, and there arose a general need for file transfer among all Columbia systems. Daphne soon had prepared an IBM PC implementation. 0After the initial success with Kermit, it was presented at conferences of user groups like DECUS and SHARE, and requests for Kermit began to be received from other sites. Since the protocol description had been documented, some sites wrote their own implementations for new computers, or adapted one of the CUCCA implementations to run on additional systems, and sent back these new versions to Columbia so they could be shared with others. In this way, Kermit has grown to support more than 100 different systems; it has been sent on magnetic tape from Columbia to thousands of sites in dozens of countries, and has reached hundreds or thousands more through various user groups and networks. 0Thanks are due to the hundreds of individuals and institutions who have contributed over the years to making Kermit what it is today. 0Credit for the Kermit implementations described in this manual belongs to Columbia University and Utah State University (IBM PC), the National Institutes of Health (TSO), Stevens Institute of Technology (DEC-10), and the University of Maryland (Apple ][). 0The Kermit protocol was named after Kermit the Frog, star of the television series THE MUPPET SHOW; the name Kermit is used by permission of Henson Associates, Inc., New York. 0A two-part article describing the Kermit protocol appeared in the June and July 1984 issues of BYTE Magazine. 0The book Kermit, A File Transfer Protocol by Frank da Cruz, Digital Press, Bedford, MA 01730 (1986) describes Kermit in detail, from the points of view of the user, of computer professionals who have to install it or support its use, and of programmers who wish to write new Kermit implementations, and also contains tutorial sections on data communications, file organization, plus a detailed troubleshooting guide, along with many illustrations and tables. - Preface 16 Kermit File Transfer Package - Disclaimer 0Neither Columbia University, nor the National Institutes of Health, nor the editor, nor the authors of the individual chapters, nor any individual or institution contributing Kermit implementations or documentation to the Columbia University Kermit Distribution, acknowledge any liability for any claims arising from use or misuse of Kermit implementations or for inaccuracies in the documentation or bugs in the implementations. Kermit implementations are produced on a voluntary basis and contributed freely for public use in the hope that they will be useful, but without any kind of warranty or guarantee, or any commitment to address or fix problems. In practice, Kermit implementations and documentation are contributed in good faith, and will be supported on a best-effort basis, time and other commitments permitting. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Preface 1Kermit File Transfer Package 7 - How to Use This Manual 0Section 2, How to Use Kermit, tells all you need to know to transfer files in most cases, and shows some specific examples. Note that in all examples, the user entered fields are underlined to separate the computer generated messages and prompts from the commands given by the user. 0If you follow the examples in Section 2 but you can't make a terminal connection or you can't transfer files successfully, consult Appendix A, When Things Go Wrong. 0If you expect to be a heavy user of Kermit, you should read Section 3, Kermit Commands, which describes all the features of Kermit in detail. You may find that familiarity with the material in this section will help you get past difficulties that can crop up when you are making new kinds of connections or transferring unusual kinds of files. You will also find descriptions of some advanced file management features that have been omitted from the earlier sections. 0Section 4, Kermit Implementations, briefly lists the systems for which Kermit is available as of this writing. The subsequent chapters describe the particular implementations that are supported by the NIH Computer Center. You should read the appropriate section for each system with which you are using Kermit; each section describes the file naming conventions and other system features that are important to Kermit users, and lists the Kermit commands for that system mainly in terms of their differences from the "ideal" Kermit described in Section 3. 0Appendix B shows the ASCII character set and the translation tables used for ASCII/EBCDIC conversion by TSO Kermit. Users wanting to transfer files between microcomputers should read Appendix C, Microcomputer to Microcomputer File Transfer. - - - - - - - - How to Use This Manual 18 Kermit File Transfer Package - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0How to Use This Manual 1Kermit File Transfer Package 9 - 1. Introduction 0There is an ever-increasing need to move information from one computer to another. Information can be exchanged using magnetic media -- tapes or disks -- or over networks. Networks are expensive, and when your computer is not connected to one (or to the right one), you must find other means to transfer information. In the early days of computing, magnetic media formats were relatively standardized, but with the arrival of microcomputers things have changed: most microcomputer users have no access to tapes, and disk formats are incompatible between most microcomputer makes and models. Even when disk formats agree, the disk must be physically moved from one system to the other in order for information to be exchanged -- the effort and delay can be significant if the systems are widely separated. 0The telecommunication line provides an alternative to networks and magnetic media. Asynchronous telecommunication is the method used by most terminals to connect to most computers. When dedicated "hardwired" connections, such as those found between a timesharing computer and its local terminals, are not available, computer users can create their own connections with a telephone and a modem. 0Most computers come equipped with asynchronous telecommunications interfaces, or "serial ports," which allow them to act as, or communicate with, terminals. The question is how to use the serial port to exchange data. Fortunately, the standards for connecting terminals to computers are almost universally followed: connector configuration (DB-25 or DB-9), transmission signals (EIA RS-232), a commonly accepted set of transmission speeds (bits per second), and a convention for encoding characters in storage and during transmission (ASCII). These standards provide the physical medium and the data format, but they do not specify a process for exchanging data. - - - - - - - - 0 Section 1 -- Introduction 110 Kermit File Transfer Package - 1.1. Why Kermit? 0When data is transmitted from one computer to another, the receiving computer has to be instructed to take in the data and put it somewhere, and it also needs a way of ensuring that the data has been received correctly and completely in spite of several factors that will tend to interfere with this process: 0 1. Noise -- It is rarely safe to assume that there will be no electrical interference on a line; any long or switched data communication line will have occasional interference, or noise, which typically results in garbled or extra characters. Noise corrupts data, perhaps in subtle ways that might not be noticed until it's too late. 0 2. Timing -- Data must not come in faster than the receiving machine can handle it. Although line speeds at the two ends of the connection must match before communication can take place, the receiving machine might not be able to process a steady stream of input at that speed. Its central processor may be too slow or too heavily loaded, or its buffers too full or too small. The typical symptom of a timing problem is lost data; most operating systems will simply discard incoming data they are not prepared to receive. 0 3. Line Outages -- A line may stop working for short periods because of a faulty connector, loss of power, or similar reason. On dialup or switched connections, such intermittent failures may cause the carrier to drop and the connection to be closed, but for any connection in which the carrier signal is not used, the symptom will be lost data. 0To prevent corruption of data and to synchronize communication, cooperating computers can send special messages to one another along with the data. Intermingling of control information with data together requires a set of rules for distinguishing control messages from data, and specifying what the messages are and the actions associated with each message. Such a set of rules is called a protocol. 0Kermit is a file transfer protocol. It is specifically designed for transfer of sequential files over ordinary serial telecommunication lines. Kermit is not necessarily better than other terminal-oriented file transfer protocols but it is free, it is well documented, and it has been implemented compatibly on a wide variety of microcomputers and mainframes. - - - - - Introduction -- Section 1 1Kermit File Transfer Package 11 - 1.2. How Kermit Works 0Kermit transfers data by encapsulating it in packets of control information. This information includes a synchronization marker, a packet sequence number to allow detection of lost packets, a length indicator, and a "block check" to allow verification of the data, as shown in Figure 1-1. 0 +------+------+------+------+--------- - - - -+-------+ | MARK | LEN | SEQ | TYPE | DATA | CHECK | +------+------+------+------+--------- - - - -+-------+ 0 Figure 1-1: A Kermit Packet 0The MARK (usually an ASCII Control-A character) appears at the beginning of the packet. The next character is a length field (LEN), specifying how long the rest of the packet is. The sequence number (SEQ) is used to detect lost or duplicated packets; retransmission is requested for lost packets and duplicate packets are discarded. The TYPE field specifies whether the packet contains data or control information. The CHECK field contains a quantity obtained by combining all the other characters in the packet together in one of several ways; the sender computes this value and sends it. The packet receiver also computes the value and checks it against the value sent; if they agree, the packet is accepted; if they disagree, then the packet has been corrupted and retransmission is requested. The DATA field contains up to 90 characters of data. All fields except the mark are encoded as printable ASCII characters, to prevent host or network interference. Figure 1-2 shows how a typical file transfer proceeds. Figure 1-2 does not show how Kermit recovers from errors. Very briefly, here's how it works: 0 - If a packet is corrupted in transit by noise or loss of characters, the block check will be wrong. A file receiver will NAK ("negatively acknowledge") a corrupted packet, which causes the sender to retransmit the same packet. A file sender only receives ACKs ("positive acknowledgements") and NAKs from the receiver; a corrupted ACK or NAK from the receiver is treated exactly the same as a NAK. 0 - If the file sender does not receive an ACK within the prescribed timeout interval, it retransmits the same packet. If the file receiver does not receive an expected packet within the timeout interval, it sends a NAK for the expected packet. - - - - - Section 1 -- Introduction 112 Kermit File Transfer Package - Sender Receiver 0 Send-Init -------------> Sender and Receiver exchange greetings <-------------------- ACK 0 File-Header -----------> Sender sends first file name to Receiver <-------------------- ACK Receiver acknowledges 0 File-Data -------------> Sender sends first file data packet <-------------------- ACK 0 File-Data -------------> Sender sends second file data packet <-------------------- ACK 0 File-Data --xx~~~p'''--> Third data packet is corrupted by noise <-------------------- NAK and Receiver negatively acknowledges it 0 File-Data -------------> Sender retransmits third packet <-------------------- ACK 0 File-Data packets are sent and acknowledged until the whole file is sent 0 End-Of-File -----------> Sender indicates first file is complete <-------------------- ACK 0 File-Header -----------> Name second of file <-------------------- ACK 0 File-Data -------------> First data packet for second file <-------------------- ACK 0 File-Data packets are sent and ack'd until the whole file is sent 0 End-Of-File -----------> Sender indicates second file is complete <-------------------- ACK 0 End-Of-Transaction ----> Sender indicates no more files to come <------------------- ACK 0 Figure 1-2: Kermit File Transfer 0Several encoding, compression, and block check options are provided. Very few assumptions are made about the capabilities of either computer, so the Kermit protocol can work between many different kinds of systems. The protocol is described in detail in the Kermit Protocol Manual (available from Columbia University), and in the BYTE Magazine article on Kermit, published in the June and July 1984 issues. - - -Introduction -- Section 1 1Kermit File Transfer Package 13 - 2. How to Use Kermit 0Kermit embodies a set of rules for transferring files reliably between two computers. Usually, one computer is a large system (a host, such as a timesharing system with many terminals), and the other is a personal computer (PC), although use of Kermit between two personal computers is also possible. The host believes that the PC is an ordinary terminal. In order for the Kermit protocol to work, a Kermit program must be running on each end of the communication line -- one on the host, one on the PC. 0Your task is just to get the two Kermits started. You have to use a single keyboard and screen to talk to two different computers, two different programs. Let's talk about a common case: you are sitting at a personal computer (PC), which has a serial communication port. The serial port is connected to a host computer using a dialup modem. 0Normally, when you use your PC, you are "talking" directly to it; your commands are interpreted directly by the PC's operating system (CP/M, PC-DOS, MS-DOS, UNIX, etc.), or by some program that runs on the PC (an editor, a text formatter, a spreadsheet...). The version of Kermit on your PC is a program like any other, but it has a special ability to either interpret your commands directly, like other programs, or to pass everything you type through to the other, remote computer. When you tell Kermit to CONNECT, it sends every character you type out the serial port to the remote computer, and it puts every character that comes in the serial port from the remote computer onto the screen of your PC. This is called terminal emulation -- one computer acts as though it were a terminal on another. You are now "talking" to the remote computer, and the PC is mimicking a terminal. 0Kermit, like most interactive programs, has a prompt. The prompt is a string of characters it types on the left margin to indicate that it is ready for you to type a command. Kermit's prompt is normally "Kermit-xx>." The xx identifies the implementation of Kermit; the Kermit that runs on the DEC-10 is called "Kermit-10" and its prompt is "Kermit-10>"; the Kermit that runs on the IBM PC microcomputers is called "Kermit-MS" and its prompt is "Kermit-MS>"; the Kermit that runs under TSO is "Kermit-TSO>", and so forth. If you become confused about which Kermit you are talking to, the prompt should provide a clue. In addition, most Kermits print an informative message like 0 [Connecting to host, type Control-] C to return to PC] 0when you CONNECT, and type another message like 0 [Back to PC] 0when you return. 0Having "connected" to the host, there must be a way for you to "get back" to the PC. This is accomplished by an escape sequence. As Kermit passes your characters through to the host, it checks each one to see if it's a special predefined escape character (usually not the key labelled ESC). When the PC sees this character, it stops ignoring you -- you are once again "talking" to - Section 2 -- How to Use Kermit 114 Kermit File Transfer Package - the PC, not the host. The escape character is normally chosen to be one that you will not need to type while talking to the host, and one that is hard to type by accident -- it's usually a control character, such as Control-], which is entered by holding down the key marked CTRL or CONTROL and typing the indicated character (in this case, a right bracket "]"). The CTRL key works just like a SHIFT key. Control characters are written either as CTRL-] or X], where ] is the character to be typed while holding down CTRL. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - How to Use Kermit -- Section 2 1Kermit File Transfer Package 15 - 2.1. Transferring a File 0To transfer a file, you must first run the Kermit program on your PC. Then tell Kermit to CONNECT you to the host. Next dial the telephone number of the remote Kermit's modem and now you're talking to the remote host -- at this point you must login/logon, and then run Kermit on the host. 0Now you have a Kermit on each end of the wire. The next step is to tell each Kermit what to do. Suppose you want to transfer a file from the host to the PC; you would first tell the host to go into server mode with the SERVER command, then "escape" back to the PC Kermit and tell it to GET (download) the file. The transfer begins -- you can sit back and watch, or go do something else. The PC Kermit will produce a running display on your screen as the transfer proceeds, and will notify you when it is complete. 0The desired file is now on your PC's disk. The Kermit protocol has ensured that the file arrived correctly and completely. Now if you have no other files to transfer, you must clean up after yourself: type BYE to terminate Kermit on the host, your session on the host, and Kermit on the PC. Now you can do whatever you had planned for your file -- edit it, print it on your PC printer, etc. To transfer a file from the PC to the host (upload), issue the SEND command instead of the GET command. 0Kermit allows an alternative to the server mode for transferring files, the send/receive mode. The send/receive mode was the only mode available in older implementations of Kermit and is generally more cumbersome to use than server mode. If you were downloading using send/receive mode, you would start your session just as described above. But instead of typing SERVER to the host Kermit, you tell Kermit to SEND the file, then "escape" back to the PC Kermit and tell it to RECEIVE the file. The PC Kermit will produce a running display on your screen as the transfer proceeds, and will notify you when it is complete. To cleanup, CONNECT back to the host, exit from Kermit on the host, logout/logoff from the host, "escape" back to PC Kermit and exit from it. 0The Kermit protocol, and most Kermit programs, allow you to send a file reliably from the host to the PC, from the PC to the host, from host to host, or PC to PC, usually without any special regard for the nature of the particular machines involved. Most implementations also allow files to be sent in groups, with a single command, such as "send *.*". The scenario for each of these is the same as above -- only the details of how to establish the actual connection differ. 0Kermit works best with "text" (or "printable") files -- files composed only of letters, digits, punctuation marks, carriage returns, tabs, and so forth -- since these can be represented on almost any kind of computer. Kermit is also able to transfer "binary" files -- files such as executable programs -- composed of arbitrary bit patterns, but binary files normally are meaningful only to the kind of computer on which they are generated. Nevertheless, Kermit can usually move such files from system A to system B (where they are not much use) and back to system A in their original condition, although in most cases special measures must be taken to accomplish this. - - Section 2 -- How to Use Kermit 116 Kermit File Transfer Package - We'll look at some concrete examples in Section 2.3. First you need to know what the basic Kermit commands are. - 2.2. Basic Kermit Commands 0These are generic descriptions of the most basic Kermit commands. Detailed descriptions will come later. In these descriptions, local refers to the system that you are using directly (IBM PC, APPLE ][), remote refers to the system to which you are CONNECTed via Kermit (DECsystem-10, TSO). Commands may take one or more operands on the same line, and are terminated by a carriage return. -CONNECT 0Make a "virtual terminal" connection to the remote system. To "escape" from a virtual terminal connection back to the local Kermit, type Kermit's escape character (e.g., Control-]), followed by the letter "C". 0NOTE: Control-], Ctrl-], and X] are three equivalent notations which mean to use the CONTROL key like a SHIFT key with respect to the next character (in this case the right bracket key). -SERVER 0Cease taking commands from the keyboard and receive all further instructions in the form of Kermit packets from the other (local) Kermit. Issue the SERVER command to the remote Kermit only, never to the local Kermit. The local Kermit must have commands for communicating with remote servers; these include GET, SEND, FINISH, and BYE or LOGOUT. 0After issuing SERVER, return to the local system and issue server-directed commands from there. If your local Kermit does not have a BYE, LOGOUT, or FINISH command, then it does not have the full ability to communicate with a Kermit server and you should not put the remote Kermit into server mode. These commands (used to exit from server mode) are described below. 0Any non-standard parameters should be selected with SET commands before putting the remote Kermit in server mode. - - - - -How to Use Kermit -- Section 2 1Kermit File Transfer Package 17 - GET remote-filespec 0Request a remote Kermit operating in server mode to send the file or file group specified by remote-filespec. A file group is usually specified by including "wildcard" characters like "*" in the file specification. Examples: 0 GET foo.txt GET *.for 0The GET command can be issued to the local Kermit only. This means that you must have CONNECTed to the other system, logged in, run Kermit there, issued the SERVER command, and escaped back to the local Kermit. Note that the local Kermit does not attempt to validate the remote-filespec. If the server cannot parse it, or cannot access the specified file(s), it will send back an appropriate error message. -SEND filespec 0Send the file or file group specified by filespec from this Kermit to the other Kermit. The name of each file is passed to the other Kermit in a special control packet so it can be stored there with the same name. A file group is usually specified by including "wildcard" characters like "*" in the file specification. Examples: 0 SEND foo.txt SEND *.for 0Some implementations of Kermit may not support transfer of file groups; these versions would require a separate SEND command for each file to be transferred. -BYE or LOGOUT 0Shut down the remote server and exit from Kermit. This will cause the job at the remote end to log itself out. You need not connect back and clean up unless you get an error message in response to this command (for instance, if your logged-out disk quota is exceeded on the remote host). BYE and LOGOUT may differ in their effect on the local Kermit. -FINISH 0Shut down the server without having it log itself out, and don't exit from the local Kermit. A subsequent CONNECT command will put you back at your session on the remote host, at system or Kermit command level. -EXIT or QUIT 0Exit from Kermit back to the operating system. - 0 Section 2 -- How to Use Kermit 118 Kermit File Transfer Package - HELP 0Type a summary of Kermit commands and what they do. -RECEIVE 0Receive a file or file group from the other Kermit. If an incoming file name is not legal, then the receiving Kermit may attempt to transform it to a similar legal name. Options may be provided for handling filename collisions. Note the distinction between the RECEIVE and GET commands: RECEIVE instructs the program to wait passively; whereas, GET actively sends a request to a server. The RECEIVE command is not used when the remote Kermit is in server mode. -SET 0Establish various non-standard settings, such as CONNECT escape character, file characteristics, communication line number, speed, parity, or flow control. All of these are explained later. -SHOW 0Display the values of SET options. -? 0Typed almost anywhere within a Kermit command: List the commands, options, or operands that are possible at this point. This command may or may not require a carriage return, depending on the operating system. - - - - - - - -How to Use Kermit -- Section 2 1Kermit File Transfer Package 19 - 2.3. Real Examples 0Kermit can be used in several ways: from a PC that is connected to a larger host computer; from a host computer which is connected to another host; from one PC to another. This section restricts its examples to PC and host connections that are supported at NIH. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0 Section 2 -- How to Use Kermit 120 Kermit File Transfer Package - 2.3.1. IBM PC to DEC-10 Connection -2.3.1.1. Transfer Files Between the DEC-10 and IBM PC Using Server Mode 0User responses are underlined notes are enclosed in brackets or are listed to + __________, the far right of the relevant input/output. 0A>k_____ ; Start Kermit on the IBM PC. + _ermit IBM-PC Kermit-MS V2.29 26 May 86 Type ? for help 0Kermit-MS>comment DO WYLBUR for WYLBUR Kermit-MS>comment DO DEC10 for DEC-10 Kermit-MS>comment DO TSO for TSO Kermit-MS>comment DO 3270 for Protocol Conversion Facility Kermit-MS> ; This is the Kermit prompt for the PC. Kermit-MS>do _____ ; Set Kermit parameters for the DEC-10. + ___dec10 0[Commands issued from the DEC10 macro are displayed] 0Kermit-MS>connect ; Connect to the communications line. + _______ 0[The screen changes to the display of the terminal being emulated.] 0ATDT49_2222 ; Issue modem command to dial the DEC-10. +______2____ 0[Assumes Hayes-compatible modem; dial 492-2222 using a manual dial modem; if using an AT&T 2224B modem, type AT4922222 or use the interactive commands described in the NIH Terminal Operators Guide.] 0[Various modem messages] 0CONNECT ; You are now connected to the DEC-10. 0[Type a carriage return.] 0NIH Timesharing ; The DEC-10 system prints its herald. 0NIH Tri-SMP 7.02-GG 15:35:24 TTY24 system 1378/1381/1453 Connected to Node GRUMPY(42) Line # 12 Please LOGIN or ATTACH 0.login prj,prg ; Login with your PPN. + _____________ JOB 56 NIH Tri-SMP 7.02-GG TTY24 Password:______ ; Enter your password. 0[DEC-10 messages related to login] 0.r ______ ; Start Kermit on the DEC-10. + __kermit 0TOPS-10 KERMIT version 3(133) - How to Use Kermit -- Section 2 1Kermit File Transfer Package 21 - [Issue SET commands as needed. If you want to transfer binary data, originating on the PC, change the FILE BYTE-SIZE setting to 8 (i.e., SET FILE BYTE-SIZE 8). All parameter values that you want to change must be set before the remote Kermit is placed in server mode. These parameters and their values are described under the SET command in the DECsystem-10 Kermit section.] 0Kermit-10>server ; Tell the DEC-10 Kermit to be a server. + ______ 0[Kermit Server running on the DEC host. Please type your escape sequence to return to your local machine. Shut down the server by typing the Kermit BYE command on your local machine.] 0X]c ; Now escape back to the microcomputer. +___ 0[Back to the microcomputer.] 0Kermit-MS>get ________ ; Get the DEC-10 file named test.pas. + ____test.pas 0[PC screen shows file transfer status during download of the DEC-10 file to the IBM PC.] 0Kermit-MS>send ________ ; Send the IBM PC file named test.for. + _____test.for 0[PC screen shows file transfer status during upload of the IBM PC file to the DEC-10.] 0Kermit-MS>bye ; Shut down the DEC-10 Kermit & session, PC Kermit. + ___ A> ; Back at PC-DOS automatically. 0[Here you can do some work on the microcomputer, edit files, etc.] - - - - - - - - 0 Section 2 -- How to Use Kermit 122 Kermit File Transfer Package - 2.3.1.2. Transfer Files Between the DEC-10 and IBM PC Using Send/Receive 0User responses are underlined notes are enclosed in brackets or are listed to + __________, the far right of the relevant input/output. 0A>k_____ ; Start Kermit on the IBM PC. + _ermit IBM-PC Kermit-MS V2.29 26 May 86 Type ? for help 0Kermit-MS>comment DO WYLBUR for WYLBUR Kermit-MS>comment DO DEC10 for DEC-10 Kermit-MS>comment DO TSO for TSO Kermit-MS>comment DO 3270 for Protocol Conversion Facility Kermit-MS> ; This is the Kermit prompt for the PC. Kermit-MS>do _____ ; Set Kermit parameters for the DEC-10. + ___dec10 0[Commands issued from the DEC10 macro are displayed] 0Kermit-MS>connect ; Connect to the communications line. + _______ 0[The screen changes to the display of the terminal being emulated.] 0ATDT49_2222 ; Issue modem command to dial the DEC-10. +______2____ 0[Assumes Hayes-compatible modem; dial 492-2222 using a manual dial modem; if using an AT&T 2224B modem, type AT4922222 or use the interactive commands described in the NIH Terminal Operators Guide.] 0[Various modem messages] 0CONNECT ; You are now connected to the DEC-10. 0[Type a carriage return.] 0NIH Timesharing ; The DEC-10 system prints its herald. 0NIH Tri-SMP 7.02-GG 15:35:24 TTY24 system 1378/1381/1453 Connected to Node GRUMPY(42) Line # 12 Please LOGIN or ATTACH 0.login prj,prg ; Login with your PPN. + _____________ JOB 56 NIH Tri-SMP 7.02-GG TTY24 Password:______ ; Enter your password. 0[DEC-10 messages related to login] 0.r ______ ; Start Kermit on the DEC-10. + __kermit 0TOPS-10 KERMIT version 3(133) 0[Issue SET commands as needed. If you want to transfer binary data, originating - 0How to Use Kermit -- Section 2 1Kermit File Transfer Package 23 - on the PC, change the FILE BYTE-SIZE setting to 8 (i.e., SET FILE BYTE-SIZE 8). All parameter values that you want to change must be set before the remote Kermit is issued the SEND command. These parameters and their values are described under the SET command in the DECsystem-10 Kermit section.] 0Kermit-10>send ________ ; Send the DEC-10 file named test.rpt. + _____test.rpt X]c ; Now escape back to the microcomputer. +___ 0[Back to the microcomputer.] 0Kermit-MS>receive ; Tell the IBM PC a file is coming. + _______ 0[PC screen shows file transfer status during download of the DEC-10 file to the IBM PC.] 0Kermit-MS>connect ; Connect to the DEC-10. + _______ 0[The screen changes to the display of the terminal being emulated.] 0[In this example DECsystem-10 Kermit is reset to receive a PC binary file.] 0Kermit-10>set file byte-size 8 ; Set parameter for PC binary file transfer. + ____________________ Kermit-10>receive ; Tell the DEC-10 a file is coming. + _______ X]c ; Now escape back to the microcomputer. +___ 0[Back to the microcomputer.] 0Kermit-MS>set eof noctrl-z ; Set end of file handling for binary file. + ________________ Kermit-MS>send _____dat ; Send the IBM PC file named test.dat. + _____test.___ 0[PC screen shows file transfer status during upload of the IBM PC file to the DEC-10.] 0Kermit-MS>connect ; Connect to the DEC-10. + _______ 0[The screen changes to the display of the terminal being emulated.] 0Kermit-10>quit ; Get out of the DEC-10 Kermit. + ____ 0.kjob__ ; Logout. + ____/d 0[DEC-10 messages related to logout] 0X]c ; Now escape back to the microcomputer. +___ 0[Back to the microcomputer.] 0Kermit-MS>quit ; Shut down the PC Kermit. + ____ A> ; Back at PC-DOS. 0[Here you can do some work on the microcomputer, edit files, etc.] - 0 Section 2 -- How to Use Kermit 124 Kermit File Transfer Package - 2.3.2. IBM PC to TSO Connection -2.3.2.1. Transfer Files Between TSO and IBM PC Using Server Mode 0User responses are underlined notes are enclosed in brackets or are listed to + __________, the far right of the relevant input/output. 0A>k_____ Start Kermit on the IBM PC. + _ermit IBM-PC Kermit-MS V2.29 26 May 86 Type ? for help 0Kermit-MS>comment DO WYLBUR for WYLBUR Kermit-MS>comment DO DEC10 for DEC-10 Kermit-MS>comment DO TSO for TSO Kermit-MS>comment DO 3270 for Protocol Conversion Facility Kermit-MS> This is the Kermit prompt for the PC. Kermit-MS>do ___ Set Kermit parameters for TSO. + ___tso 0[Commands issued from TSO macro are displayed] 0Kermit-MS>connect Connect to the communications line. + _______ 0[The screen changes to the display of the terminal being emulated.] 0ATDT49_____ Issue modem command to dial TSO. +______22223 0[Assumes Hayes-compatible modem; dial 492-2223 using a manual dial modem; if using an AT&T 2224B modem, type AT4922223 or use the interactive commands described in the NIH Terminal Operators Guide.] 0[Various modem messages] 0CONNECT You are now connected to TSO. logon Start the TSO LOGON process. +_____ INITIALS? iii + ___ ACCOUNT? aaaa + ____ KEYWORD? kkk + ___ TERMINAL? none + ____ BOX? bbb + ___ AAAAIII LOGON IN PROGRESS AT 11:26:19 ON JUNE 11, 1986 NIH/DCRT/CCB TSO 0[TSO messages related to logon] 0READY TSO LOGON process complete. kermit Start TSO Kermit. +______ NIH KERMIT-TSO VERSION 1.0 0[Issue SET commands as needed. If you want to transfer binary data rather than text data, change the DATA setting (e.g., SET DATA BINARY). If you want files that are transferred to TSO to not be stored on the TMP volumes, you must - How to Use Kermit -- Section 2 1Kermit File Transfer Package 25 - change the VOLUME setting (e.g., SET VOLUME FILE21), as in this example. All parameter values that you want to change must be set before the remote Kermit is placed in server mode. These parameters and their values are described under the SET command in the TSO Kermit section.] 0KERMIT-TSO> set vol file21 Tell TSO Kermit where to put data sets. + _______ume + __________ KERMIT-TSO> server Tell TSO Kermit to be a server. + ______ Now entering SERVER mode - type FINISH or LOGOUT on micro to halt SERVER X]c Now escape back to the microcomputer. +___ 0[Back to the microcomputer.] 0Kermit-MS>get ________ Get the TSO file named TEST.PLI. + ____test.pli 0[PC screen shows file transfer status during download of the TSO data set to the IBM PC.] 0Kermit-MS>send test.for Send the IBM PC file named TEST.FOR. + _____________ 0[PC screen shows file transfer status during upload of the IBM PC file to TSO.] 0Kermit-MS>bye Shut down TSO Kermit & session, PC Kermit. + ___ A> Back at PC-DOS automatically. 0[Here you can do some work on the microcomputer, edit files, etc.] - - - - - - - - - - Section 2 -- How to Use Kermit 126 Kermit File Transfer Package - 2.3.2.2. Transfer Files Between TSO and IBM PC Using Send/Receive 0User responses are underlined notes are enclosed in brackets or are listed to + __________, the far right of the relevant input/output. 0A>k_____ Start Kermit on the IBM PC. + _ermit IBM-PC Kermit-MS V2.29 26 May 86 Type ? for help 0Kermit-MS>comment DO WYLBUR for WYLBUR Kermit-MS>comment DO DEC10 for DEC-10 Kermit-MS>comment DO TSO for TSO Kermit-MS>comment DO 3270 for Protocol Conversion Facility Kermit-MS> This is the Kermit prompt for the PC. Kermit-MS>do ___ Set Kermit parameters for TSO. + ___tso 0[Commands issued from TSO macro are displayed] 0Kermit-MS>connect Connect to the communications line. + _______ 0[The screen changes to the display of the terminal being emulated.] 0ATDT49_____ Issue modem command to dial TSO. +______22223 0[Assumes Hayes-compatible modem; dial 492-2223 using a manual dial modem; if using an AT&T 2224B modem, type AT4922223 or use the interactive commands described in the NIH Terminal Operators Guide.] 0[Various modem messages] 0CONNECT You are now connected to TSO. logon Start the TSO LOGON process. +_____ INITIALS? iii + ___ ACCOUNT? aaaa + ____ KEYWORD? kkk + ___ TERMINAL? none + ____ BOX? bbb + ___ AAAAIII LOGON IN PROGRESS AT 11:26:19 ON JUNE 11, 1986 NIH/DCRT/CCB TSO 0[TSO messages related to logon] 0READY TSO LOGON process complete. kermit Start TSO Kermit. +______ NIH KERMIT-TSO VERSION 1.0 0[Issue SET commands as needed. If you want to transfer binary data rather than text data, change the DATA setting (e.g., SET DATA BINARY). All parameter values that you want to change must be set before the SEND command is issued to the remote Kermit. These parameters and their values are described under the SET command in the TSO Kermit section.] - 0How to Use Kermit -- Section 2 1Kermit File Transfer Package 27 - KERMIT-TSO> send _______ Send the TSO file named DB2.RPT. + _____db2.rpt X]c Now escape back to the microcomputer. +___ 0[Back to the microcomputer.] 0Kermit-MS>receive Tell the PC that a file is coming. + _______ 0[PC screen shows file transfer status during download of the TSO data set to the IBM PC.] 0Kermit-MS>connect Connect to TSO. + _______ 0[The screen changes to the display of the terminal being emulated.] 0[Issue SET commands as needed. If you want to transfer binary data rather than text data, change the DATA setting (e.g., SET DATA BINARY), as in this example. If you want files that are transferred to TSO to not be stored on the TMP volumes, you must change the VOLUME setting (e.g., SET VOLUME FILE21), as in this example. All parameter values that you want to change must be set before the RECEIVE command is issued to the remote Kermit. These parameters and their values are described under the SET command in the TSO Kermit section.] 0KERMIT-TSO> set data binary Set parameter for binary file transfer. + _______________ KERMIT-TSO> set vol file21 Tell TSO Kermit where to put data sets. + _______ume + __________ KERMIT-TSO> receive Tell TSO Kermit a file is coming. + _______ X]c Now escape back to the microcomputer. +___ 0[Back to the microcomputer.] 0Kermit-MS>set eof noctrl-z Set end of file handling for binary file. + ________________ Kermit-MS>send _________ Send the IBM PC file TEST5.DAT. + _____test5.dat 0[PC screen shows file transfer status during upload of the IBM PC file to TSO.] 0Kermit-MS>connect Connect to TSO. + _______ 0[The screen changes to the display of the terminal being emulated.] 0KERMIT-TSO> quit Get out of TSO Kermit. + ____ 0READY logoff Logoff from TSO. +______ 0[TSO messages related to logoff] 0X]c Now escape back to the microcomputer. +___ 0[Back to the microcomputer.] 0Kermit-MS>quit Shut down the PC Kermit. + ____ A> Back at PC-DOS automatically. - 0 Section 2 -- How to Use Kermit 128 Kermit File Transfer Package - [Here you can do some work on the microcomputer, edit files, etc.] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - How to Use Kermit -- Section 2 1Kermit File Transfer Package 29 - 3. Kermit Commands 0An "ideal" Kermit program will be described here, which has most of the features specified in the Kermit Protocol Manual (available from Columbia University). No Kermit program will have all these commands or support all these options. The exact form of some of the commands may differ from version to version. Some Kermit programs may support system-dependent options not described here. The intention of this description is to provide a base from which specific Kermit programs can be described in terms of their differences from the "ideal." - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0 Section 3 -- Kermit Commands 130 Kermit File Transfer Package - 3.1. Remote and Local Operation 0In any connection between two Kermit programs, one Kermit is remote and the other is local. The remote Kermit is usually running on a mainframe, which you have CONNECTed to through a PC or other computer. When Kermit runs remotely, all file transfer is done over the job's controlling terminal line -- the same line over which you logged in, and to which you would type interactive commands. What the system thinks is your terminal is really another computer, usually a microcomputer, running its own copy of Kermit. 0When Kermit is in "local mode," file transfer is done over an external device, such as a microcomputer's serial communication port, or an assigned terminal line on a mainframe. The local Kermit is connected in some way (such as a dialout mechanism) to another computer, again running its own copy of Kermit. A local Kermit is in control of the screen, a remote Kermit has no direct access to it. Microcomputer Kermits are run in local mode unless instructed otherwise; mainframe Kermits run remotely unless some special command places them in local mode. Some commands make sense only for remote Kermits, others only for local, still others can be used with either. Local and remote operation of Kermit is shown schematically here: The Kermit program on the PC is a local Kermit. It can control the screen, the keyboard, and the communications port separately, thus it can update the screen with status information, watch for interrupt signals from the keyboard, and transfer packets on the communications port, all at the same time. See Figure 3.1 on the next page for a schematic representation of these relationships. 0The Kermit program running on the mainframe is a remote Kermit. The user logs in to the mainframe through a terminal port. The host computer cannot tell that the user is really coming in through a microcomputer. The keyboard, screen, and port functions are all combined in the user's mainframe terminal line. Therefore a remote Kermit is cut off from your screen and keyboard during file transfer. - - - - - - - -Kermit Commands -- Section 3 1Kermit File Transfer Package 31 - PC is Local, Mainframe is Remote: 0 Communication Line (Packets) +---------------/ /-----------------+ Other terminals | | | | | | | | | | PC | LOCAL Mainframe | | | | REMOTE +----------+----------+ +------------+--+--+--+--------+ | Serial Port | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | +---------------+ | | Your session's | | | Packets: 724 | | | terminal line | | | Retries: 7 | | | | | | File: FOO.BAR | | | | | +---------------+ | | | | Screen | | | | | | | +---------------+-----+ +------------------------------+ | | (Commands) | +------------+---------+ \ Keyboard \ +----------------------+ You 0 Figure 3-1: Local and Remote Kermits - - - - - - - - - Section 3 -- Kermit Commands 132 Kermit File Transfer Package - 3.2. The Command Dialog 0Most Kermit programs communicate with you through interactive keyword-style command dialog. The program issues a prompt, indicating that it is waiting for you to type a command. The prompt is usually of the form 0 Kermit-xx> 0where xx indicates the version of Kermit -- Kermit-MS> for MS-DOS Kermit, KERMIT-A2> for APPLE DOS Kermit, etc. 0In response to the program's prompt you may type a keyword, such as SEND, RECEIVE, or EXIT, possibly followed by additional keywords or operands, each of which is called a field. You can abbreviate keywords (but not file names) to any length that makes them distinguishable from any other keyword valid for that field. You can type a question mark at any time to get information about what's expected or valid at that point. You can push the ESC (escape) key at any point in a command keyword, and Kermit will complete the partially entered keyword. The ESC and "?" features work best on full duplex systems (all but the IBM mainframe, so far), where the program can "wake up" immediately and perform the required function. On half duplex or record-oriented systems, the ESC feature is not available, and the "?" requires a carriage return to follow. 0In the following example, the user types "set" and then a question mark to find out what the SET options are. The user then continues the command at the point where the question mark was typed, adding a "d" and another question mark to see what set options start with "d." The user then adds a "eb" to select "debugging" (the only SET option that starts with "deb") followed by an ESC (shown here by a dollar sign) to complete the current field, then another question mark to see what the possibilities are for the next field, and so forth. The command is finally terminated by a carriage return. Before carriage return is typed, however, the command can be edited or erased by backspacing and re-keying the command. Finally, the same command is entered again with a minimum of keystrokes, with each field abbreviated to its shortest unique length. 0In the example, the parts the user types are underlined; all the rest is system typeout: - - - - - -Kermit Commands -- Section 3 1Kermit File Transfer Package 33 - Kermit-10>set ? keyword (no defined keywords match this input) + _____ or one of the following: block-check-type debugging delay escape file handshake incomplete-file line local-echo message parity prompt receive repeat retry send server-timer XON-XOFF-processing Kermit-10>set d? one of the following: + ______ debugging delay Kermit-10>set deb$ ? one of the following: + ________ugging _ log-file no-log-file off on full half Kermit-10>set deb of + __________ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Section 3 -- Kermit Commands 134 Kermit File Transfer Package - 3.3. Notation 0In the command descriptions, the following notation is used: 0anything A parameter - A field not enclosed in brackets or braces is replaced by an argument of the specified type (number, filename, etc.). 0[anything] A field enclosed in square brackets is optional. If omitted, the field defaults to an appropriate value. You don't type the brackets. 0$x,y,z A list of alternatives is enclosed in curly braces; you type one of the alternatives. 0number A whole number, entered in the prevailing notation of the system. 0character A single character, entered literally, or as a number (perhaps octal or hexadecimal) representing the ASCII value of the character. 0floating-point-number 0 A "real" number, possibly containing a decimal point and a fractional part. 0filespec A file specification, i.e., the name of a file, possibly including a search path, device or directory name, or other qualifying information, and possibly containing "wildcard" or pattern-matching characters to denote a group of files. 0XX A control character may be written using "uparrow" or "caret" notation, since many systems display control characters this way. Control characters are produced by holding down the key marked CTRL or Control and typing the appropriate character, e.g. X. -Commands are shown in upper case, but can be entered in any combination of upper and lower case. - - - - - - Kermit Commands -- Section 3 1Kermit File Transfer Package 35 - 3.4. Summary of Kermit Commands 0Here is a brief list of Kermit commands as they are to be found in most Kermit programs. The following sections will describe these commands in detail. -For exchanging files: 0 SEND, RECEIVE, GET -For connecting to a remote host: 0 CONNECT, SET LINE, SET PARITY, SET DUPLEX, SET HANDSHAKE, SET ESCAPE, SET FLOW-CONTROL, SET SPEED (or BAUD) -For acting as a server: 0 SERVER -For talking to a server: 0 BYE OR LOGOUT, FINISH, GET, SEND, REMOTE -Setting non-standard transmission and file parameters: 0 SET BLOCK-CHECK, SET DEBUG, SET DELAY, SET FILE, SET INCOMPLETE, SET PARITY, SET RETRY, SET SEND (or RECEIVE), END-OF-LINE, START-OF-PACKET, PACKET-LENGTH, PAUSE, TIMEOUT, PADDING -For defining "macros" of commands: 0 DEFINE -For interrupting transmission: 0 Control-X, Control-Z, Control-C, Control-E -Getting information: 0 HELP, STATISTICS, SHOW - - Section 3 -- Kermit Commands 136 Kermit File Transfer Package - Executing command files: 0 TAKE -For recording the history of a file transfer operation: 0 LOG TRANSACTIONS -For non-protocol file capture or transmission: 0 LOG SESSION, TRANSMIT, INPUT, OUTPUT, PAUSE, CLEAR, SCRIPT -For closing log files: 0 CLOSE -Leaving the program: 0 EXIT, QUIT -If you have a file called KERMIT.INI in your default or home disk, Kermit will execute an automatic TAKE command on it upon initial startup. KERMIT.INI may contain any Kermit commands, for instance SET commands, or DEFINEs for macros to configure Kermit to various systems or communications media. Note: Your particular implementation of Kermit may use a different name for this file. The NIH Computer Center supplies a suitable file on the Kermit distribution diskette for the IBM PC. - - - - - - - -Kermit Commands -- Section 3 1Kermit File Transfer Package 37 - 3.5. The SEND Command 0Syntax: 0Sending a single file: 0 SEND nonwild-filespec1 [filespec2] -Sending multiple files: 0 SEND wild-filespec1 [filespec2] -The SEND command causes a file or file group to be sent to the other system. There are two forms of the command, depending on whether filespec1 contains "wildcard" characters. Use of wildcard characters is the most common method of indicating a group of files in a single file specification. For instance if FOO.FOR is a single file, a FORTRAN program named FOO, then *.FOR might be a group of FORTRAN programs. - Sending a File Group -- 0If filespec1 contains wildcard characters then all matching files will be sent, in directory-listing order. If a file can't be opened for READ access, it will be skipped. Some Kermit programs allow the initial file in a wildcard group to be specified with the optional filespec2. This allows a previously interrupted wildcard transfer to continue from where it left off, or it can be used to skip some files that would be transmitted first. - Sending a Single File -- 0If filespec1 does not contain any wildcard characters, then the single file specified by filespec1 will be sent. Optionally, filespec2 may be used to specify the name under which the file will arrive at the target system; filespec2 is not parsed or validated locally in any way. If filespec2 is not specified, the file will be sent with its own name. - SEND Command General Operation -- 0Files will be sent with their filename and filetype (for instance FOO.BAR, no device or directory field, no generation number or attributes). If communication line parity is being used (see SET PARITY), the sending Kermit will request that the other Kermit accept a special kind of prefix notation for binary files. This is an advanced feature, and not all Kermits have it; if the other Kermit does not agree to use this feature, binary files cannot be sent correctly. - - Section 3 -- Kermit Commands 138 Kermit File Transfer Package - The sending Kermit will also ask the other Kermit whether it can handle a special prefix encoding for repeated characters. If it can, then files with long strings of repeated characters will be transmitted very efficiently. Columnar data, highly indented text, and binary files are the major beneficiaries of this technique. - SEND Remote Operation -- 0If you are running Kermit remotely (for instance, from a microcomputer), you should "escape back" to your local Kermit within a reasonable amount of time and give the RECEIVE command. Don't take more than a minute or two to complete the switch, or Kermit may "time out" and give up. (In that case, you'll have to CONNECT back to the remote system and reissue the SEND command.) - SEND Local Operation -- 0If you're running Kermit locally, for instance on a microcomputer, you should have already run Kermit on the remote system and issued either a RECEIVE or a SERVER command. 0Once you give Kermit the SEND command, the name of each file will be printed on your screen as the transfer begins, and information will be displayed to indicate the packet traffic. When the specified operation is complete, the program will sound a beep, and the status of the operation will be indicated by a message like OK, Complete, Interrupted, or Failed. 0If you see many packet retry indications, you are probably suffering from a noisy connection. You may be able to cut down on the retransmissions by using SET SEND PACKET-LENGTH to decrease the packet length; this will reduce the probability that a given packet will be corrupted by noise, and reduce the time required to retransmit a corrupted packet. 0If you notice a file being sent which you do not really want to send, you may cancel the operation immediately by typing either Control-X or Control-Z. If you are sending a file group, Control-X will cause the current file to be skipped, and Kermit will go on to the next file, whereas Control-Z will cancel sending the entire group and return you to Kermit command level. - - - - - 0Kermit Commands -- Section 3 1Kermit File Transfer Package 39 - 3.6. The RECEIVE Command 0Syntax: RECEIVE [filespec] 0The RECEIVE command tells Kermit to wait for the arrival of a file or file group sent by a SEND command from the other system. If only one file is being received, you may include the optional filespec as the name to store the incoming file under; otherwise, the name is taken from the incoming file header. If the name in the header is not a legal file name on the local system, Kermit will attempt to transform it to a legal name. 0If an incoming file has the same name as an existing file, Kermit will either overwrite the old file or else try to create a new unique name, depending on the setting of FILE WARNING. 0If you have SET PARITY, then 8th-bit prefixing will be requested. If the other side cannot do this, binary files cannot be transferred correctly. The sending Kermit may also request that repeated characters be compressed. 0If an incoming file does not arrive in its entirety, Kermit will normally discard it; it will not appear in your directory. You may change this behavior by using the command SET INCOMPLETE KEEP, which will cause as much of the file as arrived to be saved in your directory. - RECEIVE Remote Operation -- 0If you are running Kermit remotely, you should escape back to your local Kermit and give the SEND command. You should do this within about two minutes, or the protocol may time out and give up; if this happens, you can CONNECT back to the remote system and reissue the RECEIVE command. - RECEIVE Local Operation -- 0If you are running Kermit locally, you should already have issued a SEND command to the remote Kermit, and then escaped back to the host Kermit. (You can not issue a RECEIVE command to a Kermit server, you must use the GET command for that.) 0As files arrive, their names will be shown on your screen, along with a continuous display of the packet traffic. 0If a file begins to arrive that you don't really want, you can attempt to cancel it by typing Control-X; this sends a cancellation request to the remote Kermit. If the remote Kermit understands this request (not all implementations of Kermit support this feature), it will comply; otherwise it will continue to send. If a file group is being sent, you can request the entire group be cancelled by typing Control-Z. - - Section 3 -- Kermit Commands 140 Kermit File Transfer Package - 3.7. GET 0LOCAL ONLY -- Syntax: GET [remote-filespec] 0The GET command requests a remote Kermit server to send the file or file group specified by remote-filespec. Note the distinction between the RECEIVE and GET commands: RECEIVE instructs the program to wait passively; whereas, GET actively sends a request to a server. 0The GET command can be used only when Kermit is local, with a Kermit server on the other end of the line. This means that you must have CONNECTed to the other system, logged in, run Kermit there, issued the SERVER command, and escaped back to the local Kermit. 0The remote filespec is any string that can be a legal file specification for the remote system; it is not parsed or validated locally. As files arrive, their names will be displayed on your screen, along with a continuous indication of the packet traffic. As in the RECEIVE command, you may type Control-X to request that the current incoming file be cancelled, or Control-Z to request that the entire incoming batch be cancelled. 0Optional Syntax: If you are requesting a single file, you may type the GET command without a filespec. In that case, Kermit programs that implement the optional GET syntax will prompt you for the remote filespec on the subsequent line, and the name to store it under when it arrives on the line after that: - Kermit-MS>get + ___ Remote Source File: aux.txt + _______ Local Destination File: auxfile.txt + ___________ - - - - - - - - 0Kermit Commands -- Section 3 1Kermit File Transfer Package 41 - 3.8. SERVER 0Syntax: SERVER 0The SERVER command instructs Kermit to cease taking commands from the keyboard and to receive all further instructions in the form of Kermit packets from another system. The other Kermit must have commands for communicating with remote servers; these include GET, SEND, FINISH, and BYE or LOGOUT. 0After issuing this command, return to the "client" system and issue SEND, GET, BYE, LOGOUT, FINISH, or other server-directed commands from there. If your local Kermit does not have a BYE command, then it does not have the full ability to communicate with a Kermit server and you should not put the remote Kermit into SERVER mode. If your local Kermit does have a BYE command, use it to shut down and log out the Kermit server when you are done with it. 0Any non-standard parameters should be selected with SET commands before putting Kermit in server mode. -3.9. BYE 0LOCAL ONLY -- Syntax: BYE 0When running as a local Kermit talking to a Kermit server, use the BYE command to shut down and log out the server. This will also close any debugging log files and exit from the local Kermit. -3.10. FINISH 0LOCAL ONLY -- Syntax: FINISH 0When running as a local Kermit talking to a remote Kermit server use the FINISH command to shut down the server without logging out the remote job, so that you can CONNECT back to it. Also, close any local debugging log file. - - - - - - 0 Section 3 -- Kermit Commands 142 Kermit File Transfer Package - 3.11. REMOTE 0LOCAL ONLY -- Syntax: REMOTE command 0When running as a local Kermit talking to a remote Kermit server, use the REMOTE command to request special functions of the remote server. If the server does not understand the command or offer the requested service (all of these commands and services are optional features of the Kermit protocol), it will reply with a message like "Unknown Kermit Server Command." If does understand, it will send the results back, and they will be displayed on the screen. The REMOTE commands are: -REMOTE CWD [directory] 0 Change Working Directory. If no directory name is provided, the server will change to the default directory. Otherwise, you will be prompted for a password, and the server will attempt to change to the specified directory. If access is not granted, the server will provide a message to that effect. -REMOTE DELETE filespec 0 Delete the specified file or files. The names of the files that are deleted should be displayed on your screen. -REMOTE DIRECTORY [filespec] 0 The names of the files that match the given file specification will be displayed on your screen, possibly along with additional information about file sizes and dates. If no file specification is given, all files from the current directory will be listed. -REMOTE SPACE [directory] 0 Information about disk usage in the current remote directory -- quota, current storage, or amount of remaining free space -- is displayed on your screen. -REMOTE HELP 0 A list of available server functions is displayed. -REMOTE HOST [command] 0 The given command is passed to the server's host command processor, and the resulting output is displayed on your screen. - Kermit Commands -- Section 3 1Kermit File Transfer Package 43 - REMOTE Kermit [command] 0 The given command, which is expressed in the server Kermit's own interactive-mode command syntax, is passed to the server for execution. This is useful for changing settings, logging, and other functions. -REMOTE RUN program-name [command-line-argument] 0 The remote Kermit is asked to run the indicated program with the indicated command line; the program's terminal output is sent back to your screen. -REMOTE PROGRAM [command] 0 The command is sent to the program started by most recent REMOTE RUN program, and the program's response is displayed on the screen. If no command is given, a newline character is sent. -REMOTE TYPE filespec 0 The contents of the specified file is displayed on your screen. - - - - - - - - - - - Section 3 -- Kermit Commands 144 Kermit File Transfer Package - 3.12. LOCAL 0Syntax: LOCAL command 0Execute the specified command on the local system -- on the system where Kermit to which your are typing this command is running. These commands provide some local file management capability without having to leave the Kermit program, which is particularly useful on microcomputers. The LOCAL prefix for these commands can be omitted. -CWD [directory] 0 "Change Working Directory" to the specified directory. -DELETE filespec 0 Delete the specified file or files. -DIRECTORY [filespec] 0 Provide a directory listing of the specified files. -SPACE 0 Display local disk usage and/or free space. -RUN filespec [operands] 0 Run the indicated program with the supplied command-line operands. -PUSH 0 Invoke the local system command interpreter in such a way that it can return (or "pop" or "exit") back to Kermit. -Some Kermit programs may provide commands for these or other functions in the syntax of their own system, when this would cause no confusion. For instance, CP/M Kermit may use ERA in place of LOCAL DELETE. - - - 0Kermit Commands -- Section 3 1Kermit File Transfer Package 45 - 3.13. CONNECT 0LOCAL ONLY -- Syntax: CONNECT [terminal-designator] 0Establish a terminal connection to the system at the other end of the communication line. On a microcomputer, this is normally the serial port. On a mainframe, you will have to specify a terminal line number or other identifier, either in the CONNECT command itself, or in a SET LINE command. Get back to the local Kermit by typing the escape character followed by a single character "command." Several single-character commands are possible: 0 C Close the connection and return to the local Kermit. S Show status of the connection. B Send a BREAK signal. 0 (zero) Send a NUL (0) character. D Drop the line, hangup the modem. P Push to the local system command processor without breaking the connection. Q Quit logging session transcript. R Resume logging session transcript. ? List all the possible single-character arguments. X] (or whatever you have set the escape character to be) Typing the escape character twice sends one copy of it to the connected host. 0You can use the SET ESCAPE command to define a different escape character, and SET PARITY, SET DUPLEX, SET FLOW-CONTROL, SET HANDSHAKE to establish or change those parameters. -3.14. HELP 0Syntax: HELP 0Typing HELP alone prints a brief summary of Kermit and its commands, and possibly instructions for obtaining more detailed help on particular topics. Most Kermit implementations also allow the use of "?" within a command to produce a short help message. -3.15. TAKE 0Syntax: TAKE filespec 0Execute Kermit commands from the specified file. The file may contain contain any valid Kermit commands, including other TAKE commands. -3.16. EXIT, QUIT 0Syntax: EXIT or QUIT 0Exit from Kermit. QUIT is a synonym for EXIT. - Section 3 -- Kermit Commands 146 Kermit File Transfer Package - 3.17. The SET Command 0Syntax: SET parameter [option] [value] 0Establish or modify various parameters for file transfer or terminal connection. 0When a file transfer operation begins, the two Kermits automatically exchange special initialization messages, in which each program provides the other with certain information about itself. This information includes the maximum packet size it wants to receive, the timeout interval it wants the other Kermit to use, the number and type of padding characters it needs, the end-of-line character it needs to terminate each packet (if any), the block check type, the desired prefixes for control characters, characters with the "high bit" set, and repeated characters. Each Kermit program has its own preset "default" values for these parameters, and you normally need not concern yourself with them. You can examine their values with the SHOW command; the SET command is provided to allow you to change them in order to adapt to unusual conditions. 0The following parameters may be SET: 0 BAUD-RATE Set the speed of the current communications port BLOCK-CHECK Packet transmission error detection method DEBUGGING Mode or log file DELAY How long to wait before starting to send DUPLEX For terminal connection, full (remote echo) or half (local echo) ESCAPE Character for terminal connection FILE For setting file parameters like name conversion and byte size FLOW-CONTROL Selecting flow control method, like XON/XOFF HANDSHAKE For turning around half duplex communication line IBM Set things up for communicating with an IBM mainframe (not used with TSO at NIH) INCOMPLETE What to do with an incomplete file LINE Terminal line to use for terminal connection or file transfer MODEM Modem type or characteristics PARITY Character parity to use PORT For switching communication ports PROMPT For changing the program's command prompt RECEIVE Various parameters for receiving files RETRY How many times to retry a packet before giving up SEND Various parameters for sending files TIMER Enable/disable timeouts 0The DEFINE command may be used to compose "macros" by combining SET commands. The SET commands are now described in detail. - - - Kermit Commands -- Section 3 1Kermit File Transfer Package 47 - SET BAUD-RATE 0Syntax: SET BAUD-RATE number 0Set or change the baud rate (approximate translation: transmission speed in bits per second) on the currently selected communications device. Ten bits per second is equivalent to one character per second; 300 baud = 30 cps. The way of specifying the baud rate varies from system to system; in most cases, the actual number (such as 1200 or 9600) is typed. Systems that do not provide this command generally expect that the speed of the line has already been set appropriately outside of Kermit. Common values are 300, 1200, 2400, 4800, and 9600. -SET BLOCK-CHECK 0Syntax: SET BLOCK-CHECK $1, 2, 3 0Kermit normally uses a 1-character block check, or "CHECKSUM," on each packet. The sender of the packet computes the block check based on the other characters in the packet, and the receiver recomputes it the same way. If these quantities agree, the packet is accepted and transmission proceeds. If they disagree, the packet is rejected and retransmission is requested. 0However, the block check is not a foolproof method of error detection. The normal single-character Kermit block check is only a 6-bit quantity (the low order 8 bits of the arithmetic sum folded upon itself). With only six bits of accuracy, the chances are one in 2**6 -- that is, 1/64 -- that an error can occur which will not be detected in the CHECKSUM, assuming that all errors are equally likely. 0You can decrease the probability that an error can slip through, at the expense of transmission efficiency, by using the SET BLOCK-CHECK command to select more rigorous block check methods. Note that all three methods will detect any single-bit error, or any error in an odd number of bits. The options are: 01-CHARACTER-CHECKSUM: The normal single-character 6-bit CHECKSUM. 02-CHARACTER-CHECKSUM: A 2-character, 12-bit CHECKSUM. Reduces the probability of an error going undetected to 1/4096, but adds an extra character to each packet. 03-CHARACTER-CRC: A 3-character, 16-bit Cyclic Redundancy Check, CCITT format. In addition to errors in any odd number of bits, this method detects double bit errors, all error bursts of length 16 or less, and more than 99.99% of all possible longer bursts. Adds two extra characters to each packet. 0The single character CHECKSUM has proven to be quite adequate in practice, much more effective than straightforward analysis would indicate, since all errors are not equally likely, and a simple CHECKSUM is well suited to catching the - Section 3 -- Kermit Commands 148 Kermit File Transfer Package - kinds of errors that are typical of telecommunication lines. The other methods should be requested only when the connection is very noisy and/or when sending binary files. 0Note that the 2- and 3-character block checks are not available in all versions of Kermit; if the other Kermit is not capable of performing the higher-precision block checks, the transfer will automatically use the standard single-character method. 0The NIH Computer Center recommends BLOCK-CHECK 3 always. The overhead is only 2 percent, and the extra assurance of reliability is worth it. -SET DEBUG 0Syntax: SET DEBUG $ON, OFF 0Record debugging information, either on your terminal or in a file. Options are: 0 ON Turn on debugging. 0 OFF Don't display debugging information (the default). If debugging was in effect, turn it off and close any log file. 0Some Kermit programs may control debugging by use of the LOG DEBUG command. -SET DELAY 0Syntax: SET DELAY number 0Specify how many seconds to wait before sending the first packet after a SEND command. Use when remote and SENDing files back to your local Kermit. This gives you time to "escape" back and issue a RECEIVE command. The normal delay is 5 seconds. In local mode or server mode, Kermit does not delay before sending the first packet. -SET DUPLEX 0Syntax: SET DUPLEX $FULL, HALF 0For use when CONNECTed to a remote system. The keyword choices are FULL and HALF. FULL means the remote system echoes the characters you type, HALF means the local system echoes them. FULL is the default, and is used by most hosts. HALF is necessary when connecting to IBM mainframes. Half duplex is more correctly called "local echo." - - 0Kermit Commands -- Section 3 1Kermit File Transfer Package 49 - SET ESCAPE 0Syntax: SET ESCAPE character 0Specify or change the character you want to use to "escape" from remote connections back to Kermit. This would normally be a character you don't expect to be using on the remote system, perhaps a control character like X\, X], XX, or X_. Most versions of Kermit use one of these by default. After you type the escape character, you must follow it by a single-character "argument," such as "C" for Close Connection. The arguments are listed above, under the description of the CONNECT command. -SET FILE 0Syntax: SET FILE parameter value 0Establish file-related parameters. Depending on the characteristics of the system, it may be necessary to tell Kermit how to fetch an outbound file from the disk, or how to store an incoming file. The actual parameters you can specify in this command will vary from system to system, and you should consult the documentation for your particular version of Kermit. Some examples would be file type (text or binary), byte size (PDP-10 architecture), record length or block size (record oriented systems), end-of-file detection method (on microcomputers), file naming conversion option. 0This can be a very important command if you intend to transfer binary files, but is normally un-necessary for transmitting text files. -SET FLOW-CONTROL 0Syntax: SET FLOW-CONTROL $XON/XOFF,NONE 0For communicating with full duplex systems. System-level flow control is not necessary to the Kermit protocol, but it can help to use it if the same method is available on both systems. The most common type of flow control on full duplex systems is XON/XOFF. When a system's input buffer comes close to being full, it will send an XOFF character (Control-S) to request the other system to stop sending. When it has emptied sufficient characters from its input buffer, it signals the other system to resume sending by transmitting an XON character (Control-Q). This process operates in both directions simultaneously. The options for the Kermit SET FLOW command are usually restricted to XON/XOFF and NONE, which is used to disable this feature. - - - - Section 3 -- Kermit Commands 150 Kermit File Transfer Package - SET HANDSHAKE 0Syntax: SET HANDSHAKE option 0For communicating with half duplex systems. This lets you specify the line turnaround character sent by the half duplex host to indicate it has ended its transmission and is granting you permission to transmit. When a handshake is set, Kermit will not send a packet until the half duplex host has sent the specified character (or a timeout has occurred). The options may include: - NONE No handshake; undo the effect of any previous SET HANDSHAKE. XOFF Control-S. XON Control-Q. BELL Control-G. CR Carriage Return, Control-M. LF Linefeed, Control-J. ESC Escape, Control-[. 0Some Kermit programs may require the option to be specified by typing the character literally or entering its numeric ASCII value. If you use this command to enable handshaking, you should also SET FLOW NONE. -SET INCOMPLETE 0Syntax: SET INCOMPLETE $KEEP, DISCARD 0Specify what to do when a file transfer fails before it is completed. The options are DISCARD (the default) and KEEP. If you choose KEEP, then if a transfer fails to complete successfully, you will be able to keep the incomplete part that was received. -SET LINE 0Syntax: SET LINE [terminal-designator] 0Specify the terminal line to use for file transfer or CONNECT. This command is found on mainframe Kermits, which normally run in "remote mode" using their own controlling terminal for file transfer. Specifying a separate line puts the program in "local mode." If no line is specified, revert to the job's controlling terminal, i.e., go back to "remote mode." - - - - Kermit Commands -- Section 3 1Kermit File Transfer Package 51 - SET PORT 0Syntax: SET PORT terminal-designator 0Specify the communications port for file transfer or CONNECT. This command is found on microcomputer Kermits that run in "local" mode. SET PORT does not change the remote/local status but simply selects a different port for local operation. -SET PARITY 0Syntax: SET PARITY $EVEN, ODD, MARK, SPACE, NONE 0Parity is a technique used by communications equipment for detecting errors on a per-character basis; the "8th bit" of each character acts as a check bit for the other seven bits. Kermit uses block checks to detect errors on a per-packet basis, and it does not use character parity. However, some systems that Kermit runs on, or equipment through which these systems communicate, may be using character parity. If Kermit does not know about this, arriving data will have been modified and the block check will appear to be wrong, and packets will be rejected. 0If parity is being used on the communication line, you must inform both Kermits, so the desired parity can be added to outgoing characters, and stripped from incoming ones. SET PARITY should be used for communicating with hosts that require character parity (IBM mainframes are typical examples) or through devices or networks (like GTE TELENET) that add parity to characters that pass through them. Both Kermits should be set to the same parity. The specified parity is used both for terminal connection (CONNECT) and file transfer (SEND, RECEIVE, GET). 0The choices for SET PARITY are: 0 NONE (the default) eight data bits and no parity bit. MARK seven data bits with the parity bit set to one. SPACE seven data bits with the parity bit set to zero. EVEN seven data bits with the parity bit set to make the overall parity even. ODD seven data bits with the parity bit set to make the overall parity odd. 0NONE means no parity processing is done, and the 8th bit of each character can be used for data when transmitting binary files. 0If you have set parity to ODD, EVEN, MARK, or SPACE, then advanced versions of Kermit will request that binary files will be transferred using 8th-bit-prefixing. If the Kermit on the other side knows how to do 8th-bit-prefixing (this is an optional feature of the Kermit protocol, and not all implementations of Kermit have it), then binary files can be transmitted successfully. If NONE is specified, 8th-bit-prefixing will not be requested. 8th-bit-prefixing is slower, but necessary when parity is used. - - Section 3 -- Kermit Commands 152 Kermit File Transfer Package - SET PROMPT 0Syntax: SET PROMPT string 0This allows you to change the program's prompt. This is particularly useful if you are using Kermit to transfer files between two systems of the same kind, in which case you can change the prompts of the Kermit programs involved to include appropriate distinguishing information. -SET SEND 0Syntax: SET SEND parameter value 0Parameters for outgoing packets, as follows: 0END-OF-LINE character 0 The ASCII character to be used as a line terminator for outbound packets, if one is required by the other system, carriage return by default. You will only have to use this command for systems that require a line terminator other than carriage return. 0PACKET-LENGTH number 0 Maximum packet length to send between 10 and 94 (decimal). Shortening the packets might allow more of them to get through through without error on noisy communication lines. Lengthening the packets increases the throughput on clean lines. 0TIMEOUT number 0 How many seconds to wait for a packet before trying again. A value of zero means don't time out -- wait forever. 0PAUSE floating-point-number 0 How many seconds to pause before sending each data packet. Setting this to a non-zero value may allow a slow system enough time to consolidate itself before the next packet arrives. Normally, no per-packet pausing is done. 0PADDING number, PADCHAR character 0 How much padding to send before a packet, if the other side needs padding, and what character to use for padding. Defaults are no padding, and NUL (0) for the padding character. This command is also handy for inserting special characters that may be required by communications equipment. - - Kermit Commands -- Section 3 1Kermit File Transfer Package 53 - QUOTE character 0 What printable character to use for quoting of control characters, "#" (ASCII 43 decimal) by default. There should be no reason to change this. 0START-OF-PACKET character 0 The start-of-packet character is the only control character used "bare" by the Kermit protocol. It is Control-A (ASCII 1 or SOH) by default. If a bare Control-A causes problems for your communication hardware or software, you can use this command to select a different control character to mark the start of a packet. You must also issue the reciprocal command (SET RECEIVE START-OF-PACKET) to the Kermit on the other system (providing it has such a command). -SET RECEIVE 0Syntax: SET RECEIVE parameter value 0Parameters to request or expect for incoming packets, as follows: 0END-OF-LINE character 0 Carriage return (ASCII 13 decimal) by default. 0PACKET-LENGTH number 0 Maximum length packet for the other side to send, decimal number, between 10 and 94. 0TIMEOUT number 0 How many seconds the other Kermit should wait for a packet before asking for retransmission. 0PAUSE floating-point-number 0 How many seconds to pause before acknowledging a packet. Setting this to a non-zero value will slow down the rate at which data packets arrive, which may be necessary for systems that have "sensitive" front ends and cannot accept input at a high rate. 0PADDING number, PADCHAR character 0 How many padding characters to request before each incoming packet, and what the padding character should be. No Kermits are known to need padding; and if one did, it would request it without your having to tell it to do so. This command would only be necessary, therefore, under very unusual circumstances. - 0 Section 3 -- Kermit Commands 154 Kermit File Transfer Package - QUOTE character 0 What printable character to use for quoting of control characters, "#" (ASCII 43 decimal) by default. There should be no reason to change this. 0START-OF-PACKET character 0 The control character to mark the beginning of incoming packets. Normally SOH (Control-A, ASCII 1) (see SET SEND START-OF-PACKET, above). -SET RETRY 0Syntax: SET RETRY option number 0Set the maximum number of retries allowed for: 0INITIAL-CONNECTION 0 How many times to try establishing the initial protocol connection before giving up, normally something like 15. 0PACKETS 0 How many times to try sending a particular packet before giving up, normally 5. If a line is very noisy, you might want to increase this number. - - - - - - - - -Kermit Commands -- Section 3 1Kermit File Transfer Package 55 - 3.18. DEFINE 0Syntax: DEFINE macroname [set-parameters] 0Define a "SET macro" to allow convenient association of one or more SET parameters with a mnemonic keyword of your choice. The SET parameters are a list of one or more SET options, separated by commas. If you use Kermit to communicate with several different kinds of systems, you may set up a macro for each, for instance: 0 DEFINE IBM PARITY MARK, DUPLEX HALF, HANDSHAKE XON DEFINE UNIX PARITY NONE, DUPLEX FULL, HANDSHAKE NONE DEFINE TELENET PARITY MARK, RECEIVE TIMEOUT 20 0You may then type SET IBM, SET UNIX, and so forth to set all the desired parameters with a single command. It is convenient to include these definitions in your KERMIT.INI file. 0Another other handy use for SET macros would be for rapid adaptation to different conditions of line noise: 0 DEFINE CLEAN BLOCK-CHECK 1, SEND PACKET-LENGTH 94, RETRY PACKET 5 DEFINE NOISY BLOCK-CHECK 2, SEND PACKET-LENGTH 60, RETRY PACKET 10 DEFINE VERY-NOISY BLOCK 3, SEND PACKET 40, RETRY PACKET 20 0You may redefine an existing macro in the same manner as you defined it. You can undefine an existing macro by typing an empty DEFINE command for it, for instance: 0 DEFINE IBM 0You can list all your macros and their definitions with the SHOW MACROS command. Some Kermit programs allow macro definitions to include any Kermit command, not just SET commands. - - - - - - - Section 3 -- Kermit Commands 156 Kermit File Transfer Package - 3.19. SHOW 0Syntax: SHOW [option] 0The SHOW command displays the values of the parameters settable by the SET command. If a particular option is not requested, a complete display will be provided. - 3.20. STATISTICS 0Syntax: STATISTICS 0Give statistics about the most recent file transfer, such as the total number of characters transmitted, the effective speed, and so forth. - 3.21. LOG 0Syntax: LOG [option] [filespec] 0Log the specified entity to the specified log file. 0TRANSACTIONS Direct Kermit to log transactions, such as files successfully sent or received or files that could not be successfully sent or received. A transaction is useful recording the progress of a long, unattended multifile transfer. 0SESSION Create a transcript of a CONNECT session, when running a local Kermit connected to a remote system, in the specified file. The log is closed when connection is closed. In some implementations, logging can be "toggled" by typing the connect escape character followed by Q (Quit logging) or R (Resume logging) or similar single-character commands. Session-logging is useful for recording dialog with an interactive system, and for "capturing" from systems that don't have Kermit. No guarantee can be made that the file will arrive correctly or completely, since no error checking takes place. 0DEBUGGING Record debugging information in the specified file. There may be several options to select the desired information -- entire packets, state transitions, internal program trace, etc -- available via the SET DEBUGGING command. 0PACKETS Record packets, and all communication line traffic during file transfer, in the specified file. - - 0Kermit Commands -- Section 3 1Kermit File Transfer Package 57 - 3.22. TRANSMIT 0Syntax: TRANSMIT filespec 0Send the contents of the specified file to the other system "bare," without protocol, packets, error checking, or retransmission. This command is useful for sending standard logon or connection sequences, and for sending files to systems that don't have Kermit. No guarantee can be made that the target system will receive the file correctly and completely. When receiving a file, the target system would normally be running a text editor in text collection mode. - 3.23. INPUT 0Syntax: INPUT [interval] [string] 0Input characters from the remote system for the specified interval, looking for the specified string. Terminate when the string is found or when the interval has expired, whichever comes first. Useful for synchronizing with remote system prompts. - 3.24. OUTPUT 0Syntax: OUTPUT [string] 0Send the specified string to the remote system. Useful in conjunction with the INPUT command to form "login scripts." - 3.25. PAUSE 0Syntax: PAUSE [interval] 0Pause for the specified interval. Useful in login scripts. - 3.26. SCRIPT 0Syntax: SCRIPT [string] 0The string is a "login script" in some system- or implementation-dependent format, such as the UNIX(tm) UUCP "expect-send" format. - - - Section 3 -- Kermit Commands 158 Kermit File Transfer Package - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0Kermit Commands -- Section 3 1Kermit File Transfer Package 59 - 4. Kermit Implementations 0Kermit has been written for a wide variety of systems, both mainframes and microcomputers. Kermit is not written in a portable language; rather, each implementation is written in a language suited for the particular machine. The specification, given in the Kermit Protocol Manual (available from Columbia University), is quite general and allows implementation on almost any machine. 0Here's a brief table summarizing the known Kermit implementations, as of this writing. This list is constantly growing, and may be far out of date by the time you read it. To obtain information about implementations of Kermit that are not supported by the NIH Computer Center, but which are available on the DECsystem-10, login to the DECsystem-10 and issue the command "TYPE KER:READ.ME". 0Columbia University distributes many versions of Kermit for different machines through the BITNET Network. For information on how to use this facility, enter the Information EXCHANGE with the ENTER EXCHANGE command in WYLBUR and look at Entry ID R20, "BITNET Network Resources." This entry and any other ENTER EXCHANGE entries related to Kermit, may also be retrieved by specifying Kermit as a search word. Note that only the Kermit versions described in this manual are supported by the NIH Computer Center. - Versions for "Portable Operating Systems": OS; Language (Machines) 0 CP/M-80; ASM (Kaypro, H/Z-89, H/Z-100, Osborne, DEC VT180, many others) 0 CP/M-86; ASM86 (DEC Rainbow, NEC APC, others) 0 MS-DOS; MASM (IBM PC,XT,AT, DEC Rainbow, HP-150, NEC APC, others...) 0 MUMPS (PDP-11) 0 Software Tools; Ratfor (HP3000, Sperry-Univac 1100) 0 UCSD p-System; Pascal (IBM PC, Terak, HP98x6, Pascal Microengine) 0 UNIX v7,4.xBSD,Sys III/V,Venix,Xenix,PC/IX; C (VAX, PDP-11, SUN, many more) - - - - - Section 4 -- Kermit Implementation 160 Kermit File Transfer Package - Host Versions: Machine (OS; Language) 0 Burroughs B6800 (Algol) 0 Cray-1, Cray-XMP (CTSS; Fortran-77) 0 CDC Cyber 170 (NOS, NOS/BE; Fortran-77) 0 Data General Nova (RDOS; Fortran-5) 0 Data General Eclipse (AOS; Fortran-5), MV Series (AOS/VS; Pascal) 0 DEC PDP-11 (RT11, RSX11M(+), RSTS, P/OS, TSX+; Macro-11) 0 DEC VAX-11 (VMS; Bliss-32 or Macro-32 or Pascal/Fortran) 0 DECsystem-10 (TOPS-10; Bliss-36, Macro-10), DECsystem-20 (TOPS-20; Macro-20) 0 Harris 800 (VOS; Pascal) 0 Honeywell (MULTICS; PL/I), DPS-6,8 (GCOS; C) 0 Hewlett-Packard 1000 (RTE-6/VM; Fortran), HP3000 (MPE; SPL or Ratfor) 0 IBM 370 Series (VM/CMS, MVS/TSO, MVS/GUTS, MUSIC, MTS; Assembler) 0 Perkin Elmer 3200 Series (OS/32; Fortran) 0 PRIME (PRIMOS; PL/P) 0 Sperry/Univac-1100 (EXEC; Assembler or Ratfor or Pascal) 0 Tandem (Nonstop; TAL) - - - - - - - Kermit Implementation -- Section 4 1Kermit File Transfer Package 61 - PC Versions: Machine (OS; Language) 0 Alpha Micro 68000 (Assembler) 0 Apollo (Aegis; Fortran or Pascal) 0 Apple ][ 6502 (Apple DOS; DEC-10/20 CROSS or Apple Assembler) 0 Apple Macintosh (SUMACC C) 0 Atari (DOS; Action!) 0 Commodore 64 (DEC-10/20 CROSS or FORTH) 0 DEC Pro-300 Series (P/OS; Bliss-16 or Macro-11), (Pro/RT; Macro), (Venix; C) 0 Intel Development System (ISIS; PL/M) 0 Perq (Pascal) 0 TRS80 I, III, Model 4 (TRSDOS; ASM) 0 TRS-80 Color Computer (Radio Shack DOS) -The remainder of this manual is devoted to descriptions of Kermit implementations that are supported by the NIH Computer Center. - - - - - - - - - Section 4 -- Kermit Implementation 162 Kermit File Transfer Package - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0Kermit Implementation -- Section 4 1Kermit File Transfer Package 63 - 5. DECsystem-10 Kermit 0The DECsystem-10 version of Kermit was adapted by Nick Bush, Bob McQueen, and Antonio Mione at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ, from an earlier DECsystem-20 version. -Kermit-10 Capabilities At a Glance: 0 Local operation: Yes Remote operation: Yes Transfers text files: Yes Transfers binary files: Yes Wildcard send: Yes XX/XY interruption: Yes Filename collision avoidance: Yes Timeouts: Yes 8th-bit prefixing: Yes Repeat character compression: Yes Alternate block check types: Yes Communication settings: Yes Transmit BREAK: Yes IBM mainframe communication: Yes Transaction logging: Yes Session logging: Yes Debug logging: Yes Raw transmit: Yes Login scripts: Yes Act as server: Yes Talk to server: Yes Advanced commands for servers: Yes Local file management: Yes Command/init files: Yes Handle file attributes: No -Kermit-10 is a program that implements the Kermit file transfer protocol for the Digital Equipment Corporation DECsystem-10 mainframe computer. It is written in MACRO-10 assembly language and should run on any DECsystem-10 with version 4 of TOPS-10 or later. 0The Kermit-10 section will describe the things you should know about the DECsystem-10 file system in order to make effective use of Kermit, and then it will describe the special features of the Kermit-10 program. - - - - Section 5 -- DECsystem-10 Kermit 164 Kermit File Transfer Package - 5.1. The DECsystem-10 File System 0The features of the DECsystem-10 file system of greatest interest to Kermit users are the form of the file specifications, and the distinctions between text and binary files. -5.1.1. TOPS-10 File Specifications 0TOPS-10 file specifications are of the form 0 DEVICE:FILENAME.EXTENSION[DIRECTORY] 0Device may specify any valid generic, physical, logical, ersatz, or dummy device name. FILENAME may have any positive length, but only the first six characters will be used. EXTENSION may be any length, but only the first three characters will be used. When the EXTENSION is null, the dot may usually be omitted. DIRECTORY may be any valid UFD or SFD. The device, filename, and directory fields may contain upper case or lower case letters and numeric digits. There are no imbedded or trailing spaces. The fields of the file specification are set off from one another by the punctuation indicated above. 0The filename is the primary identifier for the file. The extension is an indicator which, by convention, tells what kind of file it is. For instance FOO.FOR is the source of a Fortran program named FOO; FOO.REL might be the relocatable object module produced by compiling FOO.FOR; FOO.EXE could an executable program produced by LOADing and SAVing FOO.REL, and so forth. 0FILENAME.EXTENSION is normally sufficient to specify a file, and only this information is sent along by Kermit-10 with an outgoing file. 0The directory name indicates the disk area in which the file is located. This will default to the user's current path unless he specifies a different directory name. A directory name is specified by [P,PN] immediately following the extension where P is a project number and PN is a programmer number. A directory may contain subdirectories. These are known as subfile directories (SFD's). If the directory [P,PN] has an SFD called ZZZ, the directory field is designated [P,PN,ZZZ]. 0The device field specifies a physical or "logical" device upon which the file is resident. The directory field indicates the area on the device, for instance the area belonging to the owner of the file. Kermit-10 does not transmit the device or directory fields to the target system, and does not attempt to honor device or directory fields that may appear in incoming file names; for instance, it will not create new directories. - - - 0DECsystem 10 Kermit -- Section 5 1Kermit File Transfer Package 65 - The DECsystem-10 allows a group of files to be specified in a single file specification by including the special "wildcard" characters, "*" and "?". A "*" matches any string of characters, including no characters at all; a "?" matches any single character. Because a "?" will be interpreted as a request for help, Kermit-10 uses a "%" as its single character wildcard. Here are some examples of Kermit-10 wildcards: 0 *.FOR All files of type FOR (all Fortran source files) in the current directory. 0 FOO.* Files of all types with name FOO. 0 F*.* All files whose names start with F. 0 %.* All files whose names are exactly one character long. -Wildcard notation is used on many computer systems in similar ways, and it is the mechanism most commonly used to instruct Kermit to send a group of files. -5.1.2. Text Files and Binary Files 0The DECsystem-10, like most computers, has a file system with its own peculiarities. Like many other systems, the DECsystem-10 makes a distinction between text files and binary files. Text files are generally those composed only of printing characters (letters, digits, and punctuation) and "carriage control" characters (carriage return, line feed, form feed, tab). Text files are designed to be read by people. Binary files are designed to be read by a computer program, or the computer itself, and may have any contents at all. If you use the DECsystem-10 TYPE command to display a text file on your terminal, the result will be intelligible. If you type a binary file on your terminal, you will probably see mainly gibberish. You can not tell a text file from a binary file just by its name, though in general files with extensions like .TXT, .DOC, .HLP are textual (as are "source files" for computer programs like text formatters and programming language compilers, e.g., .FOR .SAI .PAS .C), and files with types like .EXE, .REL, .BIN are binary. 0DECsystem-10 Kermit has three methods for transferring files: using 7-bit bytes, 8-bit bytes, and 36-bit bytes. By default it will use 7-bit bytes. This will cause all text transfers to be correct with the exception that each computer sometimes uses special characters in text files. On personal computers some word processors use 8-bit, non-printing characters to indicate underlining, etc. These files should be considered binary data files. They may be sent to the DECsystem-10 for transmission to a computer which has the same word processing software by following the rules for binary files given below. Such a file will be unreadable on the DECsystem-10. To make a word processor file readable on the DECsystem-10, the file must be converted to a "flat" ASCII file before transferring. Many word processors have an option to make the conversion. - - Section 5 -- DECsystem-10 Kermit 166 Kermit File Transfer Package - The DECsystem-10 commonly inserts NULs into text files. The length of each DECsystem-10 file is saved as a word count in the RIB (Retrieval Information Block). Because most text files do not contain an even multiple of five characters, the DECsystem-10 pads text files with NULs to fill in the last word. When downloading a file, Kermit-10 transmits the NULs. When a DECsystem-10 text file has SOS line numbers, they are aligned on word boundaries. SOS pads each line with NULs to fill in partial words as needed. Again, Kermit-10 will download the NULs. On a personal computer the NULs may or may not make a difference. For example, the DOS TYPE command turns NULs into spaces. When the NULs are at the end of a file they make no difference. When they pad lines for line numbers, they follow the carriage return/line feed that terminates each line and indent the following line. The EDLIN line editor makes the NULs visible, turning them to X@. 0In general, text files which are just being archived on a personal computer can be downloaded and uploaded without concern for embedded NULs. Text files which are to be used on the PC should be downloaded with line numbers stripped off. If the trailing NULs interface with the intended use of the text file, they can be removed easily with EDLIN or another editor/word processor. 0Deciding what byte size to use when transferring binary data is complicated by differences in computer word size. Most computers other than DECsystem-10s and 20s and Univacs store data in multiples of 8-bit bytes. The table below shows what byte size to use when transferring files to or from the DECsystem-10 and an 8-bit byte computer. To use the table, find the row corresponding to the source computer and the column corresponding to the destination computer. If you are using a computer merely to archive data, use the source computer as both source and destination in the table. For example, when saving executable files from a PC on the DECsystem-10 for later retrieval, both the source and destination are 8-bit computers and the file transfers, both to and from the DECsystem-10, should be done with FILE BYTE-SIZE set to 8. 0 FILE BYTE-SIZE FOR BINARY FILE TRANSFER 0 from \ to | DEC-10 | 8-bit | ----------+----------+---------+ DEC-10 | 7 | (1) | ----------+----------+---------+ 8-bit | (2) | 8 | ----------+----------+---------+ - - - - - DECsystem 10 Kermit -- Section 5 1Kermit File Transfer Package 67 - NOTES: 0 (1) Either 7 or 8-bit bytes may be used. In the former case, the arrangement of DECsystem-10 bits in 5 successive bytes will be as shown: 0 DECsystem-10 BITS IN 8-BIT BYTES 0 +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+ byte 1 | 0| 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| 6| | +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+ byte 2 | 7| 8| 9|10|11|12|13| | +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+ byte 3 |14|15|16|17|18|19|20| | +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+ byte 4 |21|22|23|24|25|26|27| | +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+ byte 5 |28|29|30|31|32|33|34|35| +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+ 0 If 8-bit bytes are used the first 32 bits (0-31) will fill 4 successive bytes and the last 4 bits (32-35) will be discarded. 0 (2) Use 8-bit bytes, understanding that 4 successive bytes will be stored as bits 0-31 in DECsystem-10 words. 0The 36-bit byte option is for DECsystem-10 to DECsystem-10 transfers, so it is not relevant at NIH. There is also a FILE BYTE-SIZE AUTOMATIC option; it often makes an incorrect decision between 7-bit as 8-bit byte transfers and should be avoided. -5.1.3. Files Kermit-10 Cannot Handle 0The Kermit protocol can only accommodate transfer of sequential files, files which are a linear sequence of bytes (or words). 0Some files on the DECsystem-10 are not sequential, and cannot be successfully sent or received by Kermit-10. These include directory files, files with holes (missing pages), ISAM files, and RMS files. These files require external information (kept in the DECsystem-10's RIB and/or index table) in order to be reconstructed; when sending files, Kermit-10 presently transmits only the file name and the contents of the file. External control information and file attributes are not transmitted. - - - - Section 5 -- DECsystem-10 Kermit 168 Kermit File Transfer Package - 5.2. Program Operation 0Note that in the examples which follow, the text entered by the user is underlined in order to distinguish it from computer generated messages and prompts. 0Kermit-10's prompt is "Kermit-10>". Kermit-10 will accept a single command on the Monitor command line, like this: - .Kermit send foo.bar + ___________________ 0 ;the file is sent - or you can run the program interactively to issue several commands, like this: - .Kermit + ______ 0 TOPS-10 Kermit version 3(133) 0 Kermit-10>send foo.* + __________ 0 ;files are sent 0 Kermit-10>stat + ____ 0 ;performance statistics are printed 0 Kermit-10>receive + _______ 0 ;files are received 0 Kermit-10>exit + ____ . -During interactive operation, you may use the help ("?") and recognition (ESC) features freely while typing commands. A question mark typed at any point in a command displays the options available at that point; typing an ESC character causes the current keyword to be completed (or default value to be supplied), and a "guide word" in parentheses to be typed, prompting you for the next field. If you have not typed sufficient characters to uniquely specify the keyword (or if there is no default value) then a beep will be sounded and you may continue typing. A XW will delete the last word typed, and a XU deletes the entire command. 0Command keywords may be abbreviated to the shortest length that sets them apart from any other keyword valid in that field. - 0DECsystem 10 Kermit -- Section 5 1Kermit File Transfer Package 69 - If you have a file called KERMIT.INI in your login directory, Kermit-10 will execute an automatic TAKE command on it upon initial startup. KERMIT.INI may contain any Kermit-10 commands, for instance SET commands, or DEFINEs for SET macros to configure Kermit-10 to various systems or communications media. The default settings of Kermit-10 will generally be correct for most file transfers. If, after reviewing the various SET commands, you find other parameters that you would usually set differently, they should be placed in a KERMIT.INI file. 0Kermit-10 provides most of the commands possible for an "ideal" Kermit program, as described in the main part of the Kermit File Transfer Package. The following sections will concentrate on system-dependent aspects of Kermit-10. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Section 5 -- DECsystem-10 Kermit 170 Kermit File Transfer Package - 5.3. Remote and Local Operation 0Kermit-10 normally runs in remote mode, with the user sitting at a PC. But Kermit-10 can also run in local mode. Local operation of Kermit-10 is useful if the DECsystem-10 has an autodialer, or a hardwired connection to another computer. Because the NIH DECsystem-10 has no facility for dialing out, Kermit-10 cannot be used in local mode here. Kermit-10 commands which are useful only for local mode have had their descriptions modified. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -DECsystem 10 Kermit -- Section 5 1Kermit File Transfer Package 71 - 5.4. Conditioning Your Job for Kermit 0Kermit-10 does as much as it can to condition your line for file transfer. It saves all your terminal and link settings, and restores them after use. However, there are some sources of interference over which Kermit-10 can have no control. In particular, incoming messages to your terminal may become mingled with Kermit packets and slow things down or stop them entirely. For this reason, before using Kermit-10 for any extended period, you may want to : 0 - Type the DECsystem-10 command, SET TERMINAL GAG 0 - Make sure you don't have any print or batch jobs pending that were submitted with the /NOTIFY option. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Section 5 -- DECsystem-10 Kermit 172 Kermit File Transfer Package - 5.5. Kermit-10 Commands 0This section describes the Kermit-10 commands -- in detail where they differ from the "ideal" Kermit, briefly where they coincide. Kermit-10 has the following commands: 0 BYE (This command is for local mode only) LOCAL CWD change DECsystem-10 working directory CONNECT (This command is for local mode only) DEFINE macros of Kermit-10 commands LOCAL DELETE delete DECsystem-10 files LOCAL DIR list directory of DECsystem-10 files LOCAL DISK-USAGE display statistics about DECsystem-10 disk utilization LOCAL ERASE delete DECsystem-10 files EXIT from Kermit-10 FINISH (This command is for local mode only) GET (This command is for local mode only) HELP about Kermit-10 LOCAL HELP about DECsystem-10 file management commands LOCAL prefix for DECsystem-10 file management commands LOG (This command is for local mode only) LOGOUT (This command is for local mode only) QUIT from Kermit-10 RECEIVE files from another Kermit REMOTE (This command is for local mode only) SEND files to another Kermit SERVER mode of remote operation SET various parameters LOCAL SET-PATH set path (same as LOCAL CWD) SHOW various parameters LOCAL SPACE display statistics about DECsystem-10 disk utilization STATUS statistics about most recent file transfer LOCAL STATUS statistics about most recent file transfer TAKE commands from a file LOCAL TYPE type a DECsystem-10 file 0Section 3.3 of this manual contains the notation conventions used in the syntax statements that follow. - - - - - -DECsystem 10 Kermit -- Section 5 1Kermit File Transfer Package 73 - 5.5.1. Commands for File Transfer 0Kermit-10 provides the standard SEND, RECEIVE, and GET commands for transferring files using the Kermit protocol. The STATUS command provides Kermit file transfer statistics. - The SEND Command 0Syntax: SEND filespec -The SEND command causes a file or file group to be sent from the DECsystem-10 to the other system. There are two forms of the command, depending on whether filespec contains wildcard characters ("*" or "%"). If filespec does not contain any wildcard characters, then the single file specified by filespec will be sent. If filespec contains wildcard characters then all matching files will be sent, in the order in which they are found in the directory. If a file can't be opened for read access, it will be skipped. 0Files will be sent with their DECsystem-10 filename and extension (for instance FOO.BAR, no device or directory field, and no protection attribute). If you expect to be sending files whose names contain characters that would be illegal in filenames on the target system, and you know that the Kermit on the target system does not have the ability to convert incoming filenames, you can issue the SET FILE NAMING NORMAL-FORM command to have Kermit-10 replace suspect characters with X's , and create a new file name and attempt to use that name. 0By default five 7-bit bytes will be sent from each word in the file, with the 8th bit of the 5th character set to the value of the remaining bit ("bit 35") from the word. For information on sending binary files, refer to Section 5.1.2. 0If communication line parity is being used (see SET PARITY), Kermit-10 will request that the other Kermit accept a special kind of prefix notation for binary files ("eight-bit quoting"). This is an advanced feature, and not all Kermits have it; if the other Kermit does not agree to use this feature, binary files cannot be sent correctly. This includes executable programs (like DECsystem-10 .EXE files, PC DOS .COM files), relocatable object modules (.REL files), as well as text files with line sequence numbers. 0Kermit-10 will also ask the other Kermit whether it can handle a special prefix encoding for repeated characters. If it can, then files with long strings of repeated characters will be transmitted very efficiently. Columnar data, highly indented text, and binary files are the major beneficiaries of this technique. - - - - Section 5 -- DECsystem-10 Kermit 174 Kermit File Transfer Package - The RECEIVE Command 0Syntax: RECEIVE [filespec] 0The RECEIVE command tells Kermit-10 to receive a file or file group from the other system. If only one file is being received, you may include the optional filespec as the name to store the incoming file under; otherwise, the name is taken from the incoming file header. If the name in the header is not a legal TOPS-10 file name, Kermit-10 will store it named in accordance with the FILE NAMING option in effect. 0If an incoming file has the same name as an existing file, Kermit-10 either creates a new file name with an extension of three numeric digits or overlays the existing file depending on whether or not FILE WARNING has been SET ON or OFF. 0Incoming files will all be stored with the prevailing bytesize, 7 by default, which is appropriate for text files. If you are asking Kermit-10 to receive binary files from a microcomputer or other 8-bit system, you must first type SET FILE BYTESIZE 8. Otherwise, the 8th bit of each byte will be lost and the file will be useless when sent back to the system of origin. 0If you have SET PARITY, then 8th-bit prefixing will be requested. If the other side cannot do this, binary files cannot be transferred correctly. In all cases, Kermit-10 will request the other Kermit to compress repeated characters; if the other side can do this (not all Kermits know how) there may be a significant improvement in transmission speed. 0If an incoming file does not arrive in its entirety, Kermit-10 will normally discard it; it will not appear in your directory. You may change this behavior by using the command SET INCOMPLETE KEEP, which will cause as much of the file as arrived to be saved in your directory. 0If a file arrives that you don't really want, you can attempt to cancel it by typing Control-X; this sends a cancellation request to the remote Kermit. If the remote Kermit understands this request (not all implementations of Kermit support this feature), it will comply; otherwise it will continue to send. If a file group is being sent, you can request the entire group be cancelled by typing Control-Z. - The GET Command 0Syntax: GET [remote-filespec] 0This command is for local mode only. - - -DECsystem 10 Kermit -- Section 5 1Kermit File Transfer Package 75 - The STATUS Command 0Syntax: STATUS 0Gives statistics about the file transfers for the entire session and the most recent file transfer. The following example shows the steps required to transfer a small binary file to the DECsystem-10 and display the statistics for the transfer. The example shows the effect of SET FILE BYTE-SIZE 8, the RECEIVE command, and the STAT command output. -Kermit-10>SET FILE BYTE-SIZE 8 + ____________________ Kermit-10>RECEIVE + _______ 0Kermit-10>STAT + ____ 0Totals since Kermit was started Total transfer time 0:01:13.900 (73.900 seconds) Characters sent 360 Characters received 3876 Data characters sent 0 Data characters received 3048 NAKs sent 1 NAKs received 0 Total packets sent 56 Total packets received 56 Effective data rate: 411 baud 0Totals for the last transfer Last transfer time 0:00:34.100 (34.100 seconds) Characters sent 177 Characters received 1938 Data characters sent 0 Data characters received 1524 NAKs sent 0 NAKs received 0 Effective data rate: 448 baud 0Kermit-10>EXIT + ____ - - - - - 0 Section 5 -- DECsystem-10 Kermit 176 Kermit File Transfer Package - 5.5.2. Server Operation - The SERVER Command 0Syntax: SERVER 0The SERVER command puts a remote Kermit-10 in "server mode," so that it receives all further commands in packets from the local Kermit. The Kermit-10 server is capable of executing the following remote server commands: SEND, GET, FINISH, BYE, REMOTE DIRECTORY, REMOTE CWD, REMOTE SPACE, REMOTE DELETE, REMOTE TYPE, REMOTE HELP, and REMOTE STATUS. 0Any non-standard parameters should be selected with SET commands before putting Kermit-10 into server mode, in particular the file bytesize. The DECsystem-10 Kermit server will send most files in the correct manner with its default setting FILE BYTESIZE 7. However, if you need to ask the DECsystem-10 Kermit server to receive binary files from an 8-bit-byte system (that is, from almost any system that's not a DECsystem-10 or DECsystem-20) you must issue the SET FILE BYTESIZE 8 command before putting it into server mode, and then you must only send 8-bit binary files. You cannot send a mixture of text files and 8-bit binary files to a Kermit-10 server except for archiving them on a DECsystem-10. - - - - - - - - - - - DECsystem 10 Kermit -- Section 5 1Kermit File Transfer Package 77 - 5.5.3. Commands for Local File Management 0Syntax: LOCAL command 0Execute the specified command on the local system -- on the DECsystem-10 where Kermit-10 is running. These commands provide some local file management capability without having to leave the Kermit-10 program. These commands can be used on a remote Kermit as long as that Kermit is running interactively, i.e., not in server mode. 0CWD [directory] or SET-PATH [directory] Change working directory, or, in DECsystem-10 terminology, define the path to the specified directory. 0DELETE filespec or ERASE [filespec] Delete the specified file or files. 0DIRECTORY [filespec] Provide a directory listing of the specified files. 0SPACE or DISK-USAGE [directory] Show how much space is used in the specified directory. If no directory is given, data for the current directory are shown. 0TYPE filespec Display the contents of the specified file or files at your terminal. This works like the DECsystem-10 TYPE command, except that if a file has a bytesize of 8, Kermit-10 will do 8-bit input from it if you have SET FILE BYTESIZE 8. Also, the DECsystem-10 Control-O command discards output only from the file currently being displayed; if multiple files are being typed, then output will resume with the next file. 0HELP List these commands. 0STATUS Displays statistics about file transfers for the session. The STATUS command, used without the "LOCAL" prefix, displays statistics about the most recent file transfer as well as all the file transfers for the session. - - - - - Section 5 -- DECsystem-10 Kermit 178 Kermit File Transfer Package - 5.5.4. The SET, SHOW, and DEFINE Commands 0SET is used for establishing or changing parameters, DEFINE lets you group several SET commands together into a single "macro" command, and SHOW lets you examine current settings or macro definitions. - The SET Command 0Syntax: SET parameter option value 0Establish or modify various parameters for file transfer or terminal connection. You can examine their values with the SHOW command. The following parameters may be SET: 0 BLOCK-CHECK Packet transmission error detection method DEBUG (This command is for LOCAL mode only) DELAY How long to wait before starting to send ESCAPE (This command is for LOCAL mode only) FILE For setting file parameters like byte size IBM (This command is for LOCAL mode only) INCOMPLETE What to do with an incomplete file LINE (This command is for LOCAL mode only) LOCAL-ECHO (This command is for LOCAL mode only) MESSAGE (This command is for LOCAL mode only) PARITY Character parity to use PROMPT Change KERMIT's prompt RECEIVE Various parameters for receiving files REPEAT Character for repeat sequences RETRY How many times to retry a packet before quitting SEND Various parameters for sending files 0The DEFINE command may be used to compose "macros" by combining SET commands. Those SET commands which differ from the "ideal" Kermit are now described in detail. - SET DEBUG 0Syntax: SET DEBUG options 0This command is for local mode only. -SET ESCAPE 0Syntax: SET ESCAPE octal-number 0This command is for local mode only. - -DECsystem 10 Kermit -- Section 5 1Kermit File Transfer Package 79 - SET FILE 0Syntax: SET FILE parameter keyword 0Establish file-related parameters: 0BYTESIZE keyword or number 0 Byte size for DECsystem-10 file input/output. The choices are SEVEN (7), EIGHT (8), THIRTY-SIX (36), and AUTO. 0 SEVEN (or 7) Always store or retrieve five 7-bit bytes per word. When sending a file, ignore the file bytesize and do 7-bit input from the file. This insures transmission of all 36 bits. The default is SEVEN. 0 EIGHT (or 8) Always store or retrieve four 8-bit bytes per word. When sending a file, ignore the file bytesize and do 8-bit input from the file. This command is necessary when receiving and returning binary files from/to 8-bit-byte systems, such as most microcomputers. 0 THIRTY-SIX (or 36) Always store or retrieve five 7-bit bytes per word. When sending a file, ignore the file bytesize and do 7-bit input from the file. This insures transmission of all 36 bits. 0 AUTO Equivalent to SEVEN for incoming files, and SEVEN or EIGHT depending on the mode for outgoing. 0 The DECsystem-10 will frequently use the wrong byte-size when set to AUTO. Refer to Section 5.1.2 for proper settings for various transfers. -NAMING UNTRANSLATED or NORMAL-FORM 0 If NORMAL-FORM, the names of incoming or outgoing files will be converted to contain only uppercase letters, digits, and at most one period; any other characters will be replaced by 'X'. If UNTRANSLATED, filenames will be sent and used literally. UNTRANSLATED is the default. -SET LINE 0Syntax: SET LINE [octal-number] 0This command is for local mode only. - - Section 5 -- DECsystem-10 Kermit 180 Kermit File Transfer Package - SET LOCAL-ECHO 0Syntax: SET LOCAL-ECHO ON or OFF 0This command is for local mode only. -SET MESSAGE 0Syntax: SET MESSAGE type 0This command is for local mode only. -SET RECEIVE 0Syntax: SET RECEIVE parameter value 0In addition to the full complement of SET RECEIVE commands described in the main part of the Kermit File Transfer Package, you may also SET RECEIVE TIMEOUT to a value between 0 and 94. This specifies the number of seconds between timeouts during server command wait, 0 specifies that no timeouts should occur during server command wait. When a Kermit server times out, it sends a NAK packet. Some systems cannot clear piled-up NAKs from their input buffers; if you're using such a system to communicate with a Kermit-10 server, and you expect to be leaving the server idle for long periods of time, you should use this command to turn off server command-wait timeouts. -SET REPEAT 0Syntax: SET REPEAT value 0This command sets the character to be used as the lead-in character for a repeat sequence (a string of characters which represents some number of characters which are repeated in the data). Both Kermits must support repeat compression for this to be in effect. The character set by this command must be in the range 41 ("1") to 76 (">") or 140 ("\") to 176 ("~"). The character will only be used on files which are being transmitted by Kermit-10. The repeat character used for incoming files is determined by the other Kermit. The default value is 176 ("~"). A value of 40 (a space) will disable repeat compression. 0 Kermit-10>SET REPEAT nnn + ______________ 0Where nnn is the ASCII value for the repeat quoting character in octal. - - - 0DECsystem 10 Kermit -- Section 5 1Kermit File Transfer Package 81 - The DEFINE Command 0Syntax: DEFINE macroname [set-option [, set-option [...]]] 0The DEFINE command is available in Kermit-10 for building "macros" of SET commands. The macro name can be any keyword-style character string, and the set options are anything you would type after SET in a SET command; several set options may be strung together, separated by commas. Example: 0 define notimeout send timeout 0, receive timeout 0, receive server 0 0Macro definitions may not include macro names. You can list all your macros and their definitions with the SHOW MACROS command. - The SHOW Command 0Syntax: SHOW [option] 0The SHOW command displays various information: 0DAYTIME Current date, and time. 0DEBUGGING Debugging mode in effect, if any. 0FILE-INFO Byte size for DECsystem-10 file I/O, incomplete file disposition. 0LINE-INFO TTY line, parity, local-echo, handshake, escape character, speed (if known), and session logging information. 0MACROS Definitions for SET macros. 0PACKET-INFO For incoming and outbound packets. Items under RECEIVE column show parameters for packets Kermit-10 expects to receive, under SEND shows parameters for outgoing packets. 0TIMING-INFO Delays, retries, server NAK intervals. 0VERSION Program version of Kermit-10. This is also displayed when Kermit-10 is initially started. 0ALL (default) All of the above. - - - - Section 5 -- DECsystem-10 Kermit 182 Kermit File Transfer Package - The following example shows the default settings as displayed via the SHOW command. 0Kermit-10> SHOW + ____ TOPS-10 Kermit version 3(133) 2-Apr-86 21:56:36 0Line being used is TTY14: (DOC(43):: line # 10) Handshake: X? Parity: none Local echo: off Escape: XY XON-XOFF-processing: default 0File type is 7-bit File naming: Normal form file specifications File warning is off Disposition for incomplete received files: Discard 0File specification type out is on Packet number type out is off Debugging is off 0Packet parameters: Receive Send Size: 80 80 chars Padding: 0 0 Pad Character: X@ X@ End-Of-Line: XM XM Control Quote: # # Start-of-Packet: XA XA 0 8th-bit Quote character & Repeat Quote character ~ Block check type is 3 character CRC-CCITT 0Timing parameters: Receive Send Time out: 15 15 secs 0 Delay before sending first packet: 5 secs Packet retries before timeout: 16 Number of retries for initial packet: 5 Server NAKs every 75 seconds while waiting for commands - No defined macros - - - DECsystem 10 Kermit -- Section 5 1Kermit File Transfer Package 83 - 5.5.5. Program Management Commands - The TAKE Command 0Syntax: TAKE filespec 0Execute Kermit-10 commands from the specified file. The file may contain contain any valid Kermit-10 commands, including other TAKE commands; command files may be nested up to a depth of 20. Default file type for the command file is .CMD. - The HELP Command 0Syntax: HELP [topic [subtopic]] 0Typing HELP alone prints a brief summary of Kermit-10 and its commands. You can also type 0 HELP command 0for any Kermit-10 command, e.g., "help send" or "help set parity" to get more detailed information about a specific command. - The EXIT and QUIT Commands 0Syntax: EXIT or QUIT 0Exit from Kermit-10. You can CONTINUE the program from the MONITOR, provided you haven't run another program on top of it. You can also exit from Kermit-10 by typing one or more control-C's, even if it's in the middle of transferring a file. Kermit-10 will always restore your terminal to its original condition, and you will be able to CONTINUE the program to get back to "Kermit-10>" command level with current settings intact. 0QUIT is a synonym for EXIT. - The LOG Command 0Syntax: LOG [option [filespec]] 0This command is for local mode only. - - - Section 5 -- DECsystem-10 Kermit 184 Kermit File Transfer Package - 5.6. Raw Download 0This facility is for local mode only. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0DECsystem 10 Kermit -- Section 5 1Kermit File Transfer Package 85 - 5.7. Kermit-10 Examples 0Here are a few examples of the use of Kermit-10. Text entered by the user is underlined. - Remote Operation 0The following example shows use of Kermit-10 as a server from an IBM PC. In this example, the user runs Kermit on the PC, connects to the DECsystem-10, and starts Kermit-10 in server mode. From that point on, the user need never connect to the DECsystem-10 again. In this example, the user gets a file from the DECsystem-10, works on it locally at the PC, and then sends the results back to the DECsystem-10. Note that the user can leave and restart Kermit on the PC as often as desired. 0 A>______ + kermit Kermit-MS>connect + _______ . .k_____ + _ermit TOPS-10 Kermit version 3(133) 0 Kermit-10>server + ______ 0 [Kermit Server running on DECsystem-10 host. Please type your escape sequence to return to your local machine. Shut down the server by typing the Kermit BYE command on your local machine.] 0 X]C + ___ Kermit-MS>get foo.txt + ___________ 0 ;The transfer takes place. 0 Kermit-MS>exit + ____ A> A>edit foo.txt ; (or whatever...) + ____________ A> A>k_____ + _ermit Kermit-MS>send foo.txt + ____________ 0 ;The transfer takes place. 0 Kermit-MS>bye + ___ A> - - - - Section 5 -- DECsystem-10 Kermit 186 Kermit File Transfer Package - The next example shows the special procedure you would have to use in order to send a mixture of text and binary files from a PC (or an 8-bit-byte system) to the DECsystem-10. Note that in this case, it's more convenient to avoid server mode. 0 Kermit-MS>connect + _______ . .k_____ + _ermit TOPS-10 Kermit version 3(133) 0 Kermit-10>receive + _______ X]C + ___ Kermit-MS>send *.txt + __________ 0 ;Textual files are sent. 0 Kermit-MS>connect + _______ Kermit-10>set file bytesize 8 + ___________________ Kermit-10>receive + _______ X]C + ___ Kermit-MS>send *.exe + __________ 0 ;Binary files are sent. 0 Kermit-MS>connect + _______ Kermit-10>exit + ____ .logout + ______ X]C + ___ Kermit-MS>exit + ____ A> - - - - - - - - 0DECsystem 10 Kermit -- Section 5 1Kermit File Transfer Package 87 - 6. TSO Kermit 0TSO Kermit Capabilities At a Glance: 0 Local operation: No Remote operation: Yes Transfers text files: Yes Transfers binary files: Yes Wildcard send: Yes XX/XY interruption: Yes Filename collision avoidance: No Timeouts: Yes 8th-bit prefixing: Yes Repeat character compression: Yes Alternate block check types: Yes Communication settings: No Transmit BREAK: No IBM mainframe communication: Yes Transaction logging: No Session logging: No Debug logging: Yes Raw transmit: No Login scripts: No Act as server: Yes Talk to server: No Advanced commands for servers: No Local file management: Yes Command/init files: Yes Handle file attributes: No 0KERMIT is a set of programs that transfers files between computers over normal terminal communication lines. Originally designed to be used between a microcomputer and the DEC-20 mainframe, the protocol will also transfer files between a microcomputer and an IBM mainframe system running under MVS/TSO. This version, called TSO Kermit, was developed at NIH based upon the University of Chicago TSO version, which was in turn based upon a VM/CMS version from Columbia University. 0KERMIT transfers data by creating packets with information regarding the type of packet being sent, its length, a packet number, and a checksum to determine whether the data has been modified during transmission. If a packet is lost or garbled, Kermit will attempt to resend it. 0MVS/TSO stores files as records rather than byte streams. MVS/TSO Kermit has to assemble incoming data packets into records and strip CRLFs (carriage return/line feed characters) from incoming lines, and also append CRLFs to outgoing records. 0You must be emulating an ASCII terminal (rather than a 3270) with your microcomputer to run TSO Kermit. Kermits that do not support 8th-bit-quoting cannot do binary file transfers with TSO Kermit. - 0 Section 6 -- TSO Kermit 188 Kermit File Transfer Package - 6.1. The IBM MVS File System 0Since TSO Kermit runs under TSO, the user must be aware of the MVS TSO data set naming conventions. Since data set names are specified differently in MVS than in MS-DOS or APPLE-DOS, care should be exercised in selecting the names for data sets on the target system when data sets are being transmitted between two unlike file systems. The following discussion is to help with this planning process on the TSO Kermit side. 0Data sets on the online storage volumes are distinguished from one another by associating with each data set a unique name, known as the data set name or "dsname." All data set names on the online storage volumes begin with a prefix containing the user's account number, followed by the user's initials and a period. TSO automatically attaches this prefix to the data set name specified by the user. Thus, if the user's account is AAAA and initials are III, a data set named PROGRAM will be stored by TSO as AAAAIII.PROGRAM. Such a completely specified data set name is referred to as "fully qualified." Normally, fully qualified data set names are not used in TSO Kermit unless it is necessary to refer to another user's data set. 0The SET PREFIX command may be used to specify a data set name prefix to be used as the first part of all the data set names for the duration of the TSO Kermit session (e.g., if the prefix is "TASK1." then the fully qualified data set name will start with "AAAAIII.TASK1."). The prefix may be overridden by enclosing the data set name in quotes. 0Data set names may be up to 44 characters long, but the user selected portion of the dsname is limited to 36 characters unless it is fully qualified, since the first eight characters are reserved for the account-initials prefix. Unless otherwise stated, the term "dsname" will refer to the data set name without the prefix. Alphanumeric characters (letters and digits), national characters (@, $, #), and the special characters period (.) and hyphen (-) are the only characters allowed to form a dsname. 0All data sets used with TSO Kermit must be cataloged. The first character of the dsname and the first character following a period in a dsname must be an alphabetic or national (@, $, #) character, and periods must be used to divide the name into groups of eight or fewer characters (not counting the periods). The data set name is divided by the periods into levels. A data set cannot be cataloged if there is already a data set cataloged with a name that is the same through one of the levels. For example, if AAAAIII.MEMO.COSTS is the name of a cataloged data set, it is valid to catalog a data set named AAAAIII.MEMO.FINANCE, but it is invalid to catalog AAAAIII.MEMO.COSTS.FINAL. The reverse is also true. For example, if a data set named AAAAIII.DATA.JULY is cataloged, the data set AAAAIII.DATA cannot be cataloged, while the data set AAAAIII.DAT can be cataloged. 0For data sets which have been created and not cataloged, the user may use the TSO or WYLBUR CATALOG command to catalog the data set. 0TSO Kermit supports a full range of MVS RECFM (record format), LRECL (logical record length), and BLKSIZE (block size) options. Note that the default format - TSO Kermit -- Section 6 1Kermit File Transfer Package 89 - for text data sets uploaded using TSO Kermit is WYLBUR edit format. The user may specify which volume the file will be saved and catalogued on by using the TSO Kermit SET VOLUME command. If no volume is set, TSO Kermit will select any available TMP volume. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Section 6 -- TSO Kermit 190 Kermit File Transfer Package - 6.2. Program Operation 0TSO Kermit is run interactively under TSO. In the examples that follow, user input is underlined (to distinguish it from prompts, etc.). Enter + __________ 0KERMIT +______ 0in order to commence a TSO Kermit session, or alternatively, 0KERMIT <command> +________________ 0in order to initiate a TSO Kermit session and execute a TSO Kermit command. 0When TSO Kermit is communicating with the terminal directly it can be recognized by its prompt: 0KERMIT-TSO> 0The following example shows the default environment set up by TSO Kermit when it is initially invoked from TSO. The default parameter settings may be displayed at any time during your Kermit session by issuing the SHOW command. For example, 0KERMIT-TSO> SHOW + ____ 0Data Set Attributes Protocol Attributes DATA: Text DELAY (after SEND): 20 seconds EDIT (WYLBUR edit format data set): on TIMER (Timeout interval): on (8 seconds) NUMBERED (line nos.): off BLOCK (Block check type): 3 (CRC) TABS: off PACKET (Receive packet size): 94 RECFM (Record format): VB CQUOTE (Control quote character): # LRECL (Logical record length): 504 BQUOTE (Binary quote character): & BLKSIZE (Block size): 6356 RQUOTE (Repeat quote character): ~ SPACE (Space allocation): 5 tracks SOH (Start of Header): 1 (SOH,XA) VOLUME: TMP SEOL (Send End-of-line): 13 (CR,XM) PREFIX: No prefix REOL (Receive End-of-line): 13 (CR,XM) DEBUG: off 0Values displayed by the SHOW command may be modified by the TSO Kermit SET command. 0KERMIT-TSO> SET <parameter> <value> + _______________________ - - - - 0TSO Kermit -- Section 6 1Kermit File Transfer Package 91 - In the example that follows, note that initially TSO Kermit is set up for text (rather than binary) data sets, with WYLBUR edit format as the default. Since data sets stored in WYLBUR edit format are compressed, they will appear very strange if listed with the TSO LIST command or processed by any other program that does not support edit format. 0TSO Kermit provides the user with the option of executing most TSO commands without exiting from TSO Kermit by simply prefixing the command with the characters TSO. For example, 0KERMIT-TSO> TSO LISTC + _________ 0The TSO LISTC command will list all the data set names in the catalog under the account and initials for the TSO session. 0If the user has a standard sequence of commands to be issued each time TSO Kermit is run, these commands may be saved in a data set and automatically executed by TSO Kermit. KERMIT.PROFILE.CLIST is the name of the "profile" data set which is executed automatically by TSO Kermit if it exists. Note: This data set must not be in WYLBUR edit format. 0Since it would be inconvenient to frequently logoff TSO and logon to WYLBUR, users have the ability to execute WYLBUR under TSO. This means that Kermit users can avail themselves of the facilities of TSO Kermit and still have the capabilities of WYLBUR at their disposal as follows: 0KERMIT-TSO> TSO ______ + ____WYLBUR 0As soon as WYLBUR is invoked, the prompt changes to the familiar WYLBUR prompt: 0? 0At this point the user may enter WYLBUR commands and use WYLBUR to process data received by Kermit or to do anything else. When finished, the user simply uses the WYLBUR END command to return to the Kermit prompt: 0KERMIT-TSO> 0Likewise, it is possible to invoke TSO Kermit from within WYLBUR under TSO by using the WYLBUR TSO command. The example that follows illustrates the above capabilities, and shows the desired method for transmitting a file from a microcomputer to the IBM System 370 and from the IBM System 370 to a microcomputer. - - - - Section 6 -- TSO Kermit 192 Kermit File Transfer Package - The following dialing procedure assumes you have started Kermit on the microcomputer and are using a Hayes compatible modem. 0___________ +ATDT4922223 CONNECT logon +_____ INITIALS? iii + ___ ACCOUNT? aaaa + ____ KEYWORD? kkk + ___ TERMINAL? none + ____ BOX? nnn + ___ AAAAIII LOGON IN PROGRESS AT 11:26:19 ON JUNE 11, 1986 NIH/DCRT/CCB TSO TSO LINE 13B READY kermit +______ NIH TSO KERMIT VERSION 1.0 KERMIT-TSO> 0Prior to transmitting the file from the microcomputer, the user must assure that no file naming conflict exists on the IBM System 370. In this example, a currently existing version of the file to be transferred, TREE.TXT, must be deleted on the host prior to initiating the transfer. The TSO DELETE command is issued. 0KERMIT-TSO> tso delete tree.txt + ___________________ 0ENTRY (A) AAAAIII.TREE.TXT DELETED 0The only TSO Kermit command required is a SERVER command which puts TSO Kermit into a state to process commands issued from the microcomputer. 0KERMIT-TSO> server + ______ Now entering SERVER mode - type FINISH or LOGOUT on micro to halt SERVER 0At this point, TSO Kermit is in server mode and is waiting for the commands from the remote Kermit. - - - - - - TSO Kermit -- Section 6 1Kermit File Transfer Package 93 - Now we must issue commands to KERMIT on the microcomputer (this example assumes an IBM PC running MS-DOS Kermit), without breaking the connection with TSO Kermit. We do this by issuing the escape sequence: 0___ +X]C 0The notation above means: press and hold the Ctrl Key, then press the right bracket, release both keys and press the 'C' key. 0This results in the microcomputer Kermit issuing its prompt: 0Kermit-MS> send tree.txt + _____________ 0Issuing the SEND command starts up transfer of the PC-DOS file TREE.TXT from the microcomputer to TSO. During the transfer, statistics are displayed at the microcomputer terminal until the transfer completes, and the normal Kermit command prompt is re-displayed: 0Kermit-MS> get log.dat + ___________ 0Issuing the GET command starts up transfer of the data set LOG.DAT from TSO to the microcomputer. During the transfer, statistics are displayed at the microcomputer terminal until the transfer completes, and the normal Kermit command prompt is re-displayed: 0Kermit-MS> finish + ______ 0After the file LOG.DAT has been transferred to the PC, issuing the FINISH command terminates server mode on TSO Kermit. At this point Kermit is still running on both the PC and TSO and the user has the option of issuing a CONNECT command, terminating TSO Kermit, and logging off, or continuing the TSO Kermit session. 0Kermit-MS> connect + _______ 0After receiving the TSO Kermit prompt, issue the QUIT command to return to the TSO prompt and then LOGOFF normally. 0KERMIT-TSO> quit + ____ READY ______ +logoff 0Type the escape sequence to get back to the KERMIT prompt on the PC, and then issue a QUIT command to return to the DOS prompt. 0X]C +___ Kermit-MS> quit + ____ A> - - 0 Section 6 -- TSO Kermit 194 Kermit File Transfer Package - 6.2.1. Starting TSO Kermit 0After the TSO session has been started, the KERMIT command is used to invoke Kermit. The user can simply type the KERMIT command, or can invoke TSO Kermit and execute a specified command in one step by following KERMIT with a valid TSO Kermit command. 0KERMIT 0 or 0KERMIT <TSO Kermit command> 0For example: 0KERMIT SERVER (to initiate Kermit in server mode) or KERMIT EXEC xxx (where xxx is the name of a TSO CLIST containing Kermit commands) - - - - - - - - - - - - 0TSO Kermit -- Section 6 1Kermit File Transfer Package 95 - 6.2.2. TSO Kermit Commands 0TSO Kermit includes the following commands. Refer to the detailed explanation of each command as necessary. 0Command Function +_______ ________ 0END Terminate TSO Kermit and return to TSO (a synonym for EXIT and QUIT) 0EXEC Execute TSO Kermit commands from a CLIST data set 0EXIT Terminate TSO Kermit and return to TSO (a synonym for END and QUIT) 0FINISH Terminate server mode for file transfer (normally issued to the local Kermit, but accepted by TSO Kermit as well) 0HELP Tell how to display list of Kermit commands or command operands 0KERMIT Used in CLISTs to prefix Kermit SET commands to distinguish Kermit SET from TSO SET commands 0QUIT Terminate TSO Kermit and return to TSO (a synonym for END and EXIT) 0RECEIVE Put TSO Kermit in RECEIVE mode for incoming files 0RESET Reset initial default Kermit parameter settings 0SET Change data and protocol options 0SEND Start transmission of a file or files 0SERVER Put TSO Kermit into server mode for file transfer 0SHOW Display data and protocol parameter settings 0STATUS Display status information for last file transfer 0STOP Abort a RECEIVE or SEND command 0TSO Invoke TSO commands under TSO Kermit 0? Display a list of TSO Kermit commands 0TSO Kermit commands may be abbreviated as follows: 0END (E); EXEC (X, EX, EXEC, XEQ); RECEIVE (REC); SHOW (SH); STATUS (STAT) - - - Section 6 -- TSO Kermit 196 Kermit File Transfer Package - 6.3. Conditioning Your Session for Kermit 0Prior to communicating with TSO Kermit, a remote Kermit must establish the appropriate protocol parameters for IBM MVS TSO. 0Do not use SET IBM or DO IBM commands on those Kermits that have these commands as they are usually intended for use with the IBM VM/CMS system, rather than TSO. The following discussion tells you what parameters must be set and the values to use. 0Parameters that must be SET on the microcomputer Kermit for communication with WYLBUR or TSO. 0APPLE ][ Kermit IBM PC Kermit "IDEAL" Kermit -------------------- ------------------------- -------------------- FLOW-CONTROL NONE FLOW-CONTROL NONE HANDSHAKE NONE HANDSHAKE NONE LOCAL-ECHO ON LOCAL-ECHO ON DUPLEX HALF PARITY EVEN PARITY EVEN PARITY EVEN BAUD-RATE as desired SPEED as desired BAUD-RATE as desired LINEFEED OFF TERMINAL NEWLINE-MODE OFF EIGHT-BIT-QUOTING ON -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0NIH provides an MSKERMIT.INI file for MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM PC that defines a DO TSO command that will set appropriate options for TSO. MS-DOS Kermit automatically executes the commands in this file each time Kermit is started, but the user must manually issue the DO TSO command unless it has been added to the MSKERMIT.INI file. 0TSO Kermit does as much as it can to condition your session for file transfer. It sets common defaults for data and protocol settings. In addition, TSO Kermit can be set up to automatically establish data and protocol settings different from the defaults if the user so desires. This is done by executing a PROFILE of commands stored in a data set when TSO Kermit is initiated. This is how it works: the user creates a cataloged data set named KERMIT.PROFILE.CLIST. This data set must have line numbers in the last 8 columns if it is RECFM=FB, or in columns 1/8 if it is RECFM=VB (it may not be WYLBUR edit format). You may store any TSO Kermit COMMANDS you wish in this data set and they will be automatically executed every time you execute Kermit under TSO. 0Note that the KERMIT command is specifically provided under TSO Kermit to allow users to specify that, in a CLIST, SET commands prefixed with Kermit are to be treated as Kermit SET commands instead of TSO CLIST SET commands. - - - -TSO Kermit -- Section 6 1Kermit File Transfer Package 97 - 6.4. TSO Kermit Commands 06.4.1. Server Operation 0The SERVER command puts a remote TSO Kermit in "server mode," so that it receives all further commands in packets from the microcomputer Kermit. The TSO Kermit server is capable (as of this writing) of executing the following remote server commands: 0 GET remote-filespec 0 Transfer the TSO file(s) named in remote-filespec to the microcomputer. 0 SEND filespec1 [filespec2] 0 Transfer the microcomputer file(s) named in filespec1 to TSO. If filespec1 is a single file, filespec2 can be used to override filespec1 as the data set named used by TSO. 0 FINISH Terminates server mode and returns the microcomputer to the Kermit prompt. 0 LOGOUT Terminates server mode, terminates TSO session on the host, and returns the microcomputer to the Kermit prompt. 0 BYE Terminates server mode, terminates the TSO session on the host, terminates Kermit on the microcomputer, and returns the microcomputer to the DOS prompt. 0Any non-standard parameters should be selected with SET commands before putting TSO Kermit into server mode. If you forget to do this, issue the FINISH command to the local Kermit to exit server mode, issue the appropriate SET commands, then issue the SERVER command to get back into server mode. The principal use of the SERVER command and server mode of TSO Kermit is to simplify the commands that must be issued to effect file transfers. When finished with the server mode, the user must issue the FINISH, BYE, or LOGOUT command to the microcomputer Kermit to terminate server mode on the TSO Kermit side. After placing TSO Kermit in server mode, type the escape sequence (Control-] C for MS-DOS Kermit) and then issue GET or SEND commands from the microcomputer Kermit. Server mode simplifies the file transfer process in that you do not have to constantly issue the Kermit escape sequence and CONNECT commands to switch which Kermit you are giving commands to. When TSO KERMIT is operating in server mode, it receives its commands from the microcomputer Kermit. 0TSO Kermit will respond to FINISH entered in terminal mode, as well as a command to the microcomputer; this is especially useful if the microcomputer Kermit does not support server mode. 0TSO Kermit supports file transfer of members of a partitioned data set (PDS). The member name is specified in parentheses immediately following the data set name for the PDS. - Section 6 -- TSO Kermit 198 Kermit File Transfer Package - When receiving files, if the record format is fixed, any record longer than the logical record length will be truncated. The record length can be as high as 32760. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0TSO Kermit -- Section 6 1Kermit File Transfer Package 99 - 6.4.2. Commands for File Transfer 0The SEND and RECEIVE commands are used for file transfer when TSO Kermit is not in server mode. -RECEIVE [data set name] 0Receive one or more files sent from the microcomputer. If the data set name is not specified, TSO Kermit will use the name passed from the microcomputer for the first file received. If no data set previously exists with this name a file will be created and cataloged. The attributes for the data set will be taken from the DATA, EDIT, RECFM, LRECL, BLKSIZE and SPACE parameters. If a data set or member of a partitioned data set (PDS) already exists, TSO Kermit will ask you if you want to delete the existing file. If not, the transfer will stop. 0TSO Kermit supports file transfer of members of an existing partitioned data set (PDS). The member name is specified in parentheses immediately following the data set name for the PDS. 0When receiving files, if the record format is fixed, any record longer than the logical record length will be truncated. The record length can be as high as 32760. 0STOP may be entered to abort the RECEIVE command at any time. -SEND [data set name] 0Send the specified data set or data sets. If the data set name is not specified, TSO Kermit will prompt for one. The data set must be cataloged. 0One wildcard character '*' (asterisk) is allowed in the data set name. This allows specifying that a group of files is being sent, or that any one file meeting the wildcarded naming specification will be sent. The '*' matches any character or characters. A data set name like "NAME.*" will result in all data sets being sent whose names begin with "NAME." A data set name such as "ABC.*.XYZ" will result in all data sets being sent whose names begin with "ABC." and end with ".XYZ". The "*" wild card cannot be used in PDS data set names or in PDS member names. 0TSO Kermit supports file transfer of members of an existing partitioned data set (PDS). The member name is specified in parentheses immediately following the data set name for the PDS. 0The file name that TSO Kermit sends to the other Kermit is the last two qualifiers (levels) of the data set name, but always excluding the account/initials prefix. For a PDS member, TSO Kermit sends the name of the member as the file name. - - Section 6 -- TSO Kermit 1100 Kermit File Transfer Package - 6.4.3. Commands for Local Data Set Management 0TSO Kermit allows very flexible use of TSO commands and WYLBUR commands to effect TSO data set management tasks while running under TSO Kermit. In order to use TSO commands, one merely invokes the following command: 0KERMIT-TSO> TSO <TSO command> + _________________ 0For example, it is possible to use TSO to list data set attributes with the following command: 0KERMIT-TSO> TSO LISTD <data set name> + _________________________ 0It is possible to use TSO to list the names of cataloged data sets with the following command: 0KERMIT-TSO> TSO LISTC + _________ 0It is possible to use TSO to list contents of a non-edit format data set with the following command: 0KERMIT-TSO> TSO LIST <data set name> + ________________________ 0It is possible to invoke WYLBUR under TSO with the following command: 0KERMIT-TSO> TSO WYLBUR + __________ - - - - - - - - - -TSO Kermit -- Section 6 1Kermit File Transfer Package 101 - 6.4.4. The SET, RESET, and SHOW Commands 0The SET command establishes or modifies various parameters for file transfer. The RESET command changes the parameter settings to the TSO Kermit default values. You can examine the parameter values with the SHOW command. 0SET <parameter> <value> 0Set the parameter to the specified value. Legal SET parameters are: 0DATA Specifies if any transformation is to be performed on incoming and outgoing data. TEXT (ASCII-EBCDIC conversion) or BINARY (no conversion). The default for DATA is TEXT. 0EDIT ON or OFF (ON specifies received data sets will be stored in WYLBUR edit format). The default for EDIT is ON. 0NUMBERED Specifies line numbering options for non-edit format text data sets: 0 OFF - unnumbered (no line numbers in data set) WYLBUR - WYLBUR line numbers in default columns WYLBUR m/n - WYLBUR line numbers in columns m through n TSO - TSO line numbers in default columns TSO m/n - TSO line numbers in columns m through n 0 Default columns are the last eight for data sets with RECFM=F or FB, and first eight for data sets with RECFM=V, VB, or U. 0 The default for NUMBERED is OFF. 0TABS Controls TAB processing on upload and download of text files. 0 OFF disables TAB processing. ON assumes tabs are set every 8 positions on the microcomputer and changes tabs to blanks in received data sets and blanks to tabs in transmitted data sets. 0 Tab positions may also be specified as "column", "column+interval*count", and/or "column + interval/max" 0 column+interval*count means tab at "column" plus every "interval" for "count" times for a total of count + 1 tabs. 0 column+interval/max means the same except tabs are set up to the "max" column specified instead of up to the number of tabs being specified by "count". 0 The default for TABS is OFF. 0RECFM Record format for received non-edit format data sets. Valid record formats are F, FB, V, VB, VBS or U. The default for RECFM is VB. - 0 Section 6 -- TSO Kermit 1102 Kermit File Transfer Package - LRECL Logical record length for received non-edit format data sets The default for LRECL is 504, and the maximum is 32760. 0BLKSIZE Block size for received non-edit format data sets. The default for BLKSIZE is 6356, and the maximum is 32760. 0SPACE Space allocation for received data sets in tracks, used for both primary and secondary allocation values. The default for SPACE is 5, and the maximum is 32767. 0VOLUME Specifies which disk volume will be used for the received data set. VOLUME requires a 6 character volume serial number (e.g., FILE24), except that TMP means that any TMP volume may be used. The default for VOLUME is TMP. 0PREFIX Like WYLBUR's SET PREFIX command, specifies characters to be prefixed to the front of data set names. Be sure to include the period (.) qualifier as needed. The account-initials prefix (e.g., AAAAIII.) is assumed to precede this prefix (unless the prefix is in quotes, in which case it is assumed to be fully qualified). A PDS can be specified as a prefix by entering the PDS data set name followed by an open and close parenthesis, such as, PDSNAME(); all subsequent data set names will be treated as the names of members of that PDS; part of the member name can also be specified (e.g., PDSNAME(AB)). The default is NO PREFIX. 0NOPREFIX Nullifies previously set prefix. 0DELAY Specifies the number of seconds that TSO Kermit waits before the first packet is sent by the SEND command. The default DELAY is 20. 0TIMER Controls timeout processing for received packets. TSO Kermit sends a NAK (negative acknowledgement) packet after the timeout interval expires. After 20 retries, TSO Kermit terminates the file transfer. Valid values are OFF (turns off timeout), ON (turns on timeout), or the number of seconds to be used for the timeout interval. The default for TIMER is ON, with an interval of 8 seconds. 0BLOCK Specifies which type of Kermit block checking will be used. Valid options are 1 (1-byte checksum), 2 (2-byte checksum), 3 (3-byte cyclic redundancy check), or CRC (synonym for 3). The default for BLOCK is 3. 0PACKET Sets the maximum packet length. Valid values are 26-94 decimal, The default for PACKET is 94. 0CQUOTE Specifies the character used for prefixing ASCII control characters. Value must be between 33-62 or 96-126 decimal, indicating the ASCII code for the character. The actual character may also be specified, optionally in quotes. The default for CQUOTE is #. - -TSO Kermit -- Section 6 1Kermit File Transfer Package 103 - BQUOTE Specifies the 8th bit quote character used for prefixing characters that have their 8th bit on. Value must be between 33-62 or 96-126 decimal, indicating the ASCII code for the character. The actual character may also be specified, optionally in quotes. The default for BQUOTE is &. 0RQUOTE Specifies the repeat quote character used for prefixing repeated characters. Value must be between 33-62 or 96-126 decimal indicating the ASCII character. The actual character may also be specified, optionally in quotes. The default for RQUOTE is ~. 0SOH Sets the start-of-header character sent at the start of each transmitted packet and expected at the start of each received packet. May be specified as decimal value of ASCII code (0-31), ASCII control character name (e.g., SOH), or in control key notation (e.g., XA). The default for SOH is 1, (SOH, XA). 0SEOL Sets the end-of-line control character sent at the end of each transmitted packet. May be specified as decimal value of ASCII code (0-31), ASCII control character name (e.g., CR), or in control key notation (e.g., XM). The default for SEOL is 13, (CR, XM). 0REOL Sets the end-of-line control character expected at the end of each received packet. May be specified as decimal value of ASCII code (0-31), ASCII control character name (e.g., CR), or in control key notation (default XM). The default for REOL is 13, (CR, XM). 0DEBUG ON dumps all received and sent packets plus all data set I/O to a RECFM=VB data set. The user must allocate the DD name DEBUG to a sequential data set (e.g., TSO ALLOC F(DEBUG) DA(DEBUG.DATA) NEW). OFF closes the debug data set (if open) and turns off debugging information. The default for DEBUG is OFF. 0SET parameters may be abbreviated as follows: BLOCK (BLK); NOPREFIX (NOPRE); NUMBERED (NUMD); PREFIX (PRE); SPACE (SP); VOLUME (VOL) - - - - - - - Section 6 -- TSO Kermit 1104 Kermit File Transfer Package - 6.4.5. Program Management Commands 0HELP Displays a message that tells how to get explanations of TSO Kermit commands. 0? Lists all legal TSO Kermit commands, along with brief descriptions. 0EXIT Terminates TSO Kermit. 0QUIT Same as EXIT. 0END Same as EXIT. 0TSO <TSO command> 0 Executes the TSO command. 0EXEC <data set name> 0 Executes Kermit commands in a TSO CLIST data set. The data set must have line numbers (columns 73/80 for RECFM=FB, columns 1/8 for RECFM=VB). 0KERMIT Used in CLISTs, processes TSO Kermit SET commands. Any TSO Kermit SET command in an EXEC file must be prefixed by KERMIT. SET commands without the KERMIT prefix will be interpreted as TSO SET commands. 0STATUS Returns the status of the previous execution of KERMIT-TSO. Therefore, STATUS will either display the message "Kermit completed successfully," or the last error encountered prior to aborting. STATUS will also display warning messages. - - - - - - - - TSO Kermit -- Section 6 1Kermit File Transfer Package 105 - 6.5. TSO Kermit Examples 0Here is a brief example of how to use the IBM PC and MS-DOS Kermit in conjunction with TSO Kermit to send a file to the IBM PC. This example shows how to use TSO Kermit to transfer a text file. -A>kermit Run Kermit on the micro + ______ 0Kermit-MS> do tso Set up standard TSO settings + ______ Kermit-MS>connect Connect to communication port + _______ ___________ Dial the NIH TSO service (assumes Hayes compatible +ATDT4922223 +___________ modem). Local Echo may cause double characters to be displayed depending upon modem settings. CONNECT 0 [The microcomputer will act as a regular terminal from now on.] [Logon here as you normally would, and run TSO Kermit.] 0logon Initiate logon sequence +_____ INITIALS? iii + ___ ACCOUNT? aaaa + ____ KEYWORD? kkk + ___ TERMINAL? none + ____ BOX? bbb + ___ AAAAIII LOGON IN PROGRESS AT 11:58:55 ON MAY 15, 1986 NIH/DCRT/CCB TSO TSO LINE 118 READY kermit Invoke TSO Kermit (also executes the CLIST +______ KERMIT.PROFILE.CLIST if you have created it) 0NIH TSO KERMIT VERSION 1.0 KERMIT-TSO> set volume file39 Set default volume for data sets + _________________ -KERMIT-TSO> show Display data and protocol settings + ____ 0Data Set Attributes Protocol Attributes DATA: Text DELAY (after SEND): 20 seconds EDIT (WYLBUR edit format data set): on TIMER (Timeout interval): on (8 seconds) NUMBERED (line nos.): off BLOCK (Block check type): 3 (CRC) TABS: off PACKET (Receive packet size): 94 RECFM (Record format): VB CQUOTE (Control quote character): # LRECL (Logical record length): 504 BQUOTE (Binary quote character): & BLKSIZE (Block size): 6356 RQUOTE (Repeat quote character): ~ SPACE (Space allocation): 5 tracks SOH (Start of Header): 1 (SOH,XA) VOLUME: FILE39 SEOL (Send End-of-line): 13 (CR,XM) PREFIX: No prefix REOL (Receive End-of-line): 13 (CR,XM) DEBUG: off - - Section 6 -- TSO Kermit 1106 Kermit File Transfer Package - KERMIT-TSO> ? Display list of commands available + _ 0Legal commands are 0RECEIVE uploads a data set (file) from the microcomputer to the mainframe SEND downloads a data set (file) from the mainframe to the microcomputer STOP aborts a file transfer in progress (valid only during file transfer) STATUS displays the status of the last file transfer SERVER invokes TSO Kermit as a slave server END terminates TSO Kermit and returns user to TSO QUIT and EXIT are synonyms of END SET changes KERMIT protocol and data set options SHOW displays the current KERMIT option settings RESET reinitializes KERMIT to default settings TSO issues a command to TSO EXEC reads a data set of TSO Kermit commands (a TSO CLIST) KERMIT allows TSO Kermit EXEC files to process the TSO Kermit SET commands (must prefix each SET cmd) 0KERMIT-TSO> tso listc List cataloged data sets + _________ 0IN CATALOG:SYSCTLG.VNIHCT2 AAAAIII.@WYLBUR.MAIL AAAAIII.@WYLBUR.TSO.RECOVERY AAAAIII.KERM.CON AAAAIII.KERM.LOG AAAAIII.KERMIT.INI AAAAIII.KERMIT.PROFILE.CLIST AAAAIII.MSKERMIT.INI AAAAIII.RCVBIN.CLIST 0KERMIT-TSO> server Enter server mode + ______ 0 Now entering SERVER mode - type FINISH or LOGOUT on micro to halt SERVER 0Now we must issue commands to KERMIT on the microcomputer (this example assumes an IBM PC), without breaking the connection with TSO Kermit running on the mainframe. We do this by issuing the escape sequence: 0___ +X]C 0The notation above means: press and hold the Control (Ctrl) key, then press the right bracket, release both keys and press the 'C' key. 0Kermit-MS>get kermit.ini Tell TSO Kermit to transfer the file KERMIT.INI + ______________ 0 [the file is received -- MS-DOS Kermit displays status] 0Kermit-MS>finish Terminate server mode on TSO Kermit + ______ 0Kermit-MS>connect Go back to TSO Kermit prompt + _______ - 0TSO Kermit -- Section 6 1Kermit File Transfer Package 107 - [press carriage return to see TSO Kermit's prompt] 0KERMIT-TSO> status Check status of completed transfer + ______ 0 TSO Kermit Status Report TSO KERMIT completed successfully 0KERMIT-TSO> end Terminate TSO Kermit, return to TSO + ___ READY logoff Logoff from TSO +______ CHARGE = $.51 TOTAL CPU TIME = 0.31 SECONDS (MODEL 3090 ) VECTOR CPU TIME = 0.00 SECONDS ELAPSED TIME = 00:02:39 I/O COUNT = 7 REGION = 336K AAAAIII LOGGED OFF TSO AT 12:01:38 ON MAY 15, 1986 0X]C Return to the micro +___ 0Kermit-MS>quit Terminate Kermit on the micro + ____ A> - - - - - - - - - - - Section 6 -- TSO Kermit 1108 Kermit File Transfer Package - In order to send a file from the IBM PC to TSO repeat the above procedure swapping the command SEND with GET. This is shown for a binary file in the example which follows. (This example assumes the user has logged on to TSO and issued the KERMIT command.) 0KERMIT-TSO> set data binary Set up TSO Kermit for binary data + _______________ 0KERMIT-TSO> server Enter server mode + ______ 0 Now entering SERVER mode - type FINISH or LOGOUT on micro to halt SERVER 0X]C Return to the micro +___ 0Kermit-MS>send tree.com Microcomputer sends the file TREE.COM + _____________ 0 [the file is sent .......] 0Kermit-MS>finish Terminate server mode on TSO Kermit + ______ 0Kermit-MS>connect Go back to TSO Kermit prompt + _______ 0 [press carriage return to see TSO Kermit's prompt] 0KERMIT-TSO> status Check status of completed transfer + ______ 0 TSO Kermit Status Report TSO KERMIT completed successfully 0KERMIT-TSO> end Terminate TSO Kermit, return to TSO + ___ READY logoff Logoff from TSO +______ CHARGE = $.51 TOTAL CPU TIME = 0.31 SECONDS (MODEL 3090 ) VECTOR CPU TIME = 0.00 SECONDS ELAPSED TIME = 00:02:39 I/O COUNT = 7 REGION = 336K AAAAIII LOGGED OFF TSO AT 12:01:38 ON MAY 15, 1986 0X]C Return to the micro +___ 0Kermit-MS>quit Terminate Kermit on the micro + ____ A> - - - - TSO Kermit -- Section 6 1Kermit File Transfer Package 109 - 6.6. Additional Information 0The commands are supplied with a help option, so a question mark can be typed to get the appropriate format or a list of options. The question mark, however, must be followed by a carriage return; TSO Kermit will respond and display the prompt again. For instance, SET ? will list all valid options for the SET command. 0If the microcomputer Kermit does not send an error packet when it aborts, TSO Kermit does not know the microcomputer has stopped sending it information. Therefore, when you connect back to the IBM, TSO Kermit may still be sending packets (they will appear on the screen). The user must enter STOP to terminate the sending of packets. 0When the DATA parameter is set to TEXT, and TSO Kermit receives a text file that has characters with the eighth bit on, it ignores the eighth bit. When the DATA parameter is set to BINARY, and TSO Kermit receives a binary file, the eighth bit is preserved. -6.7. Error Messages 0TSO Kermit supplies the microcomputer and the user with numerous error messages. If file transfer must be aborted, an error packet is sent to the microcomputer before TSO Kermit stops. The same message can be retrieved via the STATUS command when TSO Kermit returns and displays the prompt. If TSO Kermit aborted because the maximum amount of retries was exceeded (20) the error message will display "Retry Count Exceeded." If execution stops because the microcomputer aborted, the error message will convey that to the user, but it is the microcomputer's responsibility to pinpoint the error. - - - - - - - - 0 Section 6 -- TSO Kermit 1110 Kermit File Transfer Package - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0TSO Kermit -- Section 6 1Kermit File Transfer Package 111 - 7. MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC 0Program: Daphne Tzoar and Jeff Damens (Columbia University), Joe R. Doupnik (Utah State University), James Harvey (Indiana/Purdue University), contributions by many others. Language: Microsoft Macro Assembler (MASM) Documentation: Frank da Cruz and Christine Gianone (Columbia University) Version: 2.29 Date: May 26, 1986 -Kermit-MS Capabilities At A Glance: 0 Local operation: Yes Remote operation: Yes Transfers text files: Yes Transfers binary files: Yes Wildcard send: Yes XX/XY interruption: Yes Filename collision avoidance: Yes Can time out: Yes 8th-bit prefixing: Yes Repeat count prefixing: Yes Alternate block checks: Yes Terminal emulation: Yes Communication settings: Yes Transmit BREAK: Yes IBM mainframe communication: Yes Transaction logging: No Session logging: Yes Raw transmit: No Act as server: Yes Talk to server: Yes Advanced server functions: No Advanced commands for servers: Yes Local file management: Yes Command/init files: Yes Command macros: Yes Attribute packets: No Extended-length packets: No Sliding windows: No 0Kermit-MS is a program that implements the Kermit file transfer protocol for the IBM PC family, IBM compatibles, and several other machines using the Intel 8086 processor series (8088, 80286, etc.) and operating system family (PC-DOS or MS-DOS, henceforth referred to collectively as MS-DOS or simply DOS). The NIH Computer Center supports only the IBM PC version of Kermit-MS. - - - Section 7 -- MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC 1112 Kermit File Transfer Package - Kermit-MS version 2.29 runs in as little as 60K of memory (about 55K contiguous), but will occupy up to 100K, if it can be found, for extra screen rollback memory. It will also try to leave 24 Kbytes free for a second copy of COMMAND.COM which is needed for the SPACE command and others. Versions not using screen rollback memory will not require the additional space. 0On the IBM PC, Kermit-MS 2.29 performs almost complete emulation of the DEC VT-102 terminal at speeds up to 19,200 bps (lacking only smooth scrolling, 132 column mode, and ANSI printer control). Much of the speed is accomplished via direct writes to screen memory, but this is done in a "TopView" aware manner to allow successful operation in windowing environments like TopView, MS-Windows, and DesqView. Speed is also due to direct access of the serial port UART (8250) chip, with buffered, interrupt-driven receipt of characters and selectable XON/XOFF flow control. Full-speed 9600 bps operation is possible on 4.77Mhz systems without flow control, but flow control is required on these systems for 19,200 bps or higher rates. 0Kermit-MS 2.29 is capable of sending a break signal that is required by WYLBUR and TSO. This can be accomplished by using Ctrl-Break while in terminal emulation mode. 0As of version 2.28, MS-DOS Kermit requires version 2.0 or later of DOS. Older versions of MS-DOS Kermit are no longer distributed, but if you have version 2.27 or earlier, it can run under version 1.0 or 1.1 of MS-DOS. 0Kermit-MS 2.29 runs on a wide variety of MS-DOS systems, including the entire IBM PC family (the PC, XT, AT, PCjr, Portable PC, PC Convertible) and many compatibles. 0This document will describe the things you should know about the MS-DOS file system in order to make effective use of Kermit, and then it will describe the Kermit-MS program itself. It is assumed you are already familiar with the general ideas of Kermit file transfer. If you are not, consult Section 1 of this manual, or Kermit, A File Transfer Protocol, by Frank da Cruz, Digital Press (1986). 0Note: About the notation used in this section: user input is underlined to + __________ distinguish it from computer output. When the "control" key is needed in conjunction with another key to generate a character, it is represented in one of these equivalent ways: Control-Z, Ctrl-Z, and XZ all mean to depress and hold the "control" key, press the "Z" key, then release both keys. - - - - 0MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC-- Section 7 1Kermit File Transfer Package 113 - 7.1. The MS-DOS File System 0The features of the MS-DOS file system of greatest interest to Kermit users are the form of the file specifications, and the formats of the files themselves. - 7.1.1. File Specifications 0MS-DOS file specifications (in version 2.0 or later of DOS) are of the form 0 DEVICE:\PATHNAME\NAME.TYPE 0where the DEVICE is a single character identifier (for instance, A for the first floppy disk, C for the first fixed disk, D for a RAM disk emulator), PATHNAME is up to 63 characters of identifier(s) (up to 8 characters each) surrounded by reverse slashes, NAME is an identifier of up to 8 characters, and TYPE is an identifier of up to 3 characters in length. Device and pathname may be omitted. The first backslash in the pathname is omitted if the specified path is relative to the current directory. In the path field, "." means the current directory, ".." means the parent directory. 0Pathname is normally omitted, but can be specified in all Kermit-MS commands (as of version 2.29). Device and directory pathnames, when omitted, default to either the user's current disk and directory, or to the current directory search path as specified in the DOS PATH environment variable, depending on the context in which the file name appears. 0 When this document says that a file is searched for "in the current path," it means that the PATH is searched first, and if the file is not found, then Kermit-MS looks on the current disk and directory. If the PATH environment variable is empty, Kermit looks only at the current disk and directory. 0NAME.TYPE is normally sufficient to specify a file, and only this information is sent along by Kermit-MS with an outgoing file. 0The device, path, name, and type fields may contain uppercase letters, digits, and the special characters "-" (dash), "_" (underscore), and "$" (dollar sign). When you type lowercase letters in filenames, they are converted automatically to uppercase. There are no imbedded or trailing spaces. Other characters may not be included; there is no mechanism for "quoting" otherwise illegal characters in filenames. The fields of the file specification are set off from one another by the punctuation indicated above. 0The name field is the primary identifier for the file. The type, also called the extension or suffix, is an indicator which, by convention, tells what kind of file we have. For instance FOO.BAS is the source of a BASIC program named FOO; FOO.OBJ might be the relocatable object module produced by compiling FOO.BAS; FOO.EXE could be an executable program produced by linking FOO.OBJ, and so forth. .EXE and .COM are the normal suffixes for executable programs. - 0 Section 7 -- MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC 1114 Kermit File Transfer Package - MS-DOS allows a group of files to be specified in a single file specification by including the special "wildcard" characters, "*" and "?." A "*" matches any string of characters from the current position to the end of the field, including no characters at all; a "?" matches any single character. 0Here are some examples: 0 *.BAS All files of type BAS (all BASIC source files) in the current directory. 0 FOO.* Files of all types with name FOO. 0 F*.* All files whose names start with F. 0 F?X*.* All files whose names start with F and contain X in the third position, followed by zero or more characters. 0 ?.* All files whose names are exactly one character long. 0Wildcard notation is used on many computer systems in similar ways, and it is the mechanism most commonly used to instruct Kermit to send a group of files. 0 Note: Kermit-MS uses the "?" character for help while commands are being typed, so the single-character wildcard in the first position of the file name in Kermit-MS commands is "#" rather than "?". For example 0 Kermit-MS>send ________ + _____#b??ef.* 0 would send files such as abcdef.for and xbyzef.bas. 0Kermit-MS users should bear in mind that other (non-MS-DOS) systems may use different wildcard characters. For instance the DEC-10 Kermit uses "%" instead of "?" as the single character wildcard; when using Kermit-MS to request a wildcard file group from a Kermit-10 server, the Kermit-MS "?" or "#" must be replaced by the DEC-10 "%". - - - - - - -MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC-- Section 7 1Kermit File Transfer Package 115 - 7.1.2. File Formats 0MS-DOS systems store files as bulk collections of 8-bit bytes, with no particular differences between text, program code, and binary files. ASCII text files consist of lines separated by carriage-return-linefeed sequences (CRLFs), which conforms exactly to the way Kermit represents text files during transmission. Since a non-MS-DOS receiving system might need to make distinctions as to file type, you may need to use various SET functions on the remote system to inform it that the incoming file is of some particular (non-default) type, such as binary. In transmitting files between Kermit-MS programs, regardless of file contents, the receiving MS-DOS system is equally capable of processing text, code, and data, and in fact requires no knowledge of how the bytes in the file are to be used. Unlike most other Kermit programs, MS-DOS Kermit does not require a command like SET FILE TYPE BINARY to switch from text to binary file transfer. 0MS-DOS (unlike CP/M) is capable of pinpointing the end of file with precision by keeping a byte count in the directory, so one would expect no particular confusion in this regard. However, most MS-DOS programs continue to use the CP/M convention of terminating a text file with a Control-Z character, and won't operate correctly unless this terminating byte is present. Therefore, Kermit-MS users should be aware of a special SET EOF option for both incoming and outbound files, described later. 0Non-MS-DOS systems may well be confused by nonstandard ASCII files from Kermit-MS: 0 - Files containing any of the 8-bit "extended ASCII" characters will probably need conversion (or translation) to 7-bit ASCII. 0 - Files produced by word processing programs like Easywriter or WordStar may contain special binary formatting codes, and could need conversion to conventional 7-bit ASCII format prior to transmission, using commonly available "exporter" programs. 0 - Files created by word processors that store formatting data at the end of the file, after the Control-Z and before physical end, may require special processing via SET EOF to strip the formatting data, lest they confuse non-MS-DOS recipients. 0 - Spreadsheet or database files usually need special formatting to be meaningful to non-MS-DOS recipients (though they can be transmitted between MS-DOS systems with Kermit-MS). - - - - Section 7 -- MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC 1116 Kermit File Transfer Package - 7.2. Program Operation 0Kermit-MS can be run interactively, from a batch file, or as an "external" DOS command. Commands consist of one or more fields, separated by "whitespace" -- one or more spaces or tabs. 0Upon initial startup, the program executes any commands found in the file MSKERMIT.INI in the current path. This initialization file may contain command macro definitions, communications settings for one or more ports, or any other Kermit-MS commands. Here is a sample MSKERMIT.INI file: 0def wyl set parity even,set local echo on,set speed 1200 def dec set parity none,set local echo off, set speed 1200 def tso set parity even,set local echo on,set speed 1200 do wyl connect 0Note that the above MSKERMIT.INI file executes the WYL macro and issues the connect command for the user. This is useful if you normally access WYLBUR. If, however you want to use TSO Kermit or DECsystem-10 Kermit, the appropriate macro to execute would be the TSO or DEC macro. 0The NIH Computer Center supplies a standard MSKERMIT.INI file on the Kermit-MS diskette distributed by the Technical Information Office. This file defines the macros WYLBUR, DEC10, TSO, and 3270 to allow easy access to Computer Center services. If you only use one of the services (e.g., TSO), you can have the initialization file automatically invoke the service and issue the CONNECT command by adding two lines to the end of the MSKERMIT.INI file: 0 DO TSO CONNECT 0To work with your configuration, the NIH-supplied macros may need to be modified. In these macros as distributed, SPEED is set to 2400 and PORT is set to 1. If you have a 1200 bps modem, SPEED should be changed to 1200, and if your modem is connected through the COM2 serial port, PORT should be changed to 2. 0Macros are described in detail in section 7.3.8. - - - - - 0MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC-- Section 7 1Kermit File Transfer Package 117 - Interactive Operation: 0To run Kermit-MS interactively, invoke the program from DOS command level by typing its name. When you see the command's prompt, 0 Kermit-MS> 0you may type Kermit commands repeatedly until you are ready to exit the program, for example: 0 A> A>kermit + ______ 0 IBM PC Kermit-MS V2.29 Type ? for help 0 Kermit-MS>send foo.* + __________ 0 informational messages about the files being sent 0 Kermit-MS>get bar.* + _________ 0 informational messages about the files being received 0 Kermit-MS>exit + ____ A> 0During interactive operation, you may edit the command you're currently typing using BACKSPACE to erase the character most recently typed, Ctrl-W to delete the most recent field, or Ctrl-U to delete the entire command. The editing characters may be used in any combination until the command is finally entered by typing ENTER (Carriage Return) or Ctrl-L. 0While typing commands, you may use the help ("?") and keyword completion (ESC) features freely. A question mark typed at almost any point in a command produces a brief description of what is expected or possible at that point (for this reason Kermit-MS uses "#" for the single-character match wildcard in the first position of the local filenames and "?" thereafter, and ?-help is not available from within a filename). ESC typed at any point, except in a local filename, will cause the current field to be filled out if what you have typed so far is sufficient to identify it, and will leave you in position to type the next field (or to type a "?" to find out what the next field is); otherwise, the program will beep at you and wait for you to type further characters. 0Some Kermit-MS commands, like GET, SHOW KEY, SET KEY, may prompt for additional information on subsequent lines. If you have reached one of these prompts and then wish to cancel the command, you may type Ctrl-C. - - - Section 7 -- MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC 1118 Kermit File Transfer Package - Summary of Kermit-MS Command Characters: 0 SPACE Separates fields within the command. 0 TAB Same as Space, and echoes as Space. You may also use Ctrl-I for Tab. 0 BACKSPACE Deletes the character most recently typed. May be typed repeatedly to delete all the way back to the prompt. You may also use DELETE, RUBOUT, Ctrl-H, or equivalent keys. 0 Ctrl-W Deletes the most recent "word", or field, on the command line. May be typed repeatedly. 0 Ctrl-U Deletes the entire command line, back to the prompt. 0 Ctrl-C Cancels the current command and returns to the "Kermit-MS>" prompt. 0 ESC If enough characters have been supplied in the current keyword to identify it uniquely, supply the remainder of the field, and position to the next field of the command. Otherwise, sound a beep. ESC does not provide filename completion in version 2.29. 0 ? Displays a brief message describing what may be typed in the current command field. Also, wildcard character for matching any single character in all but the first position of a filename. 0 # Wildcard character for matching single characters in filenames. Equivalent to MS-DOS "?", but used in the first position of a filename only, so that "?" may be used to get help at the beginning of a filename field. 0 RETURN Enters the command. On most keyboards, you may also use ENTER or Ctrl-M. 0 Ctrl-L Clears the screen and enters the command. 0 Ctrl-Break Equivalent to Ctrl-C. 0Liberal use of "?" allows you to feel your way through the commands and their fields. This feature is sometimes called "menu on demand" -- unlike systems that force you to negotiate menus at every turn, menu-on-demand provides help only when it is needed. - - - 0MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC-- Section 7 1Kermit File Transfer Package 119 - Command Line Invocation: 0Kermit-MS may also be invoked with command line arguments from DOS command level, for instance: 0 A>kermit send foo.bar + ___________________ 0or 0 A>kermit set port 1, set baud 1200, connect + _________________________________________ 0In this case, help and recognition are not available (because the program won't start running until after you type the entire command line), and Kermit-MS will exit back to DOS after completing the specified command or commands. Therefore, when invoked with command line arguments, Kermit-MS will behave as if it were an external DOS command, like MODE. Note that several commands may be given on the command line, separated by commas. -Batch Operation: 0Like other MS-DOS programs, Kermit-MS may be operated under batch with command line arguments. If you invoke it without command line arguments, it will run interactively, reading commands from the keyboard and not the batch file. When it exits, batch processing will continue to the end of the batch file. -Remote Operation: 0The MS-DOS CTTY command allows a MS-DOS system to be used from a terminal connected to its communication port. Such sessions must be conducted with great care, since many programs assume that they are running on the real console, and explicitly reference screen memory or keyboard scan codes. Kermit can be used in this manner too, but before you give it any file transfer commands, you must inform it that it is running in "remote mode" rather than its normal "local mode." Use the SET REMOTE ON command for this purpose, to prevent the file transfer display from being sent out the port. - - - - - - Section 7 -- MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC 1120 Kermit File Transfer Package - 7.3. Kermit-MS Commands 0MS-DOS Kermit implements a large subset of the commands of "ideal" Kermit. Here's a brief summary: 0 BYE to remote server. CLEAR key redefinitions. CLOSE log file and stop logging remote session. COMMENT a command file. CONNECT as terminal to remote system. CWD change local working directory. DEFINE macros of Kermit-MS commands. DELETE local files. DIRECTORY listing of local files. DO a macro expansion. EXIT from Kermit-MS. FINISH Shut down remote server. GET files from remote server. HANGUP the phone. HELP about Kermit-MS. LOCAL prefix for local file management commands. LOG remote terminal session. LOGOUT remote server. PUSH to MS-DOS command level. QUIT from Kermit-MS RECEIVE files from remote Kermit. REMOTE prefix for remote file management commands. RUN a MS-DOS program. SEND files to remote Kermit. SERVER mode of remote operation. SET various parameters. SHOW various parameters. SPACE inquiry (about disk space). STATUS inquiry (about settings). TAKE commands from file. TYPE display a local file. VERSION display Kermit-MS program version number. 0In general, commands and their parameters may be abbreviated to the shortest prefix that is unique (e.g., V for VERSION). In addition, C can be used for CONNECT, and H can be used for HELP. 0The remainder of this section concentrates on the commands that have special form or meaning for MS-DOS Kermit. Not all of the following commands are necessarily available on all MS-DOS systems, and some of the commands may work somewhat differently between DOS versions. 0The notation used is as follows: Optional fields are in [square brackets], lists of alternatives are in $curly braces. In dialog examples user typein is underlined to distinguish it from computer typeout. +__________ - -MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC-- Section 7 1Kermit File Transfer Package 121 - 7.3.1. Commands for Terminal Connection 0The CONNECT command connects your PC as a terminal to the remote system, so that you can start up Kermit there. - The CONNECT Command 0Syntax: CONNECT 0The CONNECT command establishes an interactive terminal connection to the system connected to the currently selected communications port (e.g., COM1 or COM2) using full duplex (remote) echoing and no parity unless otherwise specified in previous SET commands. You can type the escape character followed by the letter C to get back to Kermit-MS. The escape character is Ctrl-] by default. 0You can use the SET ESCAPE command to define a different escape character, SET SPEED (or BAUD) to change the speed, and SET PORT to switch between ports. Read about the SET COMMAND in section 7.3.6 for more information on these and other settings. 0Terminal emulation is described in greater detail in section 7.4 below. - The HANGUP Command 0Syntax: HANGUP 0HANGUP command attempts to lower the modem signals DTR and RTS. It may be used to hang up the phone when dialed up through a modem, or to get the attention of port contention units or terminal concentrators that operate in this manner. - - - - - - - - Section 7 -- MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC 1122 Kermit File Transfer Package - 7.3.2. Commands for File Transfer 0The file transfer commands are SEND, GET, and RECEIVE. - The SEND Command 0Syntax: SEND filespec1 [filespec2] 0The SEND command causes a file or file group to be sent from the local MS-DOS system to the Kermit on the remote system. The remote Kermit may be running in either server or interactive mode; in the latter case, you should already have given it a RECEIVE command and escaped back to your PC. 0filespec1 may contain the wildcard characters "*" to match zero or more characters within a field, and/or "#" (first position) or "?" (elsewhere) to match any single character. If filespec1 contains wildcard characters then all matching files will be sent, in the same order that MS-DOS would show them in a directory listing. If filespec1 specifies a single file, you may direct Kermit-MS to send that file with a different name, given in filespec2. For instance, in the command 0 Kermit-MS>send foo.bar framus.widget + __________________________ 0filespec2 begins with the first nonblank character after filespec1 and ends with the carriage return; thus it may contain blanks or other unusual characters that may be appropriate on the target machine. The alphabetic case of text in filespec2 is preserved in transmission. 0If the SEND command is specified by itself on the command line, then you will be prompted separately for the name of the file to send, and the name to send it under: 0 Kermit-MS>send + ____ Local Source File: c:\chris\xcom1.txt + __________________ Remote Destination File: com1.txt + ________ 0If a file can't be opened for read access, standard MS-DOS recovery procedures will take place. For example: 0 Not ready error reading drive A Abort, Retry, Ignore? 0If you select "Abort," you will be returned to DOS. 0Files will be sent with their MS-DOS filename and filetype (for instance FOO.TXT, no device or pathname). If there is no filetype, then only the name will be sent, without the terminating dot. Each file is sent as is, with no conversions done on the data, except for possibly adding or deleting a terminating Control-Z character (see the SET EOF command). - -MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC-- Section 7 1Kermit File Transfer Package 123 - Once you give Kermit-MS the SEND command, the name of each file will be displayed on your screen as the transfer begins; packet, retry, and other counts will be displayed along with informational messages during the transfer. If the file is successfully transferred, you will see "Complete," otherwise there will be an error message. When the specified operation is done, the program will sound a beep. 0Several single-character commands may be given while a file transfer is in progress: 0 XX (Control-X) Stop sending the current file and go on to the next one, if any. 0 XZ Stop sending this file, and don't send any further files. 0 XC Return to Kermit-MS command level immediately without sending any kind of notification to the remote system. 0 XE Like XC, but send an Error packet to the remote Kermit in an attempt to bring it back to server or interactive command level. 0 CR Simulate a timeout: resend the current packet, or NAK the expected one. 0Control-X, Control-Z, and Control-E send the proper protocol messages to the remote Kermit to bring it gracefully to the desired state. Control-C leaves the remote Kermit in whatever state it happens to be in, possibly retransmitting its last packet over and over, up to its retry limit. You should only have to use Control-C in dire emergencies (the remote Kermit is stuck, the remote system crashed, etc), or at those times when you realize that you have given a file transfer command to Kermit-MS without first having told the remote Kermit about it. - - - - - - - - Section 7 -- MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC 1124 Kermit File Transfer Package - The GET Command 0Syntax: GET remote-filespec 0The GET command requests a remote Kermit server to send the file or file group specified by remote-filespec. This command can be used only when Kermit-MS has a Kermit server active on the other end of the connection. This means that you must have CONNECTed to the other system, logged in, run Kermit there, issued the SERVER command, and escaped back (e.g., X]C) to the local Kermit-MS. If the remote Kermit does not have a SERVER command, then you should use SEND and RECEIVE as described below. 0You may use the GET command in a special way to specify a different name for storing the incoming file. Just type GET alone on a line, and you will be prompted separately for the remote filespec and the local filespec: 0 Kermit-MS>get + ___ Remote Source File: com1.txt + ________ Local Destination File: xcom1.txt + _________ 0The local file name may contain a device designator, and/or a directory path. If more than one file arrives, only the first will be renamed. The device designator and directory path are described as follows: 0 Device designator 0 Store the file on the designated device. If no device designator is given, store it on the current default device. 0 Directory path 0 Store the file in the designated directory. If no path given, store the file in the current directory. 0The remote filespec is any string that can be a legal file specification for the remote system; it is not parsed or validated locally. It can contain whatever wildcard or file-group notation is valid on the remote system. As files arrive, their names will be displayed on your screen, along with packet traffic statistics and status messages. 0The same single-character commands are available as during SEND: 0 XX Request that the remote Kermit stop sending the current file, and proceed to the next one immediately. Since this is an optional feature of the Kermit protocol, the remote Kermit might not honor the request. 0 XZ Request that the remote Kermit terminate the entire transfer; this is also an optional feature that may or may not be supported by the remote Kermit. 0 XC, XE, and CR operate in the same way as they do during SEND. In this case, XE should always do what XZ is supposed to do. - 0MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC-- Section 7 1Kermit File Transfer Package 125 - The RECEIVE Command 0Syntax: RECEIVE [filespec] 0The RECEIVE command tells Kermit-MS to receive a file or file group from the other system. Kermit-MS passively waits for the file to arrive; this command is not to be used when talking to a Kermit server. (Use GET for that). You should already have issued a SEND command to the remote Kermit and escaped back to Kermit-MS before issuing the RECEIVE command. 0If the optional filespec is provided, the first incoming file will be stored under that name. The filespec may include any combination of the following fields: 0 Device designator 0 Store the file on the designated device. If no device designator is given, store it on the current default device. 0 Directory path 0 Store the file in the designated directory. If no path given, store the file in the current directory. 0 File name 0 Store the file under the name given. If no name is given, store it under the name it was sent under, converted, if necessary, to suit DOS conventions, and modified, if desired, to avoid overwriting any file of the same name in the same directory. 0If the optional filespec was provided, but more than one file arrives, the first file will be stored under the given filespec, and the remainder will be stored under their own names, but on the specified device and directory. 0If an incoming file does not arrive in its entirety, Kermit-MS will normally discard it and it will not appear in your directory. You may change this behavior by using the command SET INCOMPLETE KEEP, which will cause as much of the file as arrived to be saved on the disk. 0The same single-character commands are available as during SEND: 0 XX Request that the remote Kermit stop sending the current file, and proceed to the next one immediately. Since this is an optional feature of the Kermit protocol, the remote Kermit might not honor the request. 0 XZ Request that the remote Kermit terminate the entire transfer; this is also an optional feature that may or may not be supported by the remote Kermit. 0 XC, XE, and CR operate in the same way as they do during SEND. In this case, XE should always do what XZ is supposed to do. - 0 Section 7 -- MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC 1126 Kermit File Transfer Package - If the incoming file has the same name as a file that already exists, and WARNING is set ON, Kermit-MS will change the incoming name (and inform you how it renamed it) so as not to obliterate the pre-existing file. If WARNING is OFF, the original file will be overwritten; if you type XX or XZ to interrupt the transfer, you'll either get a partial new file, or else both the old and the new file of that name will be lost, depending on SET INCOMPLETE. In any case, when WARNING is off, files with the same name as incoming files will not survive. 0Caution: If an incoming file's name (the part before the dot) corresponds to an MS-DOS device name, such as NUL, COM1, CON, AUX, LPT1, or PRN, output will go to that device, rather than to a file with that name. This is a feature of MS-DOS. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC-- Section 7 1Kermit File Transfer Package 127 - 7.3.3. Commands Controlling Remote Kermit Servers 0The BYE, FINISH, and LOGOUT commands allow you to shut down a remote Kermit server: 0BYE When communicating with a remote Kermit server, use the BYE command to shut down the server, log out its session, and exit locally from Kermit-MS to DOS. 0FINISH Like BYE, FINISH shuts down the remote server. However, FINISH does not log out the server's session. You are left at Kermit-MS prompt level so that you can connect back to the session on the remote system. 0LOGOUT The LOGOUT command is identical to the BYE command, except you will remain at Kermit-MS prompt level, rather than exit to DOS, so that you can establish or use another connection. 0Other functions may be also requested of a server, described under the REMOTE command, immediately below. - - - - - - - - - - - - Section 7 -- MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC 1128 Kermit File Transfer Package - 7.3.4. Commands for File Management 0Kermit-MS provides commands for managing both local and remote files. - The REMOTE Commands 0The REMOTE keyword is a prefix for a number of commands. It indicates that the command is to be performed by the remote Kermit, which must be running as a server. Note that not all Kermit servers are capable of executing all these commands, and some Kermit servers may be able to perform functions for which Kermit-MS does not yet have the corresponding commands. In case you send a command the server cannot execute, it will send back a message stating that the command is unknown to it. If the remote server can execute the command, it will send the results to your screen (or whatever device you have specified in your most recent SET DESTINATION command). 0Here are the REMOTE commands that Kermit-MS may issue: 0REMOTE CWD [directory] 0 Ask the server to Change your Working Directory on the remote host, that is, the default source and destination area for file transfer and management. You will be prompted for a password, which will not echo as you type it. If you do not supply a password (i.e., you type only a carriage return), the server will attempt to access the specified directory without a password. If you do not supply a directory name, your default or login directory on the remote system will be assumed and you will not be prompted for a password. 0REMOTE DELETE filespec 0 Ask the server to delete the specified file or files on the remote system. In response, the server may display a list of the files that were or were not successfully deleted. 0REMOTE DIRECTORY [filespec] 0 Ask the server to display a directory listing of the specified files. If no files are specified, then the list should include all files in the current working directory. 0REMOTE HELP 0 Ask the server to list the services it provides. 0REMOTE HOST [command] 0 Ask the server to send the command to the remote system's command processor for execution. - -MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC-- Section 7 1Kermit File Transfer Package 129 - KERMIT command 0 Send the command to the remote Kermit for interpretation as a Kermit command itself, in the remote Kermit server's own command syntax. Most Kermit servers, including Kermit-MS, do not yet recognize such commands. 0REMOTE SPACE [directory] 0 Ask the server to provide a brief summary of disk usage in the specified area on the remote host or, if none specified, the default or current area. 0REMOTE TYPE filespec 0 Ask the server to display the contents of the specified remote file or files on your screen. - - - - - - - - - - - - - Section 7 -- MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC 1130 Kermit File Transfer Package - The LOCAL Command 0The LOCAL keyword is a prefix for a number of commands. It indicates that the specified command is to be executed on the local MS-DOS system. The LOCAL prefix may be omitted. All file specifications may include device and/or directory fields. The local commands are: 0CWD path 0 Changes the current working directory to the given path. All references to local file names without explicit paths will refer to that path. 0DELETE filespec 0 Deletes the specified file or files. As in DOS, the names of the deleted files are not listed, only the message "file(s) deleted" or "file(s) not found", and if you give the command "delete *.*", Kermit-MS will prompt "Are you sure?", like DOS. 0DIRECTORY [filespec] 0 Lists the names, sizes, and creation dates of files that match the given file specification. If no filespec is given, the command is equivalent to DIR *.*. 0SPACE 0 Performs the MS-DOS CHKDSK function by running the CHKDSK program from the current path. 0RUN command 0 Passes the command line to COMMAND.COM for execution. Thus, any legal DOS operation is permitted: running a program (with command line arguments or i/o redirection), executing a DOS command, or executing a batch file. COMMAND.COM should be in the current path. Kermit is suspended while the command is executed and automatically resumes afterward. Yes, one may nest RUN KERMIT several times if memory is available; but that just wastes memory. If the command is a DOS command (like DIR or REN) it will be executed directly by COMMAND.COM. Otherwise, the specified file will be executed, which must be in .EXE or .COM format, or a .BAT file containing DOS commands, from the specified path or according to the value of the PATH variable if no path was included in the filespec. Example: 0 Kermit-MS>run more < foo.txt + __________________ - - - MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC-- Section 7 1Kermit File Transfer Package 131 - TYPE filespec 0 Displays the specified local file on the screen. Automatic pause is not available at the end of a page (but see above example for how to accomplish this). Ctrl-S can be used to stop scrolling and Ctrl-Q to continue scrolling. 0PUSH 0 Invokes an MS-DOS command processor "under" Kermit-MS, either COMMAND.COM or whatever shell you have specified with COMSPEC in your CONFIG.SYS file. You can return to Kermit-MS by typing the MS-DOS EXIT command, and you will find Kermit-MS as you left it, with all settings intact. The same function is accomplished by the CONNECT escape-level command P. 0The local RUN command has various uses, one of which is to supplement the features of Kermit-MS. A common complaint about Kermit-MS, for instance, is that it lacks login scripts, autodialer control, and phone directories. While waiting for these features to appear in a generally useful form in some future release, you might be able to provide the specific functions you need by writing a program in any compiled language (assembler, Pascal, C, etc) and then invoking from within Kermit-MS using the RUN command. For instance, if you have a Hayes-like modem, you could write a short program to operate the dialer with AT commands, accepting the phone number to dial on the command line. If this program were called DIAL, then you could "run dial 7654321" from within Kermit. - - - - - - - - - - Section 7 -- MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC 1132 Kermit File Transfer Package - The TAKE Command 0Syntax: TAKE filespec 0The TAKE command instructs Kermit-MS to execute commands from the specified file, which may include an explicit path; if no path is specified, the value of the PATH variable is used; if PATH has no value, then the current disk and directory are searched. The command file may include any valid Kermit-MS commands, including TAKE, but it cannot include characters to be sent to a remote host during terminal emulation (i.e., after a CONNECT command). 0Commands within TAKE files, unlike interactive commands, may include trailing comments, preceded by semicolons: 0 set port 2 ; Select the modem port set speed 1200 ; Set the speed for the modem 0Warning: since TAKE file processing discards all characters from a line beginning with the first semicolon, it is not possible to include semicolons in remote filespecs within TAKE files, e.g., 0 get dska:foo.bar;6 0Commands from the TAKE file will normally not be displayed on your screen. If you want to see them as they are executing, you can SET TAKE-ECHO ON. - - - - - - - - - - MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC-- Section 7 1Kermit File Transfer Package 133 - The LOG and CLOSE Commands 0Syntax: LOG filespec CLOSE 0Specifies that your terminal session during CONNECT will be recorded in the specified file; the filespec may include a device specification and/or directory path. The LOG command allows you to "capture" files from a remote system that doesn't have Kermit, as well as to record remote command typescripts. The log is closed when you EXIT from Kermit-MS or when you issue an explicit CLOSE command. 0During terminal emulation, the LOG command records all the characters that arrive from the remote host in the specified file, including escape sequences. If you have SET LOCAL-ECHO ON, it will also record the characters you type. And if you have also SET DEBUG ON, then during file transfer it will also record the packets in the log. 0You may LOG PRN to cause the logging information to be printed directly on your printer. Note that any escape sequences that are sent to the screen are also sent to the printer. 0If you want to record information without imbedded escape sequences, use the screen dump feature, invoked by the CONNECT escape-level command F, which is described in more detail in the terminal emulation section. - - - - - - - - - - Section 7 -- MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC 1134 Kermit File Transfer Package - 7.3.5. The SERVER Command 0Kermit-MS is capable of acting as a full-fledged Kermit server, providing file transfer and management for users coming in through one of the communication ports. This is normally used when Kermit-MS is acting as a remote host for another microcomputer. To put Kermit-MS into server mode, first issue any desired SET commands to select and configure the desired port, and then type the SERVER command. Kermit-MS will await all further instructions from the user Kermit on the other end of the connection, which may be hardwired or connected through an autoanswer modem. For example: 0 Kermit-MS>set port 1 + __________ Kermit-MS>set speed 1200 + ______________ Kermit-MS>set timer on + ____________ Kermit-MS>set warning on + ______________ Kermit-MS>server + ______ 0Kermit 2.29 server mode supports the following requests: 0 SEND REMOTE DELETE REMOTE CWD GET REMOTE DIRECTORY REMOTE HOST FINISH REMOTE SPACE BYE REMOTE TYPE 0The REMOTE HELP command is not implemented. Remote CWD can be used to change both directories and devices. 0 CAUTION: The method used for most of the REMOTE commands is to invoke a task with the user's command line, redirect standard output to a temporary file, $KERMIT$.TMP, send that file back to the remote end, and then delete the file. Sufficient space must be available to store this file. To service DOS commands or user tasks the boot drive must hold a copy of COMMAND.COM. PATH will not be searched (this can be disastrous on a floppy disk based system). 0 FURTHER CAUTION: Any of these DOS tasks or programs may encounter an error, and in that case, DOS will generally put the familiar "Abort, Retry, Ignore?" message on the screen, and will wait for an answer from the keyboard. This will hang the server until a human comes to the keyboard and gives a response. The same thing will happen when any program is invoked that interacts with the real console. For instance, REMOTE SPACE works by running CHKDSK; if CHKDSK finds something wrong with the disk while tallying up the space, it will ask (at the console) if you want to it to be fixed. This, too, will hang the server. 0 MORAL: The MS-DOS Kermit server should probably not be used for REMOTE commands unless someone is around to take care of it when it gets stuck. - - -MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC-- Section 7 1Kermit File Transfer Package 135 - 7.3.6. The SET Command 0Syntax: SET parameter value or: SET parameter parameter value 0The SET command establishes or modifies various parameters for file transfer or terminal connection. You can examine their values with the STATUS and SHOW commands. The following SET commands are available in Kermit-MS: 0 BAUD Communications port line speed (synonym for SPEED) BELL Whether to beep at the end of a transaction BLOCK-CHECK-TYPE Level of error checking for file transfer DEBUG Display packet contents during file transfer DEFAULT-DISK Default disk drive for file i/o DESTINATION Default destination device for incoming files DISPLAY For selecting the type of file transfer display DUMP Screen dump file (or device) name END-OF-LINE Packet termination character EOF Method for determining or marking end of file ESCAPE Escape character for CONNECT FLOW-CONTROL Enable or disable XON/XOFF HANDSHAKE Half-duplex line turnaround option INCOMPLETE What to do with an incompletely received file KEY Specify key redefinitions, or "keystroke macros" LOCAL-ECHO Specify which computer does the echoing during CONNECT MODE-LINE Whether to display a mode line during terminal emulation PARITY Character parity to use PORT Select a communications port PROMPT Change the "Kermit-MS>" prompt to something else RECEIVE Request remote Kermit to use specified parameters REMOTE For running Kermit-MS interactively from back port RETRY Packet retransmission threshold SEND Use the specified parameters during file transfer SPEED Communications port line speed (synonym for BAUD) TAKE-ECHO Control echoing of commands from TAKE files TERMINAL Emulation and parameters TIMER Enable/disable timeouts during file transfer WARNING Specify how to handle filename collisions 0Next, the SET commands will be described in greater detail. - - - - - Section 7 -- MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC 1136 Kermit File Transfer Package - SET BAUD 0Syntax: SET BAUD rate 0Set the speed of the currently selected terminal communications port (COM1 by default) to 300, 1200, 1800, 2400, 4800, 9600, 19200 bps, or other common speed Kermit-MS leaves the current communication port settings alone unless you issue explicit SET commands to change them. SET SPEED is an acceptable synonym for SET BAUD. Note that on certain systems, when you first run Kermit after powering the system up, you may get a message "Unrecognized baud rate". This means that Kermit tried to read the speed from the port and none was set. Simply use SET BAUD or the DOS MODE command to set the desired speed. The NIH Computer Center MSKERMIT.INI file sets this parameter to 2400. -SET BELL 0Syntax: SET BELL $ON, OFF 0Specifies whether bell (beeper) should sound upon completion of a file transfer operation. Normally ON. -SET BLOCK-CHECK 0Syntax: SET BLOCK-CHECK $1, 2, 3 0Selects the error detection method: a 1-character checksum, a 2-character checksum, or a 3-character 16-bit cyclic redundancy check (CRC). If the other Kermit program is not capable of type 2 or 3 checking methods, automatic fallback to type 1 will occur. NIH recommends use of type 3 whenever the other Kermit supports it. The NIH Computer Center MSKERMIT.INI file sets this parameter to 3. -SET DEBUG 0Syntax: SET DEBUG $ON, OFF 0When debugging is ON, Kermit will display packet traffic on your screen during file transfer. If the debugger is loaded, control will be transferred to it when Ctrl-C is typed. During terminal emulation (on the IBM PC only), control characters are displayed in uparrow notation. If logging is being done, file transfer packets are included in the log. When OFF (this is the default), debugging information is not displayed, and packets are not logged. - - - 0MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC-- Section 7 1Kermit File Transfer Package 137 - SET DEFAULT-DISK 0Syntax: SET DEFAULT-DISK x: 0Specify the default disk drive to use for file transfer, directory listings, and so forth. Equivalent to typing the DOS command for changing disks (A:, B:, etc). Affects Kermit and all inferior processes, but when you exit from Kermit, you will still have the same default disk as when you entered. -SET DESTINATION 0Syntax: SET DESTINATION device 0Specify the device for incoming files during file transfer: DISK, PRINTER, or SCREEN. SET DESTINATION PRINTER will cause incoming files to be spooled directly to the printer; SCREEN will send output normally destined for the disk to the screen. The normal destination is DISK. SET DESTINATION affects only files transferred with SEND, GET, or RECEIVE; it cannot be used to reroute the output from REMOTE server commands. - - - - - - - - - - - - Section 7 -- MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC 1138 Kermit File Transfer Package - SET DISPLAY 0Syntax: SET DISPLAY $QUIET, REGULAR, SERIAL 0During file transfer, MS-DOS Kermit's regular display is a formatted screen whose fields are randomly updated with file names, packet numbers, error counts, percent done, error messages, and so forth: 0 File name: FOO KBytes transferred: 7 0 Sending: In progress Percent done: 52% 0 Number of packets: 74 Number of retries: 2 Last error: None Last warning: None 0The items in the right-hand column are updated more or less at random. 0If you wish to run Kermit-MS interactively through the back port, for instance after the operator has done CTTY COM1, you must give the command SET REMOTE ON (which, currently at least, is equivalent to SET DISPLAY QUIET); this suppresses the file transfer display screen, so that the display won't interfere with the file transfer itself. You can also use this command to suppress the display in local mode, in case you are using a system that allows you to do other work while file transfer proceeds in the background. 0If you have your PC connected to a speaking device (a common practice for visually impaired people), or you are logging the display screen to a printer (using DOS XPrtSc or kermit > prn), the random nature of the regular display will make the results of little use. SET DISPLAY SERIAL is provided for this purpose; it causes the program to report progress "serially" on the screen. In serial mode, error messages are preceded with the word "Error" and repeat messages with the word "Retry". Packets are numbered as dots with every tenth being a plus sign. The packet display is automatically broken across lines at every 70th packet. The serial display makes much more sense when spoken than does the regular display. 0The serial display does not show the percent and kilobytes transferred. REGULAR is the default. -SET DUMP 0Syntax: SET DUMP path 0Changes the file or device name of the screen dump file. The normal file name is KERMIT.SCN. See the section on terminal emulation for details about screen dumps. - 0MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC-- Section 7 1Kermit File Transfer Package 139 - SET END-OF-LINE 0Syntax: SET END-OF-LINE number 0If the remote system needs packets to be terminated by anything other than carriage return, specify the decimal value of the desired ASCII character. The NIH MSKERMIT.INI file sets this parameter to 13 (carriage return). -SET EOF 0Syntax: SET EOF $CTRL-Z, NOCTRL-Z 0Controls how the end of file is handled. CTRL-Z specifies a Control-Z character should be appended to the end of an incoming file, unless it already ends with a Control-Z. Certain MS-DOS text editors and other applications require files to be in this format. For outbound files, treat the first Control-Z as the end of the local file, and do not send it or any subsequent characters. NOCTRL-Z is the default; incoming files are stored, and MS-DOS files are sent, exactly as is, in their entirety. The NIH Computer Center MSKERMIT.INI file sets this parameter to CTRL-Z. -SET ESCAPE 0Syntax: SET ESCAPE character 0Specify the control character you want to use to "escape" from remote connections back to Kermit-MS. The default is normally X] (Control-Rightbracket). The character is entered literally, and should normally be chosen from the ASCII control range. It is not possible to use non-ASCII characters (e.g., function keys) for this purpose. -SET FLOW-CONTROL 0Syntax: SET FLOW-CONTROL $XON/XOFF, NONE 0Specify the full duplex flow control to be done on the currently selected port. The options are XON/XOFF and NONE. The specified type of flow control will be done during both terminal emulation and file transfer. By default, XON/XOFF flow control is selected. XON/XOFF should not be used on half-duplex (local echo) connections. If XON/XOFF is used, HANDSHAKE should be set to NONE. The NIH MSKERMIT.INI file sets this parameter to XON/XOFF for the DECsystem-10, and to NONE for TSO and WYLBUR. - - - 0 Section 7 -- MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC 1140 Kermit File Transfer Package - SET HANDSHAKE 0Syntax: SET HANDSHAKE $CODE number, BELL, CR, LF, NONE, XOFF, XON 0Specify any half-duplex line turnaround handshake character for the currently selected port. The CODE number form allows any ASCII character to be specified by its decimal ASCII code. The specified handshaking is done during file transfer only. Handshake is NONE by default; if set to other than NONE, then FLOW-CONTROL should be set to NONE. The NIH MSKERMIT.INI file sets this parameter to NONE for the DECsystem-10 and TSO, and to XON for WYLBUR. -SET INCOMPLETE 0Syntax: SET INCOMPLETE $DISCARD, KEEP 0Specifies what to do with files that arrive incompletely: discard them or keep them. They are normally discarded. -SET KEY 0Syntax: SET KEY key-specifier 0Specifies that when the designated key is struck during terminal emulation, the associated character string is sent. The key-specifier is one of the keywords BACKSPACE, F1, F2, ..., or else SCAN followed by a scan code. 0If SCAN is used, it is followed by a decimal number to indicate the scan code of the key, which you would ascertain from your system reference manual, or else by using the Kermit-MS SHOW KEY command. SET KEY prompts you on a new line for the definition string. Certain characters, like ESC and CR, may not be entered literally into the string, but can be included by inserting escape codes of the form \ooo, a backslash followed by a 2- or 3-digit octal number corresponding to the ASCII value of the desired character. If some other key redefinition package, like ProKey, has been loaded, then its redefinitions will take precedence over Kermit's. 0The SET KEY command is illustrated in the terminal emulation section 7.4. Note that key redefinitions occur only during terminal emulation, and not at Kermit-MS command level, or outside of Kermit. - - - - -MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC-- Section 7 1Kermit File Transfer Package 141 - SET LOCAL-ECHO 0Syntax: SET LOCAL-ECHO $ON, OFF 0Specify how characters are echoed during terminal emulation on the currently selected port. ON specifies that characters are to be echoed by Kermit-MS (because neither the remote computer nor the communications circuitry has been requested to echo), and is appropriate for half-duplex connections. LOCAL-ECHO is OFF by default, for full-duplex, remote echo operation. 0When using Kermit to connect two PCs "back to back," use local echo so that when you CONNECT to the other PC to send messages to its operator, you can see what you are typing. Depending on the system, you may have to type a carriage return and a linefeed at the end of each line in order to make the display look right. The NIH Computer Center MSKERMIT.INI file sets this parameter to OFF for the DECsystem-10, and to ON for TSO and WYLBUR. -SET MODE-LINE 0Syntax: SET MODE-LINE $ON, OFF 0Turn the status, or "mode" line (the 25th line during terminal connection) on or off. When the mode line is enabled, it may be turned on and off using the CONNECT escape-level command M. Refer to the terminal emulation section, 7.4, for further details. - - - - - - - - - - Section 7 -- MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC 1142 Kermit File Transfer Package - SET PARITY 0Syntax: SET PARITY $EVEN, ODD, MARK, SPACE, NONE 0Specify the character parity to be used on the currently selected port. NONE means no parity processing is done, and the 8th bit of each character can be used for data when transmitting binary files. This is the normal case. 0You will need to SET PARITY to ODD, EVEN, MARK, or possibly SPACE when communicating with a system, or over a network, or through modems, concentrators, multiplexers, or front ends that require or impose character parity on the communication line. For instance, GTE Telenet normally uses MARK parity. If you neglect to SET PARITY when the communications equipment requires it, the symptom may be that terminal emulation works (well or maybe only partially), but file transfer does not work at all. 0If you have set parity to ODD, EVEN, MARK, or SPACE, then Kermit-MS will request that binary files will be transferred using 8th-bit-prefixing. If the other Kermit knows how to do 8th-bit-prefixing (this is an optional feature of the Kermit protocol, and not all implementations of Kermit have it), then binary files can be transmitted successfully. If NONE is specified, 8th-bit-prefixing will not be requested. Note that there is no advantage to using parity; it reduces Kermit's file transfer efficiency without providing any additional error detection. The SET PARITY command is provided only to allow Kermit to adapt to conditions where parity is required, or 8-bit transmission is otherwise thwarted. The NIH MSKERMIT.INI file sets this parameter to EVEN for TSO and WYLBUR, and to NONE for the DECsystem-10. -SET PORT 0Syntax: SET PORT $number, COM1, COM2 0On machines with more than one communications port, select the port to use for file transfer and CONNECT. This command lets you use a different asynchronous adapter, or switch between two or more simultaneous remote sessions. Subsequent SET SPEED, PARITY, HANDSHAKE, FLOW, and LOCAL-ECHO commands will apply to this port only. SET PORT 1 selects COM1, SET PORT 2 selects COM2. Kermit defaults to port 1. The NIH Computer Center MSKERMIT.INI file sets this parameter to 1. -SET PROMPT 0Syntax: SET PROMPT string 0This command allows you to change the MS-DOS Kermit program's prompt. - - - MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC-- Section 7 1Kermit File Transfer Package 143 - SET RECEIVE 0Syntax: SET RECEIVE parameter value 0At the beginning of a protocol operation, request the remote Kermit to use the given value specified parameter, or inform Kermit-MS that the remote Kermit will be using it. 0PACKET-LENGTH number 0 Ask the remote Kermit to use the specified maximum length for packets that it sends to Kermit-MS. The normal (and maximum) length is 94. Use this command to shorten packets if the communication line is noisy; this will decrease the probability that a particular packet will be corrupted, and will reduce the retransmission overhead when corruption occurs, but it will increase the protocol overhead. 0PADCHAR number 0 Ask the remote Kermit to use the given control character (expressed as a decimal number 0-31, or 127) for interpacket padding. Kermit-MS should never require any padding. 0PADDING number 0 Ask the remote Kermit to insert the given number of padding characters before each packet it sends. This should never be necessary. 0START-OF-PACKET number 0 If the remote Kermit will be marking the beginning of packets with a control character other than Control-A, use this command to tell Kermit-MS about it (the number should be the decimal ASCII value of a control character). This will be necessary only if the hosts or communication equipment involved cannot pass a Control-A through as data, or if some piece of communication equipment is echoing packets back at you. 0TIMEOUT number 0 Ask the remote Kermit to time out after the given number of seconds if a packet expected from Kermit-MS has not arrived. Use this command to change the normal timeout interval. - - - - Section 7 -- MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC 1144 Kermit File Transfer Package - SET REMOTE 0Syntax: SET REMOTE $ON, OFF 0SET REMOTE ON removes the file transfer display (as if you had given the command SET DISPLAY QUIET). It should be used when you are running Kermit-MS in remote mode (i.e., when coming in from another PC through the Kermit-MS's "back port", to which the console has been reassigned using the DOS CTTY command). It is necessary to issue this command because (a) Kermit-MS has no way of knowing that its console has been redirected, and (b) when the console is the same as the port, the file transfer display will interfere with the file transfer itself. SET REMOTE OFF returns the file transfer display to its preferred style (REGULAR or SERIAL). -SET RETRY 0Syntax: SET RETRY number 0Sets the number of times a packet is retransmitted before the protocol gives up. The number of retries can be between 1 and 63, and is 5 by default. This is an especially useful parameter when the communications line is noisy or the remote host is very busy. - - - - - - - - - - -MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC-- Section 7 1Kermit File Transfer Package 145 - SET SEND 0Syntax: SET SEND parameter value 0PACKET-LENGTH number 0 Use the specified maximum length for outbound packets. Normally, Kermit-MS uses whatever length the other Kermit requests. 0PADCHAR number 0 Use the specified control character for interpacket padding. Some hosts may require some padding characters (normally NUL or DEL) before a packet, and certain front ends or other communication equipment may need certain control characters to put them in the right modes. 0PADDING number 0 How many copies of the pad character to send before each packet, normally zero. 0PAUSE number 0 How many milliseconds to pause between sending the next packet, 0-127, normally zero. This helps half-duplex systems prepare for reception of our packet. Padding characters are sent only after the time limit expires. 0QUOTE number 0 Use the indicated printable character for prefixing (quoting) control characters and other prefix characters. The only reason to change this would be for sending a very long file that contains very many "#" characters (the normal control prefix) as data. 0START-OF-PACKET number 0 Mark the beginning of outbound packets with some control character other than Control-A. This will be necessary if the remote host or the communication channel involved cannot accept a Control-A as data, or if it echoes back your packets. The remote host must have been given the corresponding SET RECEIVE START-OF-PACKET command. 0TIMEOUT number 0 Change Kermit-MS's normal timeout interval; this command is effective only if TIMER is set to be ON; it is normally OFF so that the remote Kermit can control timeouts. When the timer is ON, the default timeout interval is 13 seconds. - - Section 7 -- MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC 1146 Kermit File Transfer Package - SET SPEED 0Syntax: SET SPEED rate 0Set the speed of the currently selected terminal communications port (COM1 by default) to 300, 1200, 1800, 2400, 4800, 9600, 19200 bps, or other common speed. The NIH Computer Center MSKERMIT.INI file sets this parameter to 2400. Kermit-MS leaves the current communication port settings alone unless you issue explicit SET commands to change them. SET BAUD is an acceptable synonym for SET SPEED. Note that on certain systems, when you first run Kermit after powering the system up, you may get a message "Unrecognized baud rate". This means that Kermit tried to read the baud rate from the port and none was set. Simply use SET SPEED or the DOS MODE command to set the desired speed. The NIH Computer Center MSKERMIT.INI file sets this parameter to 2400. -SET TAKE-ECHO 0Syntax: SET TAKE-ECHO ON or OFF 0Specifies whether screen display should occur during implicit or explicit TAKE operations on MSKERMIT.INI or other Kermit-MS command files, and during evaluation of macro definitions. Handy for finding errors. The NIH Computer Center MSKERMIT.INI file sets this parameter to ON. - - - - - - - - - - 0MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC-- Section 7 1Kermit File Transfer Package 147 - SET TERMINAL 0Syntax: SET TERMINAL parameter [value] 0This command controls most aspects of terminal emulation. Most of the parameters are only settable (or meaningful) on the IBM PC family and compatibles. 0The first group of parameters tells which kind of terminal to emulate. When Kermit-MS uses its built-in software for emulation, incoming characters are examined for screen control commands (escape sequences) specific to that terminal, and if encountered, the commands are executed on the PC screen. 0NONE Act as a dumb terminal. All incoming characters will be sent to the screen "bare", as-is, through DOS. If you have loaded a device driver into DOS for the CON device, such as ANSI.SYS, then that driver will be able to interpret the codes itself. Many non-IBM systems have their own screen control code interpreter built into DOS or firmware, or available as a loadable device driver. 0VT52 The DEC VT-52 terminal. 0HEATH The Heath/Zenith-19 terminal (H19), which supports all the VT52 commands, plus line and character insert/delete editing functions, and a 25th line. 0VT102 The DEC VT102 (ANSI) terminal, which is the same as a VT100 but also supports line/character insert/delete editing functions. VT102 is the default value set by the NIH MSKERMIT.INI file. 0TEKTRONIX 0 A Tektronix 4010 graphics terminal. Available on TI and Victor PCs; not available on IBM PCs. 0The specific escape sequences supported by Kermit for each of these terminal types are listed in section 7.5. - - - - - - Section 7 -- MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC 1148 Kermit File Transfer Package - The remaining SET TERMINAL commands specify setup options for the selected terminal: 0 CHARACTER-SET $UK, US 0 UK displays # as a pound sterling sign, US displays # as #. 0 COLOR number [, number [, number]] 0 Several numbers, applied in left to right sequence, separated by commas or spaces: 0 0 Reset the colors to normal intensity white characters on a black background and use the "no-snow" mode on the IBM Color Graphics Adapter (CGA). 1 High intensity foreground 10 Request fast screen updating for use on the IBM EGA or PGA, and some non-IBM CGAs. 3x Foreground color 4x Background color 0 where x is a single digit from 0 to 7, which is the sum of the desired colors: 0 1 Red 2 Green 4 Blue 0 Example: 0, 1, 34, 40 on an IBM CGA would produce blue characters on black field with no snow. The snow removal business has to do with whether the program should synchronize with vertical retrace when updating screen memory. This is necessary with certain color adaptors (like the CGA) and unnecessary for others (like the EGA). 0 CURSOR-STYLE $BLOCK, UNDERLINE 0 Sets the cursor rendition to your preference. Note that on some early IBM PCs and compatibles, the cursor may not be restored correctly after escape back from CONNECT because of a bug in the early IBM BIOS. 0 KEYCLICK $ON, OFF 0 Turns electronic keyclick ON or OFF. If your keyboard has a mechanical clicker (as IBM boards do), you may not notice the effect of this command. 0 MARGIN-BELL $ON, OFF 0 Controls whether the bell should be sounded when the cursor passes column 72 near the right screen margin. - -MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC-- Section 7 1Kermit File Transfer Package 149 - NEWLINE-MODE $ON, OFF 0 ON sends a carriage-return-linefeed combination (CRLF) when you type carriage return (CR) during terminal emulation; OFF (default) just sends a CR when you type CR. The NIH Computer Center MSKERMIT.INI file sets this parameter to OFF. 0 SCREEN-BACKROUND $NORMAL, REVERSE 0 NORMAL means dark background, light characters. REVERSE means light background, dark characters. 0 TAB $AT n, CLEAR AT n, CLEAR ALL 0 Sets tab stops or clears one or all tab stops. n is the numeric position of the tab to be set or cleared. By default, tabs are every 8 spaces, at positions 9, 17, 25, etc. Only meaningful when emulating a terminal that has settable tabs (the VT52 doesn't). More than one tabstop may be specified by separating column numbers with commas, spaces, or tabs. The NIH Computer Center MSKERMIT.INI file sets tabs at 9, 17, 25, 33, 41, 49, 57, 65, and 73. 0 WRAP $ON, OFF 0 ON automatically breaks screen lines (by inserting a CRLF) when they reach the the right margin; OFF disables wrapping -- if a line is too long, the excess characters go off the screen. The NIH MSKERMIT.INI file sets this parameter to OFF for the DECsystem-10, and to ON for TSO and WYLBUR. -SET TIMER 0Syntax: SET TIMER $ON, OFF 0This command enables or disables the timer that is used during file transfer to break deadlocks that occur when expected packets do not arrive. By default, the timer is ON. The NIH Computer Center MSKERMIT.INI file sets this parameter to OFF. - - - - - 0 Section 7 -- MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC 1150 Kermit File Transfer Package - SET WARNING 0Syntax: SET WARNING $ON, OFF 0Specify what to do when an incoming file has the same name as an existing file in the default directory of the default device. If ON, Kermit will warn you when an incoming file has the same name as an existing file, and automatically rename the incoming file (as indicated in the warning message) so as not to destroy (overwrite) any existing one. If OFF, the pre-existing file is destroyed, even if the incoming file does not arrive completely. WARNING is ON by default. 0The new name is formed by adding numbers to the part of the name before the dot. For instance, ABC.TXT becomes ABC00001.TXT, then ABC00002.TXT, etc. -7.3.7. The SHOW Command 0Syntax: SHOW option 0Most parameters that may be altered with SET commands are displayed by the STATUS command. The SHOW command is used for displaying macro definitions and key redefinitions. 0The SHOW MACROS command displays the definitions of all currently defined macros, as well as the amount of space left for new macro definitions. 0The SHOW KEY command allows you to determine the scan code produced by pressing a given key, so that you can construct a SET KEY SCAN command to redefine the key. If the key already has a redefinition in effect, that too will be displayed. This can be done either interactively or in a macro command. Refer to the terminal emulation section for examples. - - - - - - - -MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC-- Section 7 1Kermit File Transfer Package 151 - 7.3.8. Command Macros 0Kermit-MS provides a facility for combining commands into "macros." Command macro definitions may be included in your MSKERMIT.INI file, TAKEn explicitly from a specified file, or typed interactively. Macros are invoked with the DO command. - The DEFINE Command 0Syntax: DEFINE macro-name [command [, command [, ...]]] 0Kermit-MS command macros are constructed with the DEFINE command. Any Kermit-MS commands may be included. Example: 0 define tso set parity even, set speed 2400, connect 0A macro can be undefined by typing an empty DEFINE command for it, like 0 define tso 0A macro definition may be no longer than 128 characters. Longer definitions can be accomplished by "chaining." Example: 0 define setup set port 1, set speed 19200, set parity even, do setup2 define setup2 set port 2, set speed 1200, set parity none, do setup3 define setup3 set warning on, set incomplete keep, connect 0The SHOW MACROS command displays the value of all currently defined macros, and tells how much space is left for further definitions. - - - - - - - - 0 Section 7 -- MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC 1152 Kermit File Transfer Package - The DO Command 0A Kermit-MS command macro is invoked using the DO command. For instance, the NIH supplied MSKERMIT.INI file defines the macros WYLBUR, DEC10, TSO, and 3270. To setup the emulation for WYLBUR, you would type 0 do wylbur + _________ 0The WYLBUR macro contains SET commands for speed, parity, local echo, etc. You can use the DEFINE command to redefine the macro or to nullify the macro definition altogether. The latter is accomplished by creating an empty macro, e.g. 0 define ______ + _______wylbur 0There is no automatic way to undo (negate) the effect of DOing a macro. If you need to accomplish this effect, you should use another macro for that purpose. For instance, to undo the effect of "do wylbur" so that you could connect to, say, the DECsystem-10, you could: 0 do dec10 + ________ 0using another of the predefined macros in the MSKERMIT.INI file supplied by the NIH Computer Center. 0If you wish to view the macro expansion whenever you issue a DO command, you can SET TAKE-ECHO ON. - - - - - - - - - 0MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC-- Section 7 1Kermit File Transfer Package 153 - 7.4. Terminal Emulation 0When you issue the CONNECT command, your PC acts as a terminal connected to a remote computer through the currently selected port. The characters you type are sent out the port, and characters that arrive at the port are displayed on your screen, or interpreted according to whatever type of terminal is being emulated. 0If you have not previously issued a SET PORT command, COM1 is used. If you have SET LOCAL-ECHO ON for the selected port, then Kermit-MS will display characters on the screen as you type them, otherwise it will rely on the remote system to echo them. XON/XOFF flow control will be done unless you have SET FLOW-CONTROL OFF. If you have SET PARITY to anything other than NONE, Kermit-MS will add the appropriate parity to each outbound character. While CONNECTed, you can also communicate directly with an autodialer or "smart modem" to control the communications line, hang it up, and the like, for instance, by typing AT commands to a Hayes-compatible modem. 0When you CONNECT, the program attempts to raise the DTR and RTS RS-232 signals, and it takes no specific action to lower them unless you explicitly issue the HANGUP command. 0The IBM PC version of Kermit-MS emulates the DEC VT102 terminal by default, and may also be instructed to emulate the DEC VT52, the Heath/Zenith-19, or no terminal at all, via the SET TERMINAL command. Emulation of each of these terminals is nearly complete. VT102 emulation lacks only smooth scroll, 132 column mode, and ANSI printer control. Double-height, double-width characters are supported, but simulated using ordinary characters. On color monitors, the foreground and background colors may be set using SET TERMINAL COLOR, and inverse/normal video display may also be selected, along with many other terminal parameters. A complete list of the commands, default key configurations, and escape sequences accepted by the IBM PC Kermit terminal emulator is given in section 7.5. - - - - - - - 0 Section 7 -- MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC 1154 Kermit File Transfer Package - The Escape Character 0The escape character is used to regain the attention of Kermit-MS during CONNECT, i.e., terminal emulation. When you type the escape character, Kermit-MS waits for you to follow it with a single character command. For instance, the single character command "?" produces a list of available single character commands. This command is executed immediately; it may not be edited, and the program does not wait for a carriage return to confirm it. Here are the CONNECT escape-level commands available in Kermit-MS: 0 ? Help -- prints the available single-character commands. 0 (the digit zero) Transmit a NUL (ASCII 0). B Transmit a BREAK signal. C Close the connection and return to Kermit-MS prompt level. F File the current screen in the screen dump file. M Toggle the mode line, i.e., turn it off if it is on & vice versa. P Push to DOS; get back to CONNECT by typing EXIT. Q Temporarily quit logging the remote session. R Resume logging the remote session. S Show the status of the connection. X] (or whatever you have set the escape character to be) Typing the escape character twice sends one copy of it to the connected host. 0Typing any other character (except the space bar, which is the "null command") after the escape character will cause Kermit-MS to beep, but will do no harm. The escape character can be changed to something other than Control-Rightbracket by using the SET ESCAPE command. 0Note: Ctrl-Break can be used to transmit a BREAK signal. You may find this more convenient to use than typing the escape character followed by the letter B. - - - - - - - -MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC-- Section 7 1Kermit File Transfer Package 155 - The Mode Line 0When you first issue the CONNECT command, an inverse video "mode line" will display the most important facts about the connection you've just established, so that you can quickly diagnose any problems. Here's what the IBM PC mode line looks like: 0+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Esc-chr:X] help:X]? port:1 speed:2400 parity:even echo:rem VT102 .... PRN | +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ 0This shows that the escape character is Ctrl-Rightbracket, that you would type Ctrl-rightbracket followed by question mark (X]?) to get help during CONNECT, that you are connected on port 1 at 2400 baud with even parity and remote echo, and that a VT102 terminal is being emulated. The four dots represent the VT102s LEDs (they turn into the digits 1,2,3,4 when "lit") and PRN will show up if the printer is activated (e.g., by Ctrl-PrintScreen). 0The mode line occupies the 25th line of the screen, and is not affected by scrolling. When emulating a VT102 or Heath-19, Kermit will allow the host to address the 25th line directly using cursor positioning commands. If this happens, Kermit will remove its mode line and relinquish control of the 25th line to the host (as if you had typed SET MODE OFF). When no terminal is being emulated, the 25th line (if any) is available for scrolling. If the mode line is disabled by an application or by the command SET MODE OFF then the only way to revive Kermit's mode line display is to give the command SET MODE ON. -7.4.1. Screen Scroll 0On certain systems, Kermit-MS provides several pages of screen memory, which may be scrolled up and down using keys as shown in Table 1-1. 0------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Screen Forward Line Forward Screen Backward Line Backward 0 PgDn Ctrl-PgDn PgUp Ctrl-PgUp 0 Table 7-1: Kermit-MS Screen Scroll Keys 0------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0There is no way to assign these functions to other keys. 0The IBM PC also allows use of the Home key to get to the top of its display memory and End key to get to the bottom, and the keypad plus (+) key to toggle the mode line on and off. - - Section 7 -- MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC 1156 Kermit File Transfer Package - 7.4.2. Screen Dump 0The screen dump feature writes the contents of the screen to a file (KERMIT.SCN unless another file was selected by the SET DUMP command) when the CONNECT escape-level command F is typed. The screen dump file is appended to on each successive screen dump, with each screen separated by a formfeed (Ctrl-L). This feature may be used in conjunction with screen rollback -- a handy way to recapture screenfuls of laboriously typed-in text after a remote host has crashed without saving your work. 0A screen dump differs from a session log in two ways. First, each desired screen must be manually filed, and second, the screen dump file has been stripped of any escape sequences, whereas the session log records them. -7.4.3. Printer Control 0During terminal emulation, a locally attached printer may be controlled in the normal manner. Pushing the "Print Screen" key shifted will cause the current contents of the screen to be printed or spooled; holding down CTRL while depressing Print Screen will start or stop the spooling of incoming characters to the printer. On the IBM PC, the mode line will show PRN when the printer is activated in this manner. XP or XN are sent to the host during terminal emulation, and do not toggle printing, as they do when you're talking directly to DOS. 0CTRL-Print-Screen can be simulated with the Kermit-MS LOG PRN and CLOSE commands. -7.4.4. Key Redefinitions 0Key redefinitions are useful for defining "keystroke macros" of login sequences, frequently issued commands, and so forth, and for setting up the terminal for use with host resident software designed to work with terminals that send predefined sequences from their function keys. For instance, here's a key redefinition file for arranging the DEC Rainbow keyboard into the normal ASCII keyboard layout: 0 ; Make shift-comma send a left angle bracket set key scan 556 < ; Shift-period sends a right angle bracket set key scan 558 > ; Accent grave is where ESC is supposed to be set key scan 96 \33 ; Put accent grave on the ESC function key set key f11 ` - 0MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC-- Section 7 1Kermit File Transfer Package 157 - More Examples: 0 ; set AT&T 2224B autodial sequence for access to TSO in F9 key. SET KEY F9 AT4922223\15 ; set F10 key to TSO LOGON command. SET KEY F10 LOGON AAAAIII/NONE/BBB\15 0Since SET KEY is a two-line command, a special trick is necessary in order to include it in a single-line macro definition: just use a comma where you would have typed carriage return after the first line, for instance: 0 define bar set key scan 261,foo 0The CLEAR command may be used to eliminate all key redefinitions. The SET KEY facility may be used provide the PC with a "meta" key for use with editors like EMACS or TVEDIT that can use "meta characters" as commands. Note: No Computer Center supported software offered on the IBM System 370 uses meta keys as described here. A meta key is a shift key whose effect is to turn on the 8th (parity) bit of the character. For instance, on the IBM PC the scan codes produced by holding down ALT together with other keys can be determined using SHOW KEY, and then 8-bit ASCII equivalents with the 8th bit turned on can be defined using SET KEY; if the scan code produced by typing ALT-a, i.e., the letter "a" (ASCII 141, octal) with the ALT key held down, is 2078 (decimal), you would set the META equivalent to 141+200=341 (octal), or "\341" in octal SET KEY notation: 0 Kermit-MS>show key Press a key: ALT-a Scan Code: 2078 Definition: Kermit-MS>set key scan 2078 Definition String: \341 0Whenever you type ALT-a with this definition in effect, Kermit-MS will transmit octal 341, rather than 141. - - - - - - Section 7 -- MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC 1158 Kermit File Transfer Package - 7.5. IBM-PC MS Kermit Terminal Emulator Summary 0 By Joe Doupnik, Utah State University 0This section summarizes the IBM PC Kermit-MS keyboard and screen operation during emulation of H19, VT52, and VT102 terminals. Note that spaces shown between characters of escape sequences are there for ease of reading; the actual sequences contain no spaces. -7.5.1. Keyboard Layout and Characters Sent 0Here is how the keypad functions are assigned to the IBM keyboard function keys: 0--------------------------------------------------------------------------- Heath-19 and VT52 Keypads VT102 keypad IBM Keys IBM keys +------+------+-------+----------+ +------+------+------+------+ | Blue | Red | Grey | up arrow | | PF1 | PF2 | PF3 | PF4 | | F1 | F2 | F3 | up arrow | | F1 | F2 | F3 | F4 | +------+------+-------+----------+ +------+------+------+------+ | 7 | 8 | 9 |down arrow| | 7 | 8 | 9 | - | | F5 | F6 | F7 |down arrow| | F5 | F6 | F7 | F8 | +------+------+-------+----------+ +------+------+------+------+ | 4 | 5 | 6 | rgt arrow| | 4 | 5 | 6 | , | | F9 | F10 | SF1 | rgt arrow| | F9 | F10 | SF1 | SF2 | +------+------+-------+----------+ +------+------+------+------+ | 1 | 2 | 3 |left arrow| | 1 | 2 | 3 | E | | SF3 | SF4 | SF5 |left arrow| | SF3 | SF4 | SF5 | n S| +------+------+-------+----------+ +------+------+------+ t F| | 0------0 | . | Enter | | 0------0 | . | e 6| | SF7 | SF8 | SF6 | | SF7 | SF8 | r | +-------------+-------+----------+ +-------------+------+------+ - SF1 means push Shift and F1 keys simultaneously 0--------------------------------------------------------------------------- -Cursor Keys - H-19 & VT52 VT102 VT52/H19 key IBM key All Modes Numeric Application up arrow up arrow ESC A ESC [ A ESC O A down arrow down arrow ESC B ESC [ B ESC O B right arrow right arrow ESC C ESC [ C ESC O C left arrow left arrow ESC D ESC [ D ESC O D - - MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC-- Section 7 1Kermit File Transfer Package 159 - Auxiliary Keypad 0 Heath-19 & VT52 VT102 VT52/H19 key IBM key Numeric Applic. Numeric Applic. 0PF1/HF7/Blue F1 ESC P ESC P ESC O P ESC O P PF2/HF8/Red F2 ESC Q ESC Q ESC O Q ESC O Q PF3/HF9/Grey F3 ESC R ESC R ESC O R ESC O R PF4/HF1 F4 ESC S ESC S ESC O S ESC O S 0 SF7 ESC ? p ESC O p 1 SF3 ESC ? q ESC O q 2 SF4 ESC ? r ESC O r 3 SF5 ESC ? s ESC O s 4 F9 ESC ? t ESC O t 5 F10 ESC ? u ESC O u 6 SF1 ESC ? v ESC O v 7 F5 ESC ? w ESC O w 8 F6 ESC ? x ESC O x 9 F7 ESC ? y ESC O y - (minus) F8 ESC ? m ESC O m , (comma) SF2 ESC ? l ESC O l (ell) . (period) SF8 ESC ? n ESC O n Enter SF6 ESC ? M ESC O M - (SFn means hold down Shift key while pressing Function key n.) -Other IBM keys operational in Connect mode: 0Del (White key) Send ASCII Del code (rubout). Backspace Send ASCII Del code (rubout). Shift BackSpace Send ASCII BS code (backspace). Keypad (Grey)+ Toggle mode line on/off (only if Mode Line is enabled). Alt - Toggle among Heath-19, VT52, and VT100 emulation. Alt = Clear screen and reset terminal emulator to starting (setup) state. Home Roll screen up (text down) to beginning of storage. End Roll screen down (text up) to end of storage. PgUp Roll screen up (back, earlier) one screen full. PgDn Roll screen down (forward, later) one screen full. Ctrl-PgUp Roll screen up one line. Ctrl-PdDn Roll screen down one line. 0Control-PrtSc Toggle on/off copying of received text to printer, "PRN" shows on far right of mode line when activated. 0Control-End Dump image of screen to a disk file or device. Default filename is KERMIT.SCN in the current directory. Use command SET DUMP to change the filename. Screen images are appended to the file, separated by formfeeds. - 0 Section 7 -- MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC 1160 Kermit File Transfer Package - Shift-PrtSc Standard Print-screen, dump screen image to printer. 0"Alt -" means hold down Alt and type minus. This switches among the various kinds of emulation, but does not change most operating parameters of the emulator. -CONNECT Escape Commands 0Type Kermit escape character (normally "X]"), then one of the keys below: 0 ? display this short list. 0 send a null character. B send a BREAK signal. C close connect session & return to Kermit prompt. F dump screen to filespec, default is Kermit.scn. M toggle mode line on/off. P push to DOS. Q quit (suspend) logging. R resume logging. S show status. Kermit escape character itself: send it to the host. - - - - - - - - - - - MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC-- Section 7 1Kermit File Transfer Package 161 - 7.5.2. Responses to Characters Received by the Terminal Emulator 0Unknown escape sequences of the form "ESC char" are absorbed by the emulator without further effect. 0DEC VT102 functions while in ANSI (VT102) mode, unsupported features marked by asterisk (*): 0Escape Seq Mnemonic Description of Action ESC D IND Index, moves cursor down one line, can scroll ESC E NEL Move cursor to start of line below, can scroll ESC H HTS Set one horizontal tab at current position ESC M RI Reverse Index, cursor up one line, can scroll ESC Z DECID Identify terminal (response is ESC [ ? 6 c) ESC c RIS Reset terminal to initial state ESC = DECKPAM Enter keypad application mode ESC > DECKNPNM Enter keypad numeric mode ESC 7 DECSC Save cursor position and attributes ESC 8 DECRC Restore cursor from previously saved position ESC # 3 DECDHL Double height and width line, top half ESC # 4 DECDHL Double height and width line, bottom half ESC # 5 DECSWL Single height and width line ESC # 6 DECDWL Double width single height line ESC # 8 DECALN Screen alignment diagnostic - not supported ESC [ Pn A CUU Cursor up Pn lines, does not scroll ESC [ Pn B CUD Cursor down Pn lines, does not scroll ESC [ Pn C CUF Cursor forward, stays on same line ESC [ Pn D CUB Cursor backward, stays on same line ESC [ Pn; Pn H CUP Set cursor to row, column (same as HVP) ESC [ Ps J ED Erase in display: 0 = cursor to end of screen, inclusive 1 = start of screen to cursor, inclusive 2 = entire screen, reset lines to single width, cursor does not move. ESC [ Ps K EL Erase in line: 0 = cursor to end of line, inclusive 1 = start of line to cursor, inclusive 2 = entire line ESC [ Pn L (VT102) Insert Pn lines preceding current line. ESC [ Pn M (VT102) Delete Pn lines from current downward, incl. ESC [ Pn P (VT102) Delete Pn chars from cursor to left, incl. ESC [ Pn; Pn R CPR Cursor report (row, column), sent by terminal Example: home position yields ESC [ 1; 1 R ESC [ Pn c DA Device attributes (reports ESC [ ? 6 c) ESC [ Pn; Pn f HVP Set cursor to row, column (same as CUP) ESC [ Ps g TBC Tabs clear, 0 = at this position, 3 = all ESC [ 20 h LNM Set newline mode (lf = cr/lf) ESC [ 20 l LNM Reset newline mode (lf = lf) ESC [ ? Ps;...;Ps h SM Set mode, see table below ESC [ ? Ps;...;Ps l RM Reset mode, see table below Ps mnemonic mode set reset 0 error (ignored) - Section 7 -- MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC 1162 Kermit File Transfer Package - 1 DECCKM cursor keys application cursor/numeric 2 DECANM ANSI/VT52 ANSI/VT102 VT52 3 DECCOLM Columns *132 col 80 col 4 DECSCLM *Scrolling smooth jump 4 (VT102) Insert/Replace insert replace 5 DECSCNM Screen reverse video normal 6 DECOM Origin relative absolute 7 DECAWM Autowrap on off 8 DECARM *Autorepeat on off 9 DECINLM *Interlace on off 18 (VT102) *Printer termination character 19 (VT102) *Printer extent ESC [ Pn i (VT102) *Printer controls ESC [ ? Pn i (VT102) *Printer controls ESC [ Ps;...;Ps m SGR Select graphic rendition 0 = all attributes off (#'s 1, 4, 5, 7) 1 = bold, intensify foreground 4 = underscore (reverse video on IBM CGA) 5 = blink 7 = reverse video non-DEC extensions: 30-37 = foreground color = 30 + colors 40-47 = background color = 40 + colors colors: 1 = red, 2 = green, 4 = blue ESC [ Ps n DSR Device Status Report. Response from VT100: 0 = ready, 3=malfunction. Command to VT100: 5 = report status with DSR, 6 = report cursor position using CPR sequence. ESC [ Ps;...;Ps q DECLL Load LEDs, Ps=0 means clear LED#1-4 Ps = 1,2,3,4 sets LED # 1,2,3,4 ESC [ Pn; Pn r DECSTBM Set top and bottom scrolling margins ESC [ sol x DECREQTPARM Request terminal parameters, see table below ESC [ sol; par; nbits; xspeed; rspeed; clkmul; flags x DECREPTPARM Reports terminal parameters *sol = 0 request; term can send unsolicited reports - not supported sol = 1, request; term reports only on request sol = 2, this is a report (DECREPTPARM) sol = 3, terminal reporting only on request par = 1 none, 2 space, 3 mark, 4 odd, 5 even nbits = 1 (8 bits/char), 2 (7 bits/char) xspeed,rspeed = transmit & receive speed index 0,8,16,24,32,40,48,56,64,72,80,88,96,104,112,120 correspond to speeds of 50,75,110,134.5,150,200,300,600,1200,1800,2000,2400,3600,4800,9600,19200 baud clkmul = 1 (clock rate multiplier is 16) flags = 0-15 (Setup Block #5), always 0 here ESC [ 2; Ps y DECST *Confidence tests - not supported SCS Select character sets. ESC ( A SCS G0 points to UK symbols ESC ) A SCS G1 points to UK symbols ESC ( B SCS G0 points to ASCII symbols ESC ) B SCS G1 points to ASCII symbols ESC ( 0 SCS G0 points to special (line drawing) graphics - MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC-- Section 7 1Kermit File Transfer Package 163 - ESC ) 0 SCS G1 points to special (line drawing) graphics ESC ( 1 SCS *G0 points to alt char ROM - not supported ESC ) 1 SCS *G1 points to alt char ROM - not supported ESC ( 2 SCS *G0 points to alt graphics ROM - not supported ESC ) 2 SCS *G1 points to alt graphics ROM - not supported 0XG BELL Sound VT102 style beep XH BS Backspace, move cursor left one character XI HT Horizontal tab, move cursor to next tabstop XJ LF Linefeed, move cursor down one line XL FF Formfeed, treated as a line feed XM CR Carriage return, move cursor to col 1 XN SO Invoke usage of G1 character set XO SI Invoke usage of G0 character set 0Other extensions: ESC [ ? 6 h ESC [ 25; Pc f VT52/VT100 move cursor to 25th line. ESC [ ? 6 h ESC [ 25; Pc H VT52/VT100 move cursor to 25th line. (These will disable Kermit's own status line.) ESC * char VT200 series graphics command, ignored. - - - - - - - - - - - - Section 7 -- MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC 1164 Kermit File Transfer Package - 7.5.3. DEC VT102 Functions while in VT52 Mode 0Escape seq Description of action ESC A Cursor up ESC B Cursor down ESC C Cursor right ESC D Cursor left ESC F Enter graphics mode ESC G Exit graphics mode ESC H Cursor home ESC I Reverse line feed ESC J Erase to end of screen ESC K Erase to end of line ESC Y row column Direct cursor address, offset from space ESC Z Identify (response is ESC / Z) ESC = Enter alternate keypad mode ESC > Exit alternate keypad mode ESC < Enter ANSI mode (changes to VT102) - - - - - - - - - - - - 0MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC-- Section 7 1Kermit File Transfer Package 165 - 7.5.4. Heath-19 Functions -Heath-19 Functions while in Non-ANSI Mode 0Escape seq Mnemonic Description of action ESC A HCUU Cursor Up ESC B HCUD Cursor Down ESC C HCUF Cursor Forward, can jump to next line ESC D HCUB Cursor Backward, can jump to previous line ESC E HCD Clear display ESC F HEGM Enter Graphics mode ESC G HXGM Exit Graphic mode ESC H HCUH Cursor Home ESC I HRI Reverse Index ESC J HEOP Erase to end of page ESC K HEOL Erase to end of line ESC L HIL Insert line ESC M HDL Delete line ESC N HDCH Delete character ESC O HERM Exit Insert Char mode ESC Y row col HDCA Direct cursor addressing, offset from space ESC Z HID Identify (responds ESC / K which is a VT52) ESC b HBD Erase Beginning of display ESC j HSCP Save cursor position ESC k HRCP Set cursor to saved position ESC l HEL Erase entire line ESC n HCPR Cursor Position Report request ESC o HEBL Erase beginning of line ESC p HERV Enter Reverse Video mode ESC q HXRV Exit Reverse Video mode ESC r Bn HMBR *Modify baud rate - not supported ESC t HEKS *Enter Keypad shifted mode, not supported ESC u HXKS *Exit Keypad shifted mode, not supported ESC v HEWA Wrap around at end of line ESC w HXWA Discard at end of line ESC x Ps HSM Set Mode. See table below ESC y Ps HRM Reset Mode. See table below 0 Ps Mnemonic Mode Set Reset 1 HSM/HRM 25th line enabled disabled 2 *keyclick off on 3 *holdscreen enabled disabled 4 cursor type block underl. 5 *cursor on/off on off 6 *keypad shifted shifted unshifted 7 alt app keypad enabled disabled 8 *linefeed CR=CRLF just CR 9 newline mode enabled disabled 0ESC z HRAM Reset to power-up configuration ESC = HAKM Enter Alternate Keypad mode - Section 7 -- MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC 1166 Kermit File Transfer Package - ESC > HXAM Exit Alternate Keypad mode ESC < HEAM Enter ANSI mode (ESC [ stuff) ESC @ HEIM Enter Insert Char mode ESC [ HEHS *Enter Hold Screen mode, not supported ESC \ HXHS *Exit Hold Screen mode, not supported ESC $ and HEK, HDK *Keyboard enable/disable, not supported ESC ] HX25 *Transmit 25th line, not supported ESC # HXMP *Transmit page, not supported -Heath-19 Functions while in ANSI Mode 0Escape Seq Mnemonic Description of Action ESC [ s PSCP Save cursor position & attributes ESC [ u PRCP Restore cursor position & attributes ESC [ z PRAM Reset to power-up configuration ESC [ 2 J ED Erase entire screen but do not move cursor; regular Heath-19 moves cursor to Home. ESC [ ? 2 h PEHM Revert to normal Heath-19 non-ANSI mode ESC [ > Ps h SM Same as ESC x Ps ESC [ > Ps l RM Same as ESC y Ps 0Plus most of the ANSI escape sequences listed for the VT102. - - - - - - - - - - -MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC-- Section 7 1Kermit File Transfer Package 167 - 7.6. Installing MS-DOS Kermit on a Fixed Disk -The NIH Computer Center supplied diskette contains a file (named READ.ME) with instructions for installing MS-DOS Kermit on a fixed disk. To display the instructions, issue the DOS command: TYPE A:READ.ME. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0 Section 7 -- MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC 1168 Kermit File Transfer Package - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM-PC-- Section 7 1Kermit File Transfer Package 169 - 8. APPLE-DOS Kermit -Kermit-A2 Capabilities At A Glance: 0 Local operation: Yes Remote operation: Yes Transfers text files: Yes Transfers binary files: Yes Wildcard send: No XX/XY interruption: Yes Filename collision avoidance: Yes Can time out: Yes 8th-bit prefixing: Yes Repeat count prefixing: No Alternate block checks: No Terminal emulation: Yes (VT52) Communication settings: Yes; local echo, parity Transmit BREAK: Yes IBM communication: Yes Transaction logging: No Session logging (raw download): No Raw upload: No Act as server: No Talk to server: Yes Advanced commands for servers: No Local file management: Yes Handle file attributes: No Command/init files: No Printer control: No 0KERMIT-A2 is a program that implements the Kermit file transfer protocol for the Apple ][ microcomputer system. It is written in 6502 assembly language and should run on any Apple ][, Apple ][ Plus, Apple //e, enhanced Apple //e, or Apple //c system running DOS 3.3. This section will describe the things you should know about the DOS 3.3 file system in order to make effective use of KERMIT, and then it will describe the special features of the KERMIT-A2 program. - - - - - - Section 8 -- APPLE-DOS Kermit for the Apple ][ 1170 Kermit File Transfer Package - 8.1. The DOS 3.3 File System 0Items of importance which will be discussed in this section include Filenames and File Characteristics. 0Apple DOS Filenames 0Filenames under Apple DOS may contain almost any ASCII character (including space). It is not recommended that special characters, (i.e., control characters or spaces) be used in a filename to be transferred by Kermit-A2 since they may cause problems when parsing the filename. 0Filenames may be up to 30 characters in length and must begin with a letter. No wildcarding of any kind can be done in KERMIT-A2. -Apple DOS File Characteristics 0All files in Apple DOS have a file type associated with them which is contained in the directory entry for the file but is not part of the filename itself. There are four types of files in DOS 3.3. They are: 0 - APPLESOFT BASIC 0 - INTEGER BASIC 0 - BINARY 0 - TEXT 0All file types have their data stored in eight-bit bytes although not all of them need the eighth bit. The two file types containing BASIC programs required the eighth bit due to the nature of the data being stored. BINARY files are images of memory copied into a file. Often, these are machine code programs. These files require all eight bits. TEXT files normally contain only printable or carriage control characters. They are stored in the form of seven-bit ASCII characters but the eighth bit should always be set since Apples manipulate all text internally as 'NEGATIVE ASCII'. 0When transmitting text files, the byte size should be set to seven-bit. When transmitting anything else, the user must insure that both Kermits are handling eight bit data so that no information is lost. If an eight-bit data path is not available (i.e., the remote Kermit needs to do parity checking with the eigth bit), then eight-bit quoting should be used. Of course, BINARY files as well as Apple BASIC files will not have much meaning on a different system. If the user desires to edit a BASIC file on a mainframe, for instance, he must convert it to a TEXT file before sending it over. After receiving the file back on the Apple, the user may convert it back to BASIC once again. The reason BASIC files would be meaningless to a different machine is that the Apple stores BASIC keywords as single character tokens to save space and processing time. To convert a BASIC program to and from a TEXT file, consult the Apple DOS 3.3 Manual. - 0APPLE-DOS Kermit for the Apple ][-- Section 8 1Kermit File Transfer Package 171 - File information can be obtained by issuing the CATALOG command. For example: 0 ]CATALOG 0 DISK VOLUME 010 *A 002 HELLO B 078 KERMIT A 002 READER T 005 TESTFILE 0 ] 0When KERMIT-A2 is receiving a file, the file it creates on the diskette will be of the type indicated by the FILE-TYPE parameter. The file will always be left in an unlocked state after it is closed by KERMIT-A2. When sending a file, KERMIT-A2 will use the FILE-TYPE parameter to determine how to detect an End-of-file condition. Thus, it is important to have this set properly in all cases. -Recommendations for Archiving Files 0When using a large system for archiving purposes, there is no reason to convert Apple Basic programs into text files before sending them since there is no need to edit them on the mainframe. 0The FILE-TYPE parameter must always be set correctly when sending and receiving files. Also, when sending files which require eight-bit BYTE-SIZEs, this parameter must also be set properly since KERMIT-A2 does not change it automatically based on FILE-TYPE. 0The procedure for archiving TEXT files is: 0 - Run Kermit on remote system 0 - SET BYTE-SIZE 7-BIT ! On KERMIT-A2 0 - SET FILE-TYPE TEXT ! On KERMIT-A2 0 - Send files 0The procedure for archiving APPLESOFT, INTEGER, and BINARY files is: 0 - Run Kermit on remote system 0 - Set File-byte-size to Eight-bit (On Remote Kermit) 0 - SET BYTE-SIZE 8-BIT (On KERMIT-A2) 0 - SET FILE-TYPE APPLESOFT (or INTEGER, or BINARY) On KERMIT-A2 0 - Send files - Section 8 -- APPLE-DOS Kermit for the Apple ][ 1172 Kermit File Transfer Package - 8.2. Program Operation - Hardware Considerations 0Computer 0KERMIT-A2 is designed to be used with the Apple ][ series of computers with at least 64k of memory. It has been tested on an Apple //e with a normal (non-extended) 80-column card, an enhanced Apple //e, an Apple //c, and on a Apple ][+ with a language card. It may work on Franklin computers, though it has not been tested on them. 0Operating System 0KERMIT-A2 reads and writes standard DOS 3.3 files to and from disk. ProDOS files must be converted to DOS 3.3 before they can be transferred. It will NOT work under Apple CPM. KERMIT-A2 is distributed on a disk that contains a high-speed operating system called Diversi-DOS(tm), which is licensed for use with this program only. To legally use Diversi-DOS with other programs, you may send $30.00 directly to : 0 DSR, Inc., 34880 Bunker Hill, Farmington, MI 48018. 0You will receive a Diversi-DOS utility disk with documentation. 080 Column Cards 0The only 80-column card supported is the Apple card that comes with the //e. Very little of the 80-column programming in KERMIT-A2 is card-dependent, but other cards have not been tested. 0Serial Interface Cards for Modem Connection 0KERMIT-A2 will support the following serial interface cards: 01. D.C. Hayes MICROMODEM ][ (also works for SSM, should work for D.C. Hayes MICROMODEM //e) 02. Apple Super Serial card (also works for Practical Peripherals SERIALL) 0Most switch settings on these cards are irrelevant to Kermit. However, if you plan to SET INTERRUPT-USAGE ON (a must above 300 bits per second) you should make sure that any switch governing interrupts is set ON (the Micromodem requires a solder joint or jumper to make interrupts possible). 0It is possible that other cards may have operational characteristics very similar or identical to one of the devices above. If this is the case, it may - 0APPLE-DOS Kermit for the Apple ][-- Section 8 1Kermit File Transfer Package 173 - work using one of the currently available device drivers. The user may want to try each of the above options to see if any of them work. 0KERMIT-A2 must be told which device is being used so that it may run with the correct device driver. It also must be told in which slot the card resides. This may be done with the 'SET SLOT' command (documented below). 0General Configuration 0It is assumed that you have at least one disk drive (used for booting the Kermit disk) connected to a disk-controller card mounted in slot 6 (the usual). Your serial interface (or modem) card can be in any slot. - Conversing with Kermit-A2 0KERMIT-A2's prompt is "KERMIT-A2>." 0To run KERMIT-A2 and issue commands to it, type the following: - ]BRUN KERMIT 0 APPLE-II KERMIT (VERSION 1.0) 0 KERMIT-A2>SEND TESTFILE 0 file is sent 0 KERMIT-A2>STATUS 0 performance statistics are printed 0 KERMIT-A2>Other commands . . . 0 KERMIT-A2>EXIT ] 0KERMIT-A2 uses a TOPS-20 style command parser. 0During interactive operation, you may use the ?-prompting help feature ("?") and recognition (ESC) features while typing commands. A question mark typed at any point in a command displays the options available at that point; typing an ESC character causes the current keyword to be completed (or default value to be supplied). If you have not typed sufficient characters to uniquely specify the keyword or filename (or if there is no default value) then a beep will be sounded and you may continue typing. Keywords may be abbreviated to any prefix that is unique. Control-W erases the last word you have typed. Control-U erases the entire line that you have typed. - Section 8 -- APPLE-DOS Kermit for the Apple ][ 1174 Kermit File Transfer Package - 8.3. Remote and Local Operation 0KERMIT-A2 is normally run in local mode. It may be run as a remote Kermit as well although there is no advantage to doing things that way. KERMIT-A2 supports User-mode commands for talking to a Server. It does not currently operate as a remote server. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0APPLE-DOS Kermit for the Apple ][-- Section 8 1Kermit File Transfer Package 175 - 8.4. KERMIT-A2 Commands - The SEND Command 0Syntax: SEND filespec 0The SEND command causes a file to be sent from the Apple to the remote system. The filespec is the name of the file on the Apple diskette to be sent. The parser will not accept control characters and certain special characters in a filename (i.e., a comma), so the user may have to rename the file before it is sent. The user may also have problems in filename compatibility with remote Kermits. If the remote Kermit does not have the facilities to beat the filename into a format that its system likes, the user may have to rename the file before sending it. The default disk drive used for file transfers is the drive used to boot the system or the last drive accessed with a DOS command. This can be changed with the 'SET DEFAULT-DISK' command (explained below). Either the slot or the drive or both may be altered. 0As a file is being sent, the screen displays either 'SENDING PACKET...' or 'WAITING PACKET...' followed by the absolute packet number since start of transmission. If a packet must be transmitted several times and it reaches the maximum retry count, the transfer will fail and the 'KERMIT-A2>' prompt will return. If the remote Kermit sends an error packet, the text of the packet will be displayed on the screen and the prompt will return. 0Currently, a packet can be retransmitted manually by typing anything on the keyboard. If a 'Q' is typed, the entire transmission will be aborted. - The RECEIVE Command 0Syntax: RECEIVE [filespec] 0The RECEIVE command tells KERMIT-A2 to receive a file or file group from the other system. If only one file is being received, you may include the optional filespec as the name to store the incoming file under; otherwise, the name is taken from the incoming file header. If the name in the header is not a legal filename in DOS 3.3, KERMIT-A2 will attempt to change it into something legal. There are very few things that are illegal in DOS 3.3. If WARNING is on and an incoming file has a name identical to a file already existing on the diskette, KERMIT-A2 will issue a warning to the user and attempt to modify the filename to make it unique. - The GET Command 0Syntax: GET remote-filespec 0The GET command requests a remote Kermit server to send the file or file group specified by remote-filespec. This command can be used with a Kermit server on the other end. - Section 8 -- APPLE-DOS Kermit for the Apple ][ 1176 Kermit File Transfer Package - The remote filespec is any string that can be a legal file specification for the remote system; it is not parsed or validated locally. 0If the remote Kermit is not capable of server functions, then you will probably get an error message back from it like "Illegal packet type." In this case, you must connect to the other Kermit, give a SEND command, escape back, and give a RECEIVE command. - The CONNECT Command 0Syntax: CONNECT 0Establish a terminal connection to the remote system. Get back to KERMIT-A2 by typing the escape character followed by the letter C. The escape character is Control-E by default. When you type the escape character, several single-character commands are possible: 0 B Send a BREAK Signal. C Close the connection and return to KERMIT-A2. H Hang up the communications interface (drops phone connection) S Show status of the connection. 0 Send a null. Connect-escape Send the Connect-escape character itself. ? List all the possible single-character arguments. 0You can use the SET ESCAPE-CHARACTER to define a different escape character. 0When 'CONNECTED', KERMIT-A2 will be passing characters entered on the keyboard to the remote system, and passing characters from the remote system to the Apple screen. If VT52-EMULATION is turned on, Kermit will trap escape codes and simulate the appropriate functions of a VT52 terminal. - The HELP Command 0Syntax: HELP 0Displays a brief summary of KERMIT-A2 and its commands. - The EXIT and QUIT Commands 0Syntax: EXIT 0Exit from KERMIT-A2. You can restart the program, provided you haven't run anything else, by typing 'CALL 2049'. 0Syntax: QUIT 0This is merely a synonym for EXIT. - APPLE-DOS Kermit for the Apple ][-- Section 8 1Kermit File Transfer Package 177 - The SET Command 0Syntax: SET parameter [option] [value] 0Establish or modify various parameters for file transfer or terminal connection. You can examine their values with the SHOW command. The following parameters may be SET: 0 BAUD-RATE Communications interface line speed. BYTE-SIZE SEVEN or EIGHT significant bits in a byte. DEBUGGING TERSE or VERBOSE packet information. DEFAULT-DISK Disk drive and slot used for file transfer? DEVICE-DRIVER Which communication device is being used? EIGHT-BIT-QUOTING Should eight-bit-quoting be used? EMULATION Should Apple emulate full-screen terminal? ESCAPE-CHARACTER Character for terminal connection. FILE-TYPE Of Apple DOS file being sent/received. IBM-LINE Should Apple wait for IBM turnaround character? INTERRUPT-USAGE Can serial interface card handle interrupts? KBOARD Type of Apple keyboard. KEY-SUBSTITUTE Used to translate individual characters. LINEFEED Should Apple send linefeed with carriage return? LOCAL-ECHO Specify which host does echoing during CONNECT. LOWER-CASE-DISPLAY How lower case characters are displayed on Apple. PARITY Character parity to use. RECEIVE Various parameters for receiving files. RETRIES Specify maximum number of retries allowed. SCREEN Specify width of screen. SEND Various parameters for sending files. SLOT Which slot # is communication device in? SOUND Should Kermit ring the bell? TERMINAL-TYPE Type of full-screen terminal to emulate. WARNING Warn users if incoming file exists. -SET BAUD-RATE 0Syntax: SET BAUD-RATE rate 0Set the line speed of the serial interface card to 300, 1200, 2400, 4800, or 9600 bits per second. - - - - - Section 8 -- APPLE-DOS Kermit for the Apple ][ 1178 Kermit File Transfer Package - SET BYTE-SIZE 0Syntax: SET BYTE-SIZE parameter 0Byte size for Apple DOS file I/O. The choices are 7-bit or 8-bit. 07-BIT When sending a file, shut the H.O. bit. When receiving, turn the H.O. bit on. This is done since text files are the only files which should be sent as SEVEN-BIT files and text files only make sense to the Apple if they are encoded in 'negative ascii' values. 08-BIT Always send and receive the bytes intact. All 8 bits are significant. -SET DEBUGGING 0Syntax: SET DEBUGGING options 0Record the packet traffic on your terminal. Options are: 0TERSE Show packet info only (brief). 0VERBOSE Display packet field descriptions with packet info (lengthy). 0OFF Don't display debugging information (this is the default). -SET DEFAULT-DISK 0Syntax: SET DEFAULT-DISK parameter value 0This command will tell KERMIT-A2 which disk drive should be used for file transfers. The two parameters which may be set separately are SLOT and DRIVE. The value for SLOT ranges from 1 to 7. The value for DRIVE is either 1 or 2. - - - - - - - APPLE-DOS Kermit for the Apple ][-- Section 8 1Kermit File Transfer Package 179 - SET DEVICE-DRIVER 0Syntax: SET DEVICE-DRIVER keyword 0This command will tell KERMIT-A2 what type of communication device is being used. Currently, four different cards are supported, however, other unsupported cards may work similar enough to one of the three available that it may be possible to use them. KERMIT-A2 must also be told where the card is in the machine (see the SET SLOT command). The options for this set command are: 0APPLE-COM The old Apple communication card (300 bits per second). Note: This device driver has not been tested and may not work properly. 0MICROMODEM The D.C. Hayes Micromodem ][ (300 bits per second) and Micromodem //e (300 and 1200 bits per second). 0SSM SSM A10 serial interface card. 0SUPER-SERIAL The Apple Super Serial Card (300-19.2 bits per second). Also works for Practical Peripherals SERIALL. 0NOVATION-CAT Novation Apple Cat ][ (300 and 1200 bits per second). Note: This device driver has not been tested and may not work properly. -SET EIGHT-BIT-QUOTING 0Syntax: SET EIGHT-BIT-QUOTING ON or OFF 0This command will turn on or turn off the eight-bit-quoting feature. If set ON, it forces KERMIT-A2 to use eight-bit-quoting which may be handy if it must receive a text file in which some or all of the characters are not in negative ASCII. The command takes ON or OFF as options. -SET EMULATION 0Syntax: SET EMULATION ON or OFF 0Specify whether KERMIT-A2 should use its built-in software facility for emulating a full-screen terminal. If EMULATION is ON, the type of terminal must be specified by the SET TERMINAL-TYPE command. - - - - Section 8 -- APPLE-DOS Kermit for the Apple ][ 1180 Kermit File Transfer Package - SET ESCAPE-CHARACTER 0Syntax: SET ESCAPE-CHARACTER hexadecimal-number 0Specify the control character you want to use to "escape" from remote connections back to KERMIT-A2. The default is 5 (Control-E). The number is the hex value of the ASCII control character, 1 to 37, for instance 2 is Control-B. -SET FILE-TYPE 0Syntax: SET FILE-TYPE keyword 0This will inform KERMIT-A2 what type of DOS file is being sent or received. It is important that this is set correctly since KERMIT-A2 must create a file of the appropriate type when receiving (and it has no way of knowing what kind of file it is). When KERMIT-A2 is sending, it must also know the type of file since that tells it how to detect the actual end-of-file. The options for this parameter are APPLESOFT, INTEGER, TEXT and BINARY. 0APPLESOFT The file being sent/received is an Applesoft Basic program. 0 INTEGER The file being sent/received is an Integer Basic program. 0 TEXT The file being sent/received is an ASCII Text file. 0 BINARY The file being sent/received is a Binary image. - SET IBM-LINE 0Syntax: SET IBM-LINE ON or OFF 0When set to ON, KERMIT-A2 will wait for the IBM turnaround character (XON, CTRL-Q) before sending any characters to the other Kermit. Note: This option must be set to OFF when used with either TSO Kermit or DECsystem-10 Kermit. -SET INTERRUPT-USAGE 0Syntax: SET INTERRUPT-USAGE ON or OFF 0When set to ON, it indicates that the serial interface card can handle interrupts (a must above 300 bits per second). Before setting it ON, you should make sure that any switch governing interrupts is enabled (the Micromodem requires a solder joint or jumper to make interrupts possible). -SET KBOARD 0Syntax: SET KBOARD parameter keyword - APPLE-DOS Kermit for the Apple ][-- Section 8 1Kermit File Transfer Package 181 - This command will tell KERMIT-A2 what type of keyboard is being used. The allowable options are: 02P Apple ][+ or Apple ][. 02S Apple ][ or ][+ with shift-key modification. 02E Apple //e. 02C Apple //c or enhanced Apple //e. 0On an Apple ][ or ][+ with an incomplete keyboard, special characters can be obtained by prefixing regular characters with a right-arrow. Also, uppercase is shown in inverse and lowercase characters are displayed as normal uppercase characters. 0Here are the rules for using the special Apple ][ or ][+ input, to get all printable ASCII characters, and how they appear on the screen: 0Special meanings are applied in various contexts to certain characters. The left and right arrow keys do special things, and sometimes the escape key does as well. 0For letters, the keyboard is always in either default UPPERCASE mode or default lowercase mode. When in UPPERCASE, all letters typed are sent out as uppercase. In lowercase, all letters are sent out as lowercase. To reverse the case for the next character only, hit the right-arrow ("prefix") key. To switch the default case, hit the prefix-key twice in a row. 0For funny characters, the prefix key is also used to get the unusual punctuation characters which are not on the Apple keyboard. Here they are: (To represent the right-arrow prefix character, we are using the letter p). 0To get Type Appearance 0Left Square Bracket p( [ Right Square p) ] Left Curly Bracket p< $ Right Curly Bracket p> Underline p- _ Backslash p/ \ Tilde (wiggle) pX ~ Vertical Line p. | At-sign p" @ 0The left-arrow key sends a rubout. 0With left-arrow and right arrow doing special things, it is a little hard to enter their characters (Control-H and Control-U respectively). There is therefore an escape from prefix mode sequence. If you type prefix-ESC, the next character is sent without any interpretation. - 0 Section 8 -- APPLE-DOS Kermit for the Apple ][ 1182 Kermit File Transfer Package - SET KEY-SUBSTITUTE 0Syntax: SET KEY-SUBSTITUTE old-number new-number 0This command may be used to tell KERMIT-A2 to transmit a different character each time a particular key is pressed. For example, the command could be used to transmit the letter "B" each time the "A" key was pressed. The first number in the command (i.e., "old number") , specifies the decimal value (between 0 and 127) of the ASCII character to be translated. The second number in the command, (i.e., "new number"), specifies the decimal value of the ASCII character that is to be transmitted. If the second number does not have the high order bit set (i.e., the number is less than 128), then the character transmitted will be prefixed by an escape. For example, the command: 0 SET KEY-SUBSTITUTE 65 194 0would send "B" (decimal 194) whenever the "A" (decimal 65) key was pressed. Similarly, the command: 0 SET KEY-SUBSTITUTE 35 36 0would send ESCAPE "$" (decimal 36) whenever the "#" (decimal 35) key was pressed. -SET LINEFEED 0Syntax: SET LINEFEED ON or OFF 0When set to ON, KERMIT-A2 will send a linefeed after each carriage return. -SET LOCAL-ECHO 0Syntax: SET LOCAL-ECHO ON or OFF 0Specify how characters are echoed while CONNECTed to a remote system. ON specifies that characters are to be echoed by KERMIT-A2 (because neither the remote computer nor the communications circuitry has been requested to echo), and is appropriate for half-duplex connections. - - - - - APPLE-DOS Kermit for the Apple ][-- Section 8 1Kermit File Transfer Package 183 - SET LOWER-CASE-DISPLAY 0Syntax: SET LOWER-CASE-DISPLAY keyword 0Specify how lower case characters are to be displayed while CONNECTED to a remote system. The allowable options are: 0INVERSE-UPPER Upper case letters are displayed in normal upper case. Lower case letters are displayed in inverse upper case. By default, the keyboard is in the lower case mode. 0LOWER-CASE All characters are displayed in the proper case. Upper case letters are displayed in normal upper case, lower case letters are displayed in normal lower case. On an Apple ][ or ][+, this option requires a lower case adaptor. By default, the keyboard is in the lower case mode. 0NORMAL-UPPER Upper case letters are displayed in inverse upper case. Lower case letters are displayed in normal upper case. By default, the keyboard is in the lower case mode. 0SAME-AS-UPPER Both upper and lower case letters are displayed in normal upper case. By default, the keyboard is in the lower case mode. -SET PARITY 0Syntax: SET PARITY keyword 0This command determines the type of parity to use on the transmission line. The options for this parameter are EVEN, MARK, NONE, ODD, or SPACE. - - - - - - - - Section 8 -- APPLE-DOS Kermit for the Apple ][ 1184 Kermit File Transfer Package - SET RECEIVE 0Syntax: SET RECEIVE parameter value 0Parameters to request or expect for incoming packets, as follows: 0EIGHT-BIT-QUOTE-CHAR hexadecimal-number 0 Sets the character to be used to quote characters which have the eighth bit (parity bit) set. This is used to transfer eight-bit bytes on a transmission medium which only supports seven data bits. The default value is 26 (ASCII "&"). 0END-OF-LINE hexadecimal-number 0 Carriage return (ASCII 0D hex) by default. 0PACKET-LENGTH number 0 Maximum length packet for the other side to send, decimal number, between 10 and 94, decimal. 0PADDING number, PAD-CHAR hexadecimal-number 0 How many padding characters to request before each incoming packet, and what the padding character should be. No Kermits are known to need padding; and if one did, it would request it without your having to tell it to do so. This command would only be necessary, therefore, under very unusual circumstances. 0QUOTE-CHAR hexadecimal-number 0 What printable character to use for quoting of control characters, "#" (ASCII 23 hex) by default. There should be no reason to change this. 0TIMEOUT number 0 How many seconds the other Kermit should wait for a packet before asking for re-transmission. -SET RETRIES 0Syntax: SET RETRIES number 0How many times to try sending a particular packet before giving up. If a line is very noisy, you might want to increase this number. - - -APPLE-DOS Kermit for the Apple ][-- Section 8 1Kermit File Transfer Package 185 - SET SCREEN 0Syntax: SET SCREEN keyword 0This command determines if the screen display is to be in 40 column mode or 80 column mode. The options for this parameter are 40 or 80. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0 Section 8 -- APPLE-DOS Kermit for the Apple ][ 1186 Kermit File Transfer Package - SET SEND 0Syntax: SET SEND parameter value 0Parameters for outgoing packets, as follows: 0EIGHT-BIT-QUOTE-CHAR hexadecimal-number 0 Sets the character to be used to quote characters which have the eighth bit (parity bit) set. This is used to transfer eight-bit bytes on a transmission medium which only supports seven data bits. The default value is 26 (ASCII "&"). 0END-OF-LINE hexadecimal-number 0 The ASCII character to be used as a line terminator for outbound packets, if one is required by the other system, carriage return by default. You will only have to use this command for systems that require a line terminator other than carriage return. 0PACKET-LENGTH number 0 Maximum packet length to send, between 10 and 94 (decimal). Shortening the packets might allow more of them to get through without error on noisy communication lines. Lengthening the packets increases the throughput on clean lines. 0PADDING number, PAD-CHAR hexadecimal-number 0 How much padding to send before a packet, if the other side needs padding, and what character to use for padding. Defaults are no padding, and NUL (0) for the padding character. This command is also handy for inserting special characters that may be required by communications equipment. 0QUOTE-CHAR hexadecimal-number 0 What printable character to use for quoting of control characters, "#," (ASCII 23 hex) by default. There should be no reason to change this. 0TIMEOUT number 0 How many seconds to wait for a packet before trying again. A value of zero means don't time out -- wait forever. -SET SOUND 0Syntax: SET SOUND ON or OFF 0Specify whether KERMIT-A2 should ring the bell to get users attention. - APPLE-DOS Kermit for the Apple ][-- Section 8 1Kermit File Transfer Package 187 - SET TERMINAL-TYPE 0Syntax: SET TERMINAL-TYPE keyword 0This command determines the type of full-screen terminal to emulate. The allowable options are: 0 VCA Emulate Volker-Craig 4404 terminal in its ADM-3A operating mode. 0 VT52 Emulate DEC VT52 terminal. -SET SLOT 0Syntax: SET SLOT parameter 0This option tells KERMIT-A2 in which slot the communication device is located. The range for the parameter is 1-9. -SET WARNING 0Syntax: SET WARNING ON or OFF 0This tells KERMIT-A2 whether to warn the user about incoming filenames conflicting with existing files or not. - The SHOW Command 0Syntax: SHOW option 0The SHOW command displays the values of the parameters settable by the SET command. In addition, if ALL is specified, a complete display of all parameters will be provided. - The STATUS Command 0Syntax: STATUS 0Give statistics about the most recent file transfer. This includes information such as number of characters sent/received, number of data characters sent/received, and last error encountered. - - - Section 8 -- APPLE-DOS Kermit for the Apple ][ 1188 Kermit File Transfer Package - The BYE Command 0Syntax: BYE 0Shut down the remote server and exit from KERMIT-A2. - The CATALOG Command 0Syntax: CATALOG 0Ask DOS to show a list of files on the disk in the DEFAULT-DISK - The COMPARE Command 0Syntax: COMPARE filespec1 filespec2 0Compares two files on the disk in the DEFAULT-DISK drive. If the files are different, it gives the number and some text of the first different line and the first different character. - The DELETE Command 0Syntax: DELETE filespec 0Ask DOS to erase a file on the disk in the DEFAULT-DISK drive. - The FINISH Command 0Syntax: FINISH 0Shut down the remote server, but do not exit from KERMIT-A2. - The INSTALL Command 0Syntax: INSTALL 0Writes your customized version of the KERMIT-A2 program out to a disk file named "KERMIT." Ignore the FILE-NOT-FOUND message. - The MONITOR Command 0Syntax: MONITOR 0Exit from KERMIT-A2 to the Apple's System Monitor. You can restart the program by typing '801G'. - APPLE-DOS Kermit for the Apple ][-- Section 8 1Kermit File Transfer Package 189 - The RENAME Command 0Syntax: RENAME old-filespec,new-filespec 0Ask DOS to rename a file on the disk in the DEFAULT-DISK drive. - The TYPE Command 0Syntax: TYPE filespec 0Displays a text file. KERMIT-A2 pauses after the first line is displayed. Pressing carriage return will start a continuous scroll. Pressing any key other than carriage return will stop scroll and display one line per key press. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Section 8 -- APPLE-DOS Kermit for the Apple ][ 1190 Kermit File Transfer Package - 8.5. Matching KERMIT-A2 to Your System 0Changing a few settings in the program will probably be necessary to match KERMIT-A2 to your particular system. It is unlikely that all of the default settings (those available when you first load KERMIT-A2) are the ones you will be wanting to use on a regular basis. This process of customizing KERMIT-A2 to your needs, which eliminates the need for typing in the settings every time you load the program, is known as INSTALLATION. 0The settings of all of the parameters may be displayed by typing: 0 SHOW ALL 0You will most likely want to make changes in parameters related to your hardware; the commands which do this are: 0 SET BAUD-RATE SET DEVICE-DRIVER SET INTERRUPT-USAGE SET KBOARD SET LOWER-CASE-DISPLAY SET SCREEN SET SLOT 0There are many other parameters, changes in some of which may add greatly to the convenience of using KERMIT-A2 in your particular situation. These do NOT have to be done now. You can make such changes whenever it becomes clear to you that they would be helpful. If you want to have these changes available each time you run KERMIT-A2, then you must issue the INSTALL command again as described below. - - - - - - - - 0APPLE-DOS Kermit for the Apple ][-- Section 8 1Kermit File Transfer Package 191 - When you think you have everything the way you want it, review the settings by typing: 0 SHOW ALL 0If everything looks correct, you can now save the customized version of KERMIT-A2 to disk by typing: 0 INSTALL 0While the disk drives whirs, ignore the FILE-NOT-FOUND message. The INSTALL command writes your new version into a file named KERMIT. If there is already a file named KERMIT on the disk, INSTALL will warn you and refuse to write on the disk. If this happens, you can simply rename the old file and retry INSTALL by typing: 0 RENAME KERMIT,OLDKERMIT INSTALL 0To make sure that the new KERMIT-A2 is properly configured and saved, type: 0 EXIT 0and then: 0 BRUN KERMIT 0When you get the "KERMIT-A2>" prompt again, check the settings you made above by typing: 0 SHOW ALL - - - - - - - - Section 8 -- APPLE-DOS Kermit for the Apple ][ 1192 Kermit File Transfer Package - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0APPLE-DOS Kermit for the Apple ][-- Section 8 1Kermit File Transfer Package 193 - Appendix A -- When Things Go Wrong 0Connecting two computers can be a tricky business, and many things can go wrong. Before you can transfer files at all, you must first establish terminal communication. But successful terminal connection does not necessarily mean that file transfer will also work. And even when file transfer seems to be working, things can happen to ruin it. -A.1. Basic Connection Problems 0If you have a version of Kermit on your microcomputer, but the CONNECT command doesn't seem to work at all, please: 0- Make sure all the required physical connections have been made and have not wiggled loose. If you are using a modem, make sure the carrier light is on. 0- If you have more than one connector on your microcomputer, make sure you are using the right one. 0- Make sure that the port is set to the right communication speed, or baud rate. Some versions of Kermit have a builtin SET BAUD or SET SPEED command, others require that you set the baud rate using a system command or setup mode before you start the Kermit program. Some versions of Kermit have SHOW or STATUS commands that will tell you what the current baud rate is. 0- Make sure that the other communication line parameters, like parity, bits per character, handshake, and flow control are set correctly. 0You may have to consult the appropriate manuals for the systems and equipment in question. 0If all settings and connections appear to be correct, and communication still does not take place, the fault may be in your modem. Internal modems (i.e., those that plug in to a slot inside the microcomputer chassis) are not recommended for use with Kermit unless they totally mimic the asynchronous serial port hardware they purport to replace. Many microcomputer Kermit programs are written to control the communication hardware explicitly; internal modems can interfere with that control. 0Even external modems can cause trouble -- the "smarter" they are, the more potential danger of disagreement between the modem and the microcomputer about settings of baud rate, character framing, echo, and so forth. Make sure your modem is set up correctly. - - - Appendix A -- When Things Go Wrong 1194 Kermit File Transfer Package - A.2. Terminal Connection Works But The Transfer Won't Start 0Once you've made a terminal connection to the remote system, you will generally also be able to transfer files. But not always. If Kermit's terminal emulation seems to work correctly, but a file transfer will not start at all, then something in the communication path is probably interfering with the packet data. 0Kermit normally expects to have full control of the communication port. However, it is sometimes the case that some communications equipment controls the line between the two computers on either end. In addition to modems, examples include port contention or selection units, multiplexers, local networks, and wide-area networks. Such equipment can interfere with the Kermit file transfer protocol in various ways: 0Parity: 0A device can impose parity upon the communication line. This means that the 8th bit of each character is used by the equipment to check for correct transmission. Use of parity when Kermit is not expecting it will: 0- Cause packet CHECKSUMs to appear incorrect to the receiver and foil any attempt at file transfer. In most cases, not even the first packet will get through. 0- Prevent the use of the 8th bit for binary file data. 0If terminal connection works but file transfer does not, parity is the most likely culprit. To overcome this impediment, you should find out what parity is being used, and inform the Kermits on each side (using the SET PARITY command) so that they can: 0- Compose and interpret the CHECKSUMs correctly. 0- Employ a special encoding to allow 8-bit data to pass through the 7-bit communication channel. 0Many packet-switched networks, such as GTE TELENET, require parity to be set. - - - - - -When Things Go Wrong -- Appendix A 1Kermit File Transfer Package 195 - Echoing: 0Some communication processors, typically front ends, echo their input. When this happens, every Kermit packet that is sent to it will bounce right back, causing no end of confusion. Some Kermit programs have been designed to ignore echoed packets, but most have not. If you encounter this problem, there are several possible solutions: 0- Disable the front end echoing by typing some special command, if such a command is provided by the system. 0- Some front ends respond to certain escape or control sequences as commands to turn off echoing, either from that point onward, or else on a per-line basis. In this case, the appropriate control sequence can be inserted between packets by Kermit programs instructed to do so, for instance using the SET PAD command. 0- If the echoing cannot be disabled, then the two Kermit programs should be instructed to use differing packet start markers, using the SET START-OF-PACKET command -- for instance, one Kermit uses Control-A as usual, and the other uses Control-B. This can only be done if both Kermits have this SET command. - - - - - - - - - - - Appendix A -- When Things Go Wrong 1196 Kermit File Transfer Package - A.3. Special Characters 0There is one problem that can prevent a file transfer from starting at all, or may crop up after the file transfer is underway. For instance, during a file transfer operation you might find your smart modem suddenly hanging up your current connection and placing a call to Tasmania. Or you might find that packets containing a certain character like "@" cannot be transmitted successfully. 0This is the problem of "special characters." Some device in the communication path -- a front end, a port switcher, a multiplexer, a "smart" modem -- interprets certain characters in the data stream as commands rather than as data to be passed them along to the other side. Usually such equipment interferes only with the transmission of ASCII control characters; so long as Control-A and Carriage Return -- Kermit's normal packet start and end delimiters -- are not molested, then Kermit can operate. However, equipment may exist which swallows even printable characters. Since Kermit assumes that ALL printable ASCII characters (ASCII 40 through 176, octal) can be transmitted without interference or modification, such equipment will prevent Kermit file transfer unless its printable-character-swallowing features can be disabled. -A.4. 3270 Protocol Emulators 0Connections to IBM mainframes through 3270 protocol emulation hardware or software cannot be used for file transfer with Kermit or any similar program. Kermit requires an asynchronous stream ASCII telecommunications environment. 3270-style terminals operate in a block-mode bisynchronous EBCDIC environment. Protocol converters change the EBCDIC screen data blocks into streams of ASCII characters with imbedded terminal control sequences. Packetized file transfer is impossible under these circumstances because the data is modified and the packet block check invalidated. 0The only exception to this rule occurs on IBM mainframes with protocol emulators that can be put into transparent mode by a command from the host, and whose Kermit programs have been coded explicitly to do this. For instance, as of this writing there are IBM mainframe Kermit programs that allow file transfer through the Series/1 or 7171 front ends. 0The 3270 macro that the NIH Computer Center has supplied (in the MSKERMIT.INI file) helps users access the NIH protocol conversion facility with the Kermit-MS terminal emulator. However, Kermit file transfers are not possible via the protocol conversion facility. - - - - When Things Go Wrong -- Appendix A 1Kermit File Transfer Package 197 - A.5. The Transfer Starts But Then Gets Stuck 0Once a Kermit file transfer has begun, there are certain conditions under which it can become stuck. Since many hosts are capable of generating timeout interrupts when input doesn't appear within a reasonable interval, they can resend unacknowledged packets or request that missing packets be retransmitted. But since not all Kermit programs are capable of timing out, a means for manual intervention is provided in the local Kermit -- you can type a carriage return on the keyboard of most microcomputers to wake up and continue the transfer. 0The following sections discuss various reasons why a transfer in progress could become stuck. Before examining these, first make sure that you really have a Kermit on the other end of the line, and you have issued the appropriate command: SEND, RECEIVE, or SERVER. If the remote side is not a server, remember that you must connect back between each transfer and issue a new SEND or RECEIVE command. -A.5.1. The Microcomputer is Hung 0The microcomputer itself sometimes becomes hung for reasons beyond Kermit's control, such as power fluctuations. If the microcomputer's screen has not been updated for a long time, then the microcomputer may be hung. Try these steps (in the following order): 0- Press RETURN to wake the microcomputer up. This should clear up any protocol deadlock. Several RETURNs might be necessary. 0- If the problem was not a deadlock, restart Kermit, CONNECT back to the host, get back to your job or login again, and restart the transfer. You may have to exit and reenter Kermit on the remote host. -A.5.2. The Connection is Broken 0Check the connection. Make sure no connectors have wiggled loose from their sockets. If you're using a modem, make sure you still have a carrier signal. Reestablish your connection if you have to. 0If upon reconnection you get no response, maybe the remote host or the remote Kermit program crashed. Get back to command level on the local Kermit (on microcomputer implementations, you may be able to do this by typing about five RETURNs, or one or more Control-C's). Issue the CONNECT command so that you can see what happened. If the remote system has crashed then you will have to wait for it to come back, and restart whatever file that was being transferred at the time. - - - Appendix A -- When Things Go Wrong 1198 Kermit File Transfer Package - -A.5.3. The Disk is Full 0If your local floppy disk fills up or if files cannot be stored at the host, the Kermit on the machine where this occurs will inform you and then terminate the transfer. You can continue the transfer by repeating the whole procedure either with a fresh floppy or after cleaning up your directory. Some Kermit programs allow you to continue the sequence where it left off. Some Kermits also have a feature that allows you to keep incompletely received files; this would allow you go back to the sending system, extract the unsent portion of the file, and send it, and then append the two received portions together using an editor or other system utility. Kermit does not provide the ability to switch disks during a file transfer. -A.5.4. Message Interference 0You may find that file transfers fail occasionally and upredictably. One explanation could be that terminal messages are being mixed with your file packet data. These could include system broadcast messages (like "System is going down in 30 minutes"), messages from other users ("Hi Fred, what's that Kermit program you're always running?"), notifications that you have requested ("It's 7:30, go home!" or "You have mail from..."). Most Kermit programs attempt to disable intrusive messages automatically, but not all can be guaranteed to do so. It may be necessary for you to "turn off" such messages before starting Kermit. -A.5.5. Transmission Delays 0Packet transmission can be delayed by various agents: congested timesharing systems or networks, earth satellites, etc. When transmission delay exceeds the per-packet timeout interval for a significant length of time, the transfer could fail. Most Kermit programs provide commands that allow you to adjust the timeout interval or the packet transmission retry threshold in order to accommodate to severe transmission delays. -A.5.6. Noise Corruption 0If your connection is extremely noisy, packets will become corrupted -- and require retransmission -- more often. The probability that successive retransmissions will fail because of corruption rises with the noise level until it exceeds the retry threshold, at which point the file transfer fails. There are several recourses. First, try to establish a new connection. If that is impractical, then use SET commands (when available) to reduce the packet length and increase the retry threshold. Shorter packets reduce both the probability that a particular packet will be corrupted and the retransmission overhead when corruption does occur, but they also increase the overall protocol overhead. In a noisy environment, you should also request a higher level of error checking. - 0When Things Go Wrong -- Appendix A 1Kermit File Transfer Package 199 - A.5.7. Host Errors 0Various error conditions can occur on the remote host that could affect file transmission. Whenever any such error occurs, the remote Kermit normally attempts to send an informative error message to the local one, and then breaks transmission, putting you back at Kermit command level on the local system. -A.6. File is Garbage 0There are certain conditions under which Kermit can believe it transferred a file correctly when in fact, it did not. The most likely cause has to do with the tricky business of file attributes, such as text vs. binary, 7-bit vs. 8-bit, blocked vs. stream, and so forth. Each system has its own peculiarities, and each Kermit has special commands to allow you to specify how a file should be sent or stored. However, these difficulties usually crop up only when sending binary files. Text files should normally present no problem between any two Kermit programs. -A.7. Junk After End of File 0When transferring a text file from a microcomputer to a mainframe, sometimes you will find extraneous characters at the end of the file after it arrives on the target system. This is because many microcomputers don't have a consistent way of indicating the end of a file. CP/M is a good example. The minimum unit of storage on a CP/M floppy is a "block" of 128 bytes. Binary files always consist of a whole number of blocks, but a text file can end anywhere within a block. Since CP/M does not record a file's byte count, it uses the convention of marking the end with an imbedded Control-Z character. If your microcomputer version of Kermit is not looking for this character, it will send the entire last block, which may contain arbitrary junk after the "real" end of the file. To circumvent this problem, most microcomputer Kermits have commands like SET FILE ASCII or SET FILE TEXT to instruct Kermit to obey the CTRL-Z convention. Some microcomputer Kermits operate in "text" mode by default, others in "binary" or "block" mode. 0To complicate matters, certain software on other microcomputer systems, such as MS-DOS, follows the CP/M end-of-file convention. Under MS-DOS, certain editors and other programs use Control-Z for end-of-file, and other programs do not. MS-DOS Kermit provides a SET command to choose the desired format. - - - - - Appendix A -- When Things Go Wrong 1200 Kermit File Transfer Package - A.8. Data Set Problems Under TSO 0You may get unclear error messages when TSO cannot find a data set you are trying to use. Make sure the data set is cataloged; TSO only processes cataloged data sets. Make sure the data set conforms to the IBM standard naming conventions as described in Section 6.1 of this manual. If you have set a prefix, make sure it is set completely. A common mistake is to leave off the period separator (e.g., if you have data sets qualified by "ABC", set the prefix to "ABC.", not "ABC"). If the files you have sent to TSO are mysteriously disappearing, you probably forgot to set the volume parameter, which defaults to TMP. Files on the TMP packs are scratched within days after their creation. 0If a file is sent to TSO from Kermit-MS with no error messages, but only part of the file is transferred, then the file probably contains one or more Ctrl-Z characters before the real end of file. To circumvent the problem, set the Kermit-MS EOF parameter to NOCTRL-Z (see Section 7.3.6 of this manual for details). - - - - - - - - - - - - -When Things Go Wrong -- Appendix A 1Kermit File Transfer Package 201 -Appendix B -- ASCII and EBCDIC Tables 0B.1. The ASCII Character Set 0There are 128 characters in the ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) "alphabet". The characters are listed in order of ASCII value; the columns are labeled as follows: 0ASCII Dec Decimal (base 10) representation. ASCII Oct Octal (base 8) representation. ASCII Hex Hexadecimal (base 16) representation. EBCDIC Hex EBCDIC hexadecimal equivalent for Kermit translate tables. Char Name or graphical representation of character. Remark Description of character. 0The caret (X) character notation used in the first column in the remarks shows the association of control characters and capital letters (plus a few other characters). Each control character is exactly 64 (decimal) less than the letter shown. For example, the ASCII code for "A" is decimal 65; XA is 65-64=1 which is the code for SOH. This notation also indicates a method for entering control characters from the keyboard: depress the CONTROL key and, while it is held down, type the letter. Thus, SOH is entered by depressing CTRL and striking "A". Many computers which use ASCII for internal storage of characters use this notation for displaying control characters which have no special significance to it (e.g., XA). 0The first group consists of nonprintable control characters: 0.....ASCII.... EBCDIC Dec Oct Hex Hex Char Remarks 000 000 00 00 NUL X@, Null, Idle 001 001 01 01 SOH XA, Start of heading 002 002 02 02 STX XB, Start of text 003 003 03 03 ETX XC, End of text 004 004 04 37 EOT XD, End of transmission 005 005 05 2D ENQ XE, Enquiry 006 006 06 2E ACK XF, Acknowledge 007 007 07 2F BEL XG, Bell, beep, or fleep 008 010 08 16 BS XH, Backspace 009 011 09 05 HT XI, Horizontal tab 010 012 0A 25 LF XJ, Line feed 011 013 0B 0B VT XK, Vertical tab 012 014 0C 0C FF XL, Form feed (top of page) 013 015 0D 0D CR XM, Carriage return 014 016 0E 0E SO XN, Shift out 015 017 0F 0F SI XO, Shift in 016 020 10 10 DLE XP, Data link escape 017 021 11 11 DC1 XQ, Device control 1, XON 018 022 12 12 DC2 XR, Device control 2 019 023 13 35 DC3 XS, Device control 3, XOFF 020 024 14 3C DC4 XT, Device control 4 - - Appendix B -- ASCII and EBCDIC Tables 1202 Kermit File Transfer Package -.....ASCII.... EBCDIC Dec Oct Hex Hex Char Remarks 021 025 15 3D NAK XU, Negative acknowledge 022 026 16 32 SYN XV, Synchronous idle 023 027 17 26 ETB XW, End of transmission block 024 030 18 18 CAN XX, Cancel 025 031 19 19 EM XY, End of medium 026 032 1A 3F SUB XZ, Substitute 027 033 1B 27 ESC X[, Escape, prefix, altmode 028 034 1C 1C FS X\, File separator 029 035 1D 1D GS X], Group separator 030 036 1E 1E RS XX, Record separator 031 037 1F 1F US X_, Unit separator 0The last four are usually associated with the control version of backslash, right square bracket, uparrow (or circumflex), and underscore, respectively, but some terminals do not transmit these control characters. 0The following characters are printable: 0First, some punctuation characters. 0.....ASCII.... EBCDIC Dec Oct Hex Hex Char Remarks 032 040 20 40 SP Space, blank 033 041 21 5A ! Exclamation mark 034 042 22 7F " Doublequote 035 043 23 7B # Number sign, pound sign 036 044 24 5B $ Dollar sign 037 045 25 6C % Percent sign 038 046 26 50 & Ampersand 039 047 27 7D ' Apostrophe, accent acute 040 050 28 4D ( Left parenthesis 041 051 29 5D ) Right parenthesis 042 052 2A 5C * Asterisk, star 043 053 2B 4E + Plus sign 044 054 2C 6B , Comma 045 055 2D 60 - Dash, hyphen, minus sign 046 056 2E 4B . Period, dot 047 057 2F 61 / Slash 0Numeric characters: 0.....ASCII.... EBCDIC Dec Oct Hex Hex Char 048 060 30 F0 0 049 061 31 F1 1 050 062 32 F2 2 051 063 33 F3 3 052 064 34 F4 4 053 065 35 F5 5 054 066 36 F6 6 055 067 37 F7 7 056 070 38 F8 8 057 071 39 F9 9 0ASCII and EBCDIC Tables -- Appendix B 1Kermit File Transfer Package 203 -More punctuation characters: 0.....ASCII.... EBCDIC Dec Oct Hex Hex Char Remarks 058 072 3A 7A : Colon 059 073 3B 5E ; Semicolon 060 074 3C 4C < Less than, left angle bracket 061 075 3D 7E = Equal sign 062 076 3E 6E > Greater than, right angle bracket 063 077 3F 6F ? Question mark 064 100 40 7C @ "At" sign 0Upper-case alphabetic characters (letters): 0.....ASCII.... EBCDIC Dec Oct Hex Hex Char 065 101 41 C1 A 066 102 42 C2 B 067 103 43 C3 C 068 104 44 C4 D 069 105 45 C5 E 070 106 46 C6 F 071 107 47 C7 G 072 110 48 C8 H 073 111 49 C9 I 074 112 4A D1 J 075 113 4B D2 K 076 114 4C D3 L 077 115 4D D4 M 078 116 4E D5 N 079 117 4F D6 O 080 120 50 D7 P 081 121 51 D8 Q 082 122 52 D9 R 083 123 53 E2 S 084 124 54 E3 T 085 125 55 E4 U 086 126 56 E5 V 087 127 57 E6 W 088 130 58 E7 X 089 131 59 E8 Y 090 132 5A E9 Z 0More punctuation characters: 0.....ASCII.... EBCDIC Dec Oct Hex Hex Char Remarks 091 133 5B AD [ Left square bracket 092 134 5C E0 \ Backslash 093 135 5D BD ] Right square bracket 094 136 5E 5F X Circumflex, up arrow 095 137 5F 6D _ Underscore, left arrow 096 140 60 79 ` Accent grave - Appendix B -- ASCII and EBCDIC Tables 1204 Kermit File Transfer Package -Lower-case alphabetic characters (letters): 0.....ASCII.... EBCDIC Dec Oct Hex Hex Char 097 141 61 81 a 098 142 62 82 b 099 143 63 83 c 100 144 64 84 d 101 145 65 85 e 102 146 66 86 f 103 147 67 87 g 104 150 68 88 h 105 151 69 89 i 106 152 6A 91 j 107 153 6B 92 k 108 154 6C 93 l 109 155 6D 94 m 110 156 6E 95 n 111 157 6F 96 o 112 160 70 97 p 113 161 71 98 q 114 162 72 99 r 115 163 73 A2 s 116 164 74 A3 t 117 165 75 A4 u 118 166 76 A5 v 119 167 77 A6 w 120 170 78 A7 x 121 171 79 A8 y 122 172 7A A9 z 0More punctuation characters: 0.....ASCII.... EBCDIC Dec Oct Hex Hex Char Remarks 123 173 7B 8B $ Left curly brace 124 174 7C 4F | Vertical bar 125 175 7D 9B Right curly brace 126 176 7E A1 ~ Tilde -Finally, one more nonprintable character: 0127 177 7F 07 DEL Delete, rubout - - - - ASCII and EBCDIC Tables -- Appendix B 1Kermit File Transfer Package 205 -B.2. ASCII to EBCDIC Translation Table 0 (For text data received by TSO Kermit) 0How to read the table: the ASCII hexadecimal representation of the character P is 50; this character can be found in the table in column 5, row 0. Below this character you will find the EBCDIC hexadecimal representation that results from the translation of ASCII to EBCDIC. In short, an ASCII 50 (P) is translated into an EBCDIC D7. The meanings of the two and three letter codes (e.g., SOH) can be found in the remarks section of the table in Section B.1. - the ASCII Character Set. 0Notes: (1) ASCII characters with their 8th bit on are translated as if their 8th bit were off. For example, hex B1 is translated like hex 31 (ASCII 1 - hex B1 without the 8th bit on) to hex F1 (EBCDIC 1). 0 (2) Hex 5E (ASCII X) translates to hex 5F (EBCDIC ^). - - - - - - - - - - - - - Appendix B -- ASCII and EBCDIC Tables 1206 Kermit File Transfer Package - ASCII to EBCDIC Translation Table 0 First Digit 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 +----+---+---+---+---+---+---+----+ 0| NUL DLE SP 0 @ P ` p |0 | 00 10 40 F0 7C D7 79 97 | | | 1| SOH DC1 ! 1 A Q a q |1 | 01 11 5A F1 C1 D8 81 98 | | | 2| STX DC2 " 2 B R b r |2 | 02 12 7F F2 C2 D9 82 99 | | | S 3| ETX DC3 # 3 C S c s |3 S | 03 35 7B F3 C3 E2 83 A2 | e | | e 4| EOT DC4 $ 4 D T d t |4 c | 37 3C 5B F4 C4 E3 84 A3 | c | | o 5| ENQ NAK % 5 E U e u |5 o | 2D 3D 6C F5 C5 E4 85 A4 | n | | n 6| ACK SYN & 6 F V f v |6 d | 2E 32 50 F6 C6 E5 86 A5 | d | | 7| BEL ETB ' 7 G W g w |7 | 2F 26 7D F7 C7 E6 87 A6 | D | | D 8| BS CAN ( 8 H X h x |8 i | 16 18 4D F8 C8 E7 88 A7 | i | | g 9| HT EM ) 9 I Y i y |9 g | 05 19 5D F9 C9 E8 89 A8 | i | | i A| LF SUB * : J Z j z |A t | 25 3F 5C 7A D1 E9 91 A9 | t | | B| VT ESC + ; K [ k $ |B | 0B 27 4E 5E D2 AD 92 8B | | | C| FF FS , < L \ l | |C | 0C 1C 6B 4C D3 E0 93 4F | | | D| CR GS - = M ] m |D | 0D 1D 60 7E D4 BD 94 9B | | | E| SO RS . > N X n ~ |E | 0E 1E 4B 6E D5 5F 95 A1 | | | F| SI US / ? O _ o DEL |F | 0F 1F 61 6F D6 6D 96 07 | +----+---+---+---+---+---+---+----+ 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 First Digit 0ASCII and EBCDIC Tables -- Appendix B 1Kermit File Transfer Package 207 -B.3. EBCDIC to ASCII Translation Table 0 (For text data sent by TSO Kermit) 0How to read the table: the EBCDIC hexadecimal representation of the character 9 is F9; this character can be found in the table in column F, row 9. Below this character you will find the ASCII hexadecimal representation that results from the translation from EBCDIC to ASCII. In short, an EBCDIC F9 is translated into an ASCII 39. The meanings of the two and three letter codes (e.g., SOH) can be found in the remarks section of the table in Section B.1. - the ASCII Character Set. 0Notes: (1) Hex 33 and 37 both translate to hex 04 (ASCII EOT), 37 is the preferred code. 0 (2) Hex 5F (EBCDIC ^) and BE (EBCDIC X) both translate to hex 5E (ASCII X). For received data, hex 5E (ASCII X) is translated to hex 5F (EBCDIC ^). 0 (3) Hex 8B and C0 both translate to hex 7B (ASCII $). For received data, hex 7B (ASCII $) is translated to hex 8B. 0 (4) Hex 9B and D0 both translate to hex 7D (ASCII ). For received data, hex 7D (ASCII ) is translated to hex 9B. 0 (5) Hex 60 (EBCDIC -) and 62 (WYLBUR inserted hyphen) both translate to hex 2D (ASCII -). For received data hex 2D (ASCII -) is translated to hex 60 (EBCDIC -). 0 (6) EBCDIC characters not shown are translated to hex 3A (ASCII :). - - - - - - - - - Appendix B -- ASCII and EBCDIC Tables 1208 Kermit File Transfer Package - EBCDIC to ASCII Translation Table 0 First Digit 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F +----+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----+ 0| NUL DLE SP & - $ \ 0 |0 | 00 10 20 26 2D 7B 7D 5C 30 | | | 1| SOH DC1 / a j ~ A J 1 |1 | 01 11 2F 61 6A 7E 41 4A 31 | | | 2| STX DC2 SYN - b k s B K S 2 |2 | 02 12 16 2D 62 6B 73 42 4B 53 32 | | | S 3| ETX EOT c l t C L T 3 |3 S | 03 04 63 6C 74 43 4C 54 33 | e | | e 4| d m u D M U 4 |4 c | 64 6D 75 44 4D 55 34 | c | | o 5| HT LF DC3 e n v E N V 5 |5 o | 09 0A 13 65 6E 76 45 4E 56 35 | n | | n 6| BS ETB f o w F O W 6 |6 d | 08 17 66 6F 77 46 4F 57 36 | d | | 7| DEL ESC EOT g p x G P X 7 |7 | 7F 1B 04 67 70 78 47 50 58 37 | D | | D 8| CAN h q y H Q Y 8 |8 i | 18 68 71 79 48 51 59 38 | i | | g 9| EM ` i r z I R Z 9 |9 g | 19 60 69 72 7A 49 52 5A 39 | i | | i A| ! : |A t | 21 3A | t | | B| VT . $ , # $ |B | 0B 2E 24 2C 23 7B 7D | | | C| FF FS DC4 < * % @ |C | 0C 1C 14 3C 2A 25 40 | | | D| CR GS ENQ NAK ( ) _ ' [ ] |D | 0D 1D 05 15 28 29 5F 27 5B 5D | | | E| SO RS ACK + ; > = X |E | 0E 1E 06 2B 3B 3E 3D 5E | | | F| SI US BEL SUB | ^ ? " |F | 0F 1F 07 1A 7C 5E 3F 22 | +----+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----+ 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F First Digit 0ASCII and EBCDIC Tables -- Appendix B 1Kermit File Transfer Package 209 - Appendix C -- Microcomputer to Microcomputer File Transfer 0This appendix is provided as a courtesy, the methods and techniques presented are not supported by the NIH Computer Center. 0This section explains to the novice user how to get KERMIT to transfer files between microcomputers. It is useful to those who are in the difficult situation of needing to send information between incompatible microcomputer systems, either directly or across telephone lines. This section is taken from "How to Use Kermit for Transferring Files Between Microcomputers: CP/M and MS DOS Systems" by Norman Weatherby, Ph.D., Center for Population and Family Health, Columbia University. -C.1. Getting Ready to Use Kermit 0You will need the following items in order to use KERMIT for file transfers. The only real problem is given last--determining what kind of cable(s) you will need for the systems. 0 1. Two microcomputers. It is best if each one has two or more disk drives. Each one should have a serial port that can be used with a modem. 0 Each microcomputer system should have a DTE (Data Terminal Equipment) port on an asynchronous communications adapter (the serial port), called COM1: or COM2: on IBM PC-compatible systems. Perhaps there is a serial port, but it is used to send information to a serial printer. Nearly all serial ports on IBM PCs and compatibles are DTE, however, the port may be a DCE (Data Communication Equipment) port. Using a DCE port will not cause problems if you have the correct cable. Note that the IBM PC dot matrix printer is a parallel printer and not a serial printer. Never connect a modem or other serial device to the parallel port used for the parallel printer, even though it may appear that the cable will plug into the connection. 0 2. If the two microcomputers are nearby each other, modems are not necessary. If you are going to transfer files across telephone lines two full duplex modems are required such as the Hayes Smartmodem 2400 or the AT&T 2224B. You should be able to set at least one of the modems to automatic answer mode. File transfers work well but slowly at 300 bits per second (around 30 characters per second), so it is best to have two 1200 or 2400 bits per second modems. 0 3. A copy of Kermit for each computer. - - - - Appendix C -- Microcomputer to Microcomputer File Transfer 1210 Kermit File Transfer Package - 4. The right cable(s). You should be able to plug in the ends of the cable(s) to the equipment that you are using. For a connection using DTE ports and modems, or a DTE and a DCE port, at least pins 1 through 8, 20, and 22 should be connected. Do not "jumper" or short-circuit any pins in the cable. For a direct connection, without modems and with 2 DTE or DCE ports, a "null modem" cable will be necessary. Wiring for a null modem may be done as shown: 0 Pin to Pin + __________ 1 - 1 2 - 3 3 - 2 5,6,8 - 20 20 - 5,6,8 7 - 7 0 or - 1 - 1 2 - 3 3 - 2 6,8 - 20 20 - 6,8 7 - 7 4&5 jumpered at each end -IF YOU ARE DIRECTLY CONNECTING THE COMPUTERS: 0 a. Do not use a null modem cable if you are connecting a modem (DTE) port on one system to a printer (DCE) port on the other system. 0 b. Use a null modem cable if you are connecting a modem (DTE) port on one system to a modem (DTE) port on the other system, or if you are connecting a printer (DCE) port on one system to a printer (DCE) port on the other system. -IF YOU ARE USING MODEMS TO COMMUNICATE THROUGH TELEPHONE LINES: 0For each system, 0 a. Do not use a null modem cable if you are connecting a modem (DTE) port to the modem. 0 b. Use a null modem cable if you are connecting a printer (DCE) port to the modem. - - 0Microcomputer to Microcomputer File Transfer -- Appendix C 1Kermit File Transfer Package 211 - C.2. Connecting the Computers 0IF YOU ARE GOING TO USE MODEMS: 0Use the correct cable to hook up a full duplex modem to each computer's serial communications port. -IF YOU ARE GOING TO DIRECTLY CONNECT THE COMPUTERS: 0 a. Directly connect the serial modem ports of the two machines. 0 OR 0 b. Directly connect the serial modem port of one computer to the serial (not parallel) printer port of the other computer. 0One benefit of using a direct connection between the computers is that you can use high speeds, such as 9600 bits per second, to transfer the files. Since you are not using modems and telephones, ignore the parts of this section that concern use of the modems and dialing of the telephone. -LOADING KERMIT INTO MEMORY: 0Start Kermit on each machine. -SETTING KERMIT'S OPTIONS 0To see the options that are available in your version of KERMIT, type at the prompt the command 0status<cr> or show<cr> 0Note that the toggle command SET IBM (set on or off) is NOT FOR IBM PC MICROCOMPUTERS--it is a command for IBM VM/CMS mainframes and it is not used at all at NIH. -SETTING THE PARITY: 0A computer "byte" is composed of eight bits, where each bit is a zero or one. All (English) printable letters, numbers, punctuation marks, and spaces between words can be represented by seven of the eight bits. Sometimes the eighth bit is used as a parity bit for checking to make sure that the other seven bits are correct. However, some microcomputer software packages (such as WordStar) use the eighth bit for special characters that allow features such as right justification. In any event, if both computers allow the following command, issue it to allow the transmission of all eight bits: 0set parity none<cr> - Appendix C -- Microcomputer to Microcomputer File Transfer 1212 Kermit File Transfer Package - SETTING THE SPEED 0If you can set the speed from within KERMIT, make the communication speeds of both computers equal by typing at the prompt the command 0SET SPEED ? 0and select the correct speed from a menu that is given on the screen. Then go to the portion of this section that discusses communicating between computers. For a direct connection, the correct speed is the highest speed that both computers can handle. For a modem connection, the correct speed is the highest speed supported by both computers and modems. 0If you get messages that the SET SPEED command is not implemented, you will have to get out of Kermit and set it from your operating system, as discussed below. 0Note that a faster way to set the speed is to type 0SET SPEED XXXX<cr> 0where xxxx is the speed you want. 0If you cannot set the speed from within KERMIT, such as on Heath/Zenith 89 systems, then you can get back to your operating system by typing, at the prompt, 0QUIT<cr> 0Then use the computer's software to set the speed of the serial port to which the cable is attached. Refer to the specific section in this manual for the type of computer you are running Kermit on. - - - - - - - - Microcomputer to Microcomputer File Transfer -- Appendix C 1Kermit File Transfer Package 213 - C.3. Communicating Between Computers 0After Kermit is loaded into the memory of each computer, and its options are set, type at the prompt the command 0CONNECT<cr> 0on each computer. This will put you into the connect mode, which allows one computer operator to send messages to the other operator through the modems or the direct connection. Note that KERMIT replies with an "escape" message that tells you how to get back to the command state of the program. 0In fact, it is a good idea to test the command now. The way you get back to the Kermit prompt varies by the type of system. Note that you may have to issue the command but add a C (upper or lower case) to it to get back to the Kermit prompt. On MS-DOS systems the command is: 0X]c 0After some experimentation, you will see the Kermit prompt, and you can again type the command: 0CONNECT<cr> . 0IF YOU ARE USING MODEMS: 0From the originate modem, dial the answering modem. If you have a Hayes-compatible auto-dial modem, you can issue the dial command to it. For example, with a touch tone telephones and a Hayes Smartmodem, the only command that is necessary for the originate modem is 0ATDTxxxxxxx<cr> 0where ATDT is in capital letters and xxxxxxx is the telephone number to dial. The answering Smartmodem should be issued the command 0ATA<cr> 0if it does not automatically answer the phone. -IF YOU ARE USING MODEMS OR A DIRECT CONNECTION: 0When the connection is made, each of you will be able to send and receive messages that serve to test the connection. 0If you want to see what you are typing, get back to the KERMIT prompt by typing the "escape" command that you wrote down and tested above. Then issue the command 0SET LOCAL-ECHO ON<cr> - 0 Appendix C -- Microcomputer to Microcomputer File Transfer 1214 Kermit File Transfer Package - If the connection is not made, so that it is not possible to send AND receive messages, then you should check 0 the speeds of the computers the modems, and the wiring to the modems or the wiring between the directly-connected computers. 0Make sure that the computer is sending or receiving data to the correct port on the computer. It is also helpful, as a last resort, to check whether or not the telephone is working. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Microcomputer to Microcomputer File Transfer -- Appendix C 1Kermit File Transfer Package 215 - C.4. Sending and Receiving Files 0When each computer operator is satisfied that a connection has been made, then both operators return to the Kermit prompt, as explained above. 0The operator that wants to receive a file types 0RECEIVE<cr> 0The file name will be sent from the other system. 0The operator that wants to send a file types the command 0SEND [drive:]filename.ext<cr> 0For example, to send the file on disk B that is named myfile.txt, the sending operator would type 0SEND b:myfile.txt<cr> 0It is not necessary to type in the drive specification if it is the same as your default disk drive, but it is always safe to do so. If the receiving operator hits the return after the sending operator hits the return, it may be necessary for the receiving operator to hit another return before the file will be sent. 0KERMIT will wait for a few seconds, and then the operators will see on their screens that packets of information are being sent and received. Kermit first sends the file name, and it is a good sign to the receiving operator when the file name appears on his or her screen. The number of packets will increment on both machines until the transfer is complete, and then each computer will return to the Kermit prompt. At that time, the receiving operator can check the file or another file can be sent. -CHECKING WHAT WAS SENT 0Once a connection has been established with KERMIT, it is not broken if one or both of the operators return to the operating system of their computers to check something such as the length or name of a file. Thus, when a transfer is complete, the receiving operator can get out of Kermit by typing 0EXIT<cr> 0at the Kermit prompt. The file that was received can be examined, usually by issuing the command 0TYPE [drive:]filename.ext<cr> 0The file will scroll by on the screen, and you will see that it has been transferred without error! - - Appendix C -- Microcomputer to Microcomputer File Transfer 1216 Kermit File Transfer Package - The receiving operator can then return to Kermit (e.g., X]C). If you need to, reset the speed and the parity, and you will then be able to transfer another file or get into connect mode and send messages. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0Microcomputer to Microcomputer File Transfer -- Appendix C 1Kermit File Transfer Package 217 - C.5. Figuring Out Why (If) Kermit Does Not Work 0KERMIT is very reliable. It accurately transfers files even when the telephone line is unusable for voice transmissions because of static and noise. 0Operators do, however, tend to make mistakes. One such problem is impatience. Please let Kermit wait for a few seconds before you touch a carriage return on the receiving computer to "make it work." If Kermit seems to be dead after about thirty seconds of waiting, then something is wrong. If you were able to send messages back and forth in connect mode, or if Kermit fails after the first four or five packets, then probably the problem is that the file that you wanted to send does not exist, or the sending operator misspelled its name in the send command. 0Occasionally, Kermit will fail for reasons beyond its control. The transfer will fail if one of the computers involved goes down. A feature such as call waiting or intercom messages on a telephone line will stop the transmission if they happen during a transfer. These failures are advantages in that they show that Kermit is smart enough to quit when there is a major problem. - - - - - - - - - - - - Appendix C -- Microcomputer to Microcomputer File Transfer 1218 Kermit File Transfer Package - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0Microcomputer to Microcomputer File Transfer -- Appendix C 1DOCUMENT COMMENT SHEET 0Is the Kermit File Transfer Package manual 0 YES NO 0Clear? ___ ___ Well Organized? ___ ___ Complete? ___ ___ Accurate? ___ ___ Suitable for the beginner? ___ ___ Suitable for advanced user? ___ ___ -Comments:_____________________________________________________ 0______________________________________________________________ 0______________________________________________________________ 0______________________________________________________________ 0______________________________________________________________ 0______________________________________________________________ 0______________________________________________________________ 0______________________________________________________________ 0______________________________________________________________ 0______________________________________________________________ 0______________________________________________________________ 0______________________________________________________________ 0______________________________________________________________ 0______________________________________________________________ 0______________________________________________________________ -Please give page references where appropriate. If you wish a reply, include your name and mailing address. - Send to: NIH DCRT Computer Center Technical Information Office Building 12A, Room 1017 Bethesda, Maryland 20892 1