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Date: Thu, 29 Oct 92 19:09:00 EST
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Subject: Info-Kermit Digest V16 #4
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Info-Kermit Digest         Thu, 29 Oct 1992        Volume 16 : Number 4

Today's Topics:
    New CMS Kermit Installation Procedure and Other Matters
    Announcing Kermit for TurboDos
    Macintosh Kermit Status and Q & A

Digest submissions may be sent to [e-mail] or
[e-mail].  Requests for addition to or deletion from the
Info-Kermit subscriber list should be sent to [e-mail] or
[e-mail].  These messages must be of the form:

  SUBSCRIBE I$KERMIT <your-personal-name>    (To start a subscription)
  UNSUBSCRIBE I$KERMIT                       (To cancel a subscription)
  REGISTER I$KERMIT <your-personal-name>     (To correct your name)

Kermit files may be obtained over networks and by mail order.  On the
Internetwork, use FTP to log in to host WATSUN.CC.COLUMBIA.EDU, a SUN-4/280
running UNIX (SUNOS 4.1), IP host number 128.59.39.2.  Login as user
anonymous (note, lower case), any password, and GET or MGET (MULTIPLE GET)
the desired files.  The Kermit files are in directories kermit/a, kermit/b,
kermit/c, kermit/d, and kermit/e.  Test versions are in kermit/test.  All
files in these directories should be transferred in text (ASCII) mode.
Binaries are in kermit/bin (use ftp in binary mode).  All files on watsun
have lowercase names, and case is significant.

You can also get Kermit files over the BITNET/EARN network; to get started
send a message with text HELP to KERMSRV, the Kermit file server, at host
CUVMA.  For detailed instructions, read the file kermit/a/aanetw.hlp
(AANETW.HLP on KERMSRV).  To order by mail, request a complete list of Kermit
versions and an order form from Kermit Distribution, Columbia University
Center for Computing Activities, 612 West 115th Street, New York, NY 10025
USA.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Wed, 1992 Oct 28 22:51 EST
>From: "John F. Chandler" <[e-mail]>
Subject: New CMS Kermit Installation Procedure and Other Matters
Keywords: VM/CMS Kermit

After receiving suggestions over the years of devising an install EXEC for
CMS Kermit, I have finally done so.  I resisted as long as I did because CMS
offers seven different ways of doing anything, and I didn't want to impose a
single way of installing Kermit in conflict with the ingrained habits of
others.  However, I have come to realize that most people will be glad to do
things a particular way if it's made easy, and I have tried to do that.

The EXEC is now part of the new version of IKCKER INS.  There are still
instructions for do-it-yourselfers, but they are briefer than before and
always refer to the EXEC as the way to do things.  The snippets of CMS
command sequences have been moved into the EXEC, which, in turn, has
comments referring to the various steps described in IKCKER INS and IKCKER
BWR.

Basically, the new EXEC does everything other than (a) fetching the Kermit
distribution files, (b) collecting optional updates to supplement the
standard set, and (c) setting aside disk space to hold all the files.
Because there are quite a few options even now, it asks a series of
questions, but each one has a default answer, so that most installers can
simply bang on the RETURN key to get the job done.

Incidentally, there is a new item in IKCKER BWR referring to an IBM APAR for
fixing a bug in CMS 7 and 8, one which impacts the issuing of the CMS ERASE
command from within Kermit.  There are also new copies of IKMKER.BWR and
IKXKER.UPD with minor cosmetic fixes.

John

[Ed. - Thanks, John!  The new files have been installed with the other IBM
mainframe Kermit files, and they will definitely make CMS Kermit
installation much easier for most people.]

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 14 Oct 92 12:46:38 -0400
>From: [e-mail] ("Mark W. Eichin")
Subject: Announcing Kermit for TurboDos
Keywords: TurboDos Kermit

I've uploaded the TurboDos Kermit executable in binary form (TurboDos
doesn't have an equivalent of CP/M's SAVE, and I don't have a reverse MLOAD
among my VAX CP/M tools.)

I'm sure I've got the source code somewhere, though I suspect I haven't
looked at it in a long time.  I recall it was a port of a CP/M version in
assembler (remember the TACTRAP code? it's in here... I've even used it over
a MILNET TAC. You should probably remind people to turn it off when trying
to talk to a "modern" kermit, but it fails pretty completely if you forget.)

Storing it in straight HEX is probably fine, since you can tell people to
use a little MBASIC program to convert it (ahh the memories :-)  Even without
MBASIC, it shouldn't be hard to do something with the MONITOR program to put
it back together.

_Mark_ <[e-mail]>
MIT Student Information Processing Board
Cygnus Support <[e-mail]>

[Ed. - Thanks, Mark.  We'll leave the bootstrapping to whoever needs to do
it.  Your uuencoded executable has been installed in kermit/c/tdkerm.uue,
and a straight hex version (not Intel hex!) is in kermit/c/tdkerm.hex.  Also
on CUVMA: TDKERM UUE and TDKERM HEX.  Hope you can find and send in the
source code too.]

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 29 Oct 1992 15:47:00 EST
>From: Frank da Cruz <[e-mail]>
Subject: Macintosh Kermit Status and Q & A
Keywords: Macintosh Kermit

Hundreds of messages arrive here every day asking or complaining about Mac
Kermit.  Here is a brief status report, followed by some typical questions
and their answers.

Mac Kermit is part of the C-Kermit family of programs.  C-Kermit 5A for
UNIX, VMS, OS/2, AOS/VS, and several other operating systems is in its last
stages of its 3-year-plus development.  The final beta test version will be
announced soon.  Each new edit of C-Kermit is built on the Macintosh too,
and so a new Mac Kermit test edit is issued with every test edit of
C-Kermit.

Each new Mac Kermit edit has improvements in system-independent areas, such
as file transfer performance and features, modem dialing, script language
programming, etc.  However, there has been very little work on the
Macintosh-specific parts of Mac Kermit in the past year, except that
recently Paul Placeway made some impressive improvements in the speed of the
terminal emulator.

We have big plans for "Macintosh Kermit 1.0", and have had them for a long
time.  You can read about them, and also about the many bugs and problems we
know about, in the file kermit/sw/ckmker.bwr on watsun.cc.columbia.edu.  You
can also read, in great detail, about the problems with Mac Kermit's VT100
font, and the proposed solution, in kermit/sw/ckmker.fon.  You can pick up
the latest test version of Mac Kermit from kermit/sw/ckmker.hqx.  FTP all of
these files in text mode.

So when will Mac Kermit 1.0 be available?  It depends on the schedules of
the volunteer programmers.  As you know, nobody is being paid to work on Mac
Kermit, so volunteers must find time outside of their real jobs or
schoolwork to take on these tasks that we all want accomplished, and decide
to do this instead of, say, making buckets of money writing commercial
Macintosh applications.  It is much harder to find a public-spirited
Macintosh programmer with spare time than practically any other kind of
programmer.

So please be patient.  When we have a Macintosh Kermit version that we feel
is comparable in quality to the other popular Kermit programs, we will
announce it far and wide.  In the meanwhile, if you are a skilled Macintosh
programmer capable of working in the MPW C 3.2 programming environment, and
you want to pitch in, let me know.  If you are not, feel free to use the
test versions, with their current limitations.

Here is where to find the latest files, all on watsun.cc.columbia.edu,
via anonymous ftp, text mode:

  kermit/sw/ckmker.hqx  --  Latest Mac Kermit
  kermit/sw/ckmker.bwr  --  "Beware file" for latest Mac Kermit
  kermit/sw/ckmker.fon  --  Writeup of font situation
  kermit/b/ckmker.doc   --  User manual for last real release, 0.9(40), ASCII
  kermit/b/ckmker.ps    --  User manual for last real release, PostScript
  kermit/charsets/mac*  --  The new Macintosh Kermit font, tables, docs, etc

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 18 Oct 1992 23:19:55 -0700 (PDT)
>From: Les Ferch <[e-mail]>
Subject: MacKermit on Mac Plus

I noticed a couple of minor problems with MacKermit on a Mac Plus.

1. Using "Set modifiers..." I set Option to act as Ctrl. However, it does
not work. To get a Ctrl key, I have to set Command to act as Ctrl and turn
off Menu Keys. It would be nice to be able to keep Menu Keys and use
Option as Ctrl.

[Ed. - To use the Option key as a Ctrl key, you have to check the Opt box
on the left side of the Set Modifiers dialog, and you also have to check
both Unmodify and Ctrl on the right side, in the same row.  See ckmker.bwr.]

2. The File menu is longer than the 9" screen. This confuses beginners
looking for Quit. If Load Settings and Save Settings were moved to the
Settings menu, the problem would be solved.

[Ed. - A well-known problem.  The menus need a lot of work.]

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 20 Oct 92 10:29:40 EST
>From: Howie Richburg <[e-mail]>
Organization: State University of New York - Central Administration
Subject: Re: MacKermit?

Maybe I am doing something wrong.  Under settings I choose key settings.
The scan codes I define such as {27}3, when executed are passed through to
the terminal screen as #27'3 for example and not transmitted.  Any ideas?

[Ed. - Presently, the backslash notation in Mac Kermit's key definitions
only accepts octal (base 8) numbers, and no provision is made for grouping.
Suppose you want to define a key to send ESC followed by the letter A.  In
MS-DOS Kermit or C-Kermit, you would express this as \27A, \o33A, or \x1BA.
In Mac Kermit, it must be \33A.  Now suppose you want to send ESC followed
by the digit 3.  You can't write \273, because there would be no way to tell
where the backslash code ended and the literal text began.  In MS-DOS or
C-Kermit, you can write \{27}3, to separate the 27 from the 3.  Mac Kermit
doesn't support this type of notation, so you have to write \33\63 (where 63
is the octal value of the ASCII code for the character "3"), and so on until
you reach the first non-numeric character or the end of the definition.
Hopefully, a future release of Mac Kermit will support the same types of
notation as MS-DOS Kermit and C-Kermit.]

Do you think MacKermit is stable enough to use for a Mac Powerbook running
System 7?

[Ed. - We have received mixed reviews.  The main difficulty with Mac Kermit
under System 7 actually has nothing to do with System 7 per se, but rather
with the fact that Macs that have System 7 also tend to be loaded with lots
of INITs.  Macs with all their INITs are becoming even more dangerous for
communication software than PCs loaded with TSRs!  We have discovered that
most INITs that have anything to do with font management -- Adobe Type
Manager, SuitCase, TrueType, etc -- can interfere with Mac Kermit to various
degrees, ranging from fractured screens to Mac Kermit or even system bombs.
This probably happens because Mac Kermit uses its own internal font for
terminal emulation.  We know the solution to this problem -- remove the
internal font and make an external font suitable for VT320 emulation -- but
it is taking a long time to accomplish it.]

[Ed again - About the Powerbook.  Mac Kermit works as well on the Powerbook
as it works on any other Mac, except for one obvious limitation (bug).  The
Powerbook does not normally come with a modem port, only a printer port.
Thus you have to choose the printer port in the Communications Settings
menu, which works.  So far so good.  But the port selection is not saved
when you Save Settings.  So you always have to open the communications menu
and select the printer port every time you run Kermit on the Powerbook.
This should be fixed soon.]

In addition the Powerbook will be used to dial into a 3270 protocol
converter to access our IBM host.  It will therefore require that certain
key combinations submit specific codes to emulate PF keys.  The reason I ask
is because I have no luck transmitting codes to emulate the PF keys.

[Ed. - This is an extremely common question, but it does not have a general
answer.  Here's the story: an IBM mainframe 3270 terminal has row upon row
of "PF" keys that ordinary terminals don't have.  The operation of these
keys is internal to the IBM 3270 protocol -- they don't send characters,
they send signals or messages, or perform certain local functions, etc.  A
3270 protocol converter -- such as an IBM 7171 -- lets ordinary ASCII
terminals (or programs, like Kermit, that emulate them) interact with
mainframe 3270 applications.  Data sent from the mainframe to the terminal
is converted into (for example) ASCII text intermixed with VT100 escape
sequences, so your screen looks right.  So far so good.  In the other
direction, certain control characters or escape sequences coming from your
keyboard are interpreted as PF keys.  The problem is, no two protocol
converters, no two protocol-converter terminal-type configurations, no two
sites, have the same idea of exactly which control characters or escape
sequences should correspond to which PF keys.  WE CAN'T ANSWER THAT
QUESTION.  You have to go to your IBM mainframe or IBM networking
administrator and find out: for a particular terminal type (say VT100), what
characters or sequences must the terminal or emulator send to simulate EACH
of: the PF1 through PF24 keys; the PA1 through PA3 keys; the newline key,
the cursor keys, backtab, the editing keys, the Attention key, etc etc.
Once you have the table of 30 keys and their values, you can decide which
keys on your Mac should correspond to which 3270 terminal keys, and then
assign the corresponding character or escape sequence to each one in a
Set Key Macros dialog -- a long and tedious exercise, which is best done
once at each site centrally.  A Mac Kermit 3270 settings file is created,
put on a file server, or copied onto diskette or and passed around.  In a
future release, we hope to support plain-text key settings files like MS-DOS
Kermit or C-Kermit.]

------------------------------

Date: Tue, 20 Oct 92 16:57:53 +0100
>From: [e-mail] (Uwe Johnen)
Subject: Kermit on Mac

I was very amused that I can use my Apple Powerbook as a terminal (vt100)
over the V24 modem port.

But using Word Perfect on our VAX I was searching for the function keys,
which I have to use while working with WP.

If you have any idea where they are please let me know. I thing I tried
everything. Which one tried I not ?

[Ed. - Here is another case where you must go through the long and laborious
process of making many, many key assignments.  VAX WordPerfect assignments
have already been done for MS-DOS Kermit in the file kermit/a/msiwp3.ini,
which contains 126 SET KEY commands!  Unfortunately: (a) the keyboard scan
codes of the Macintosh are different from those of the PC, and (b) there is
not yet a way to import textual SET KEY commands into Mac Kermit.  As noted
above, hopefully there will be a textual SET KEY command in a forthcoming
release.]

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 21 Oct 1992 12:58:24 -0700 (PDT)
>From: [e-mail] (George Mansoor)
Subject: Printing from Kermit for Mac

I have a question concerning Kermit for the Mac.  Is there a way to send
output to a printer much the way that the PC version can send the emulation
output to a printer?   Not screen dumps, but print sessions.  Does this make
any sense?  If it can, what version of Kermit for the MAC.

[Ed. - Short answer: Yes.  Long answer: Here is how printing currently works
in Mac Kermit.  Everybody knows there is a Print item in the File menu, but
it is dimmed so you can't use it.  These items become active when Mac
Kermit's terminal emulator receives certain escape sequences:

  ESC [ 5 i  (or)   ESC [ ? 5 i   --  Start capturing text for printer
  ESC [ 4 i  (or)   ESC [ ? 4 i   --  Stop capturing text for printer

After receiving the "printer off" sequence, the print items can be used.
Future releases of Mac Kermit will have additional printing capabilities:
print screen, print selection, log session to printer, etc.]

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 29 Oct 92 08:47:23 PST
>From: John Holland <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: 0.99(97) Bug Report

I reported some problems with Mac Kermit 0.99(97).  Since then I have
obtained 183, and later 184, from watsun.cc.columbia.edu.

I now use Mac Kermit as my terminal emulator of choice in my daily work,
connected to a mainframe at 9600 baud, using a Mac Plus.  Commercial
products, like Microphone and White Knight, seem to be assuming a slower
connection and do not refresh the screen as quickly as I would like.  Kermit
refreshes the screen quickly, and allows me to copy and paste and to move
the cursor around with the mouse (and type without having to wait for the
cursor to arrive at its destination).

One of the problems I noted before is no longer a problem.

I couldn't save settings without a system bomb.  No problem now.
However, if I set Mouse -> Arrow Keys in Terminal... under Settings,
I still can't turn it off.

[Ed. - Sure enough, it's a bug.  The X disappears from the check box, but
the feature is not turned off.  If you bring back the Terminal Settings
screen, the box is checked again.]

A new problem is related to fonts. I use Courier 10 point.  When the
text I am working on is bolded and I delete characters from the middle
of the line, pulling the rest of the line in, a trail of dots is sometimes
left.  I demonstrated this to myself by typing a row of bold WWWWWWs, then
deleting the leftmost one a few times. The rightmost pixel in the righmost
character remains on the screen. This is a cosmetic bug which I am
happily living with, given the other benefits of Kermit.

[Ed. - Coexistence with fonts and font managers, and other font related
problems (of which the one you list is a very minor example), are perhaps
Mac Kermit's biggest problem at present.  It is described -- and a solution
proposed -- in the files kermit/sw/ckmker.bwr and kermit/sw/ckmker.fon.]

------------------------------

End of Info-Kermit Digest
*************************