Columbia Kermit/kermit.zip/READ.ME

Text File | 2020-01-01 | 10KB | 221 lines

Last update: Wed Oct 30 14:54:46 2002

Welcome to the Columbia University Kermit software distribution area.

You may cd to any of these directories and get any files you want.  All files
are provided without warranty of any kind.  Please read specific copyright
notices and disclaimers.  Most of this software is not "public domain".

WEB USERS

This material is navigated much more easily with a Web browser:

  http://www.columbia.edu/kermit/

DOCUMENTATION

C-Kermit (for Unix, VMS, etc) and MS-DOS Kermit for DOS are documented
in professionally published manuals.  Sales of these manuals are an
important source of funding for the nonprofit Kermit project.  If you
use C-Kermit or MS-DOS Kermit, please also be sure to purchase the
relevant manuals.  Info below.

KERMIT 95

Kermit 95 for Windows 9x/ME/NT/2000/XP must be licensed for use.
You can download a full-featured time-expiring trial version through
the website:

  http://www.columbia.edu/kermit/k95demo.html

DOWNLOADABLE SOFTWARE

The Kermit software is broken up into subdirectories that contain lots of
files, many of them for obscure machines and operating systems.  This is
confusing to many people.  Therefore, several of the most popular versions
have been packaged for easy retrieval:

MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM PC with DOS or Windows 3.x:
  kermit/archives/msvibm.zip.  FTP in binary mode, unzip on your PC.

C-Kermit 8.0 for UNIX:
  kermit/archives/cku206.tar.Z or .gz
  FTP in binary mode, uncompress, untar, then "make" the appropriate
  version.  Read the makefile and ckuins.doc for instructions.

Various binaries:
  kermit/bin - current releases.
  kermit/test/bin - alpha or beta (upcoming) releases.
  kermit/test/tar - tar.Z or tar.gz of test releases of C-Kermit

Much of this information is recapitulated below in greater detail, but
if this is all you wanted to know you can stop reading.


KERMIT SOFTWARE ORGANIZATION

This is the definitive Kermit software distribution area.  It is organized
into subdirectories as follows:

kermit/a/   -  Tape A  -  MS-DOS Kermit for DOS and Windows;
                          Apple II Kermit; CP/M-80 Kermit.

kermit/f    -  Tape F  -  C-Kermit for UNIX, VMS, DG AOS/VS,
                          OS-9, Commodore Amiga, Atari ST, Apollo Aegis,
                          Stratus VOS (not all of these are current).

kermit/b/   -  Tape B  -  IBM mainframes (VM/CMS, MVS/TSO, CICS, MUSIC),
                          VAX/VMS, PDP-11 (RSX, RSTS, RT, TSX, MUMPS).

kermit/c/   -  Tape C  -  Acorn, Apollo, Atari, Commodore 64/128, CP/M-86,
                          Concurrent CP/M-86, BTOS, CTOS, LISP machines,
                          Flex, UniFlex, HP BASIC, UCSD Pascal, Intel 8051
                          Microcontroller, Intel Development Systems, Luxor
                          ABC, Lilith, ICL/Perq, Sinclair, RML, TRS-80, and
                          other Tandys, etc.

kermit/d/   -  Tape D  -  DG AOS/VS and RDOS, Burroughs, CDC, Cray, GEC,
                          Gould/SEL, Harris, Honeywell, HP minis,
                          DEC-10/20, DEC PDP-8/12, MAI Basic Four,
                          MODCOMP, IBM mainframes (MTS, GUTS), NCR, Norsk
                          Data, Perkin-Elmer/Concurrent, PICK, PRIME, Tandem,
                          TI, Sperry/UNIVAC/UNISYS, ICL, etc.

kermit/e    -  Tape E  -  General Kermit documentation, mail archives, etc

kermit/g    -  Tape G  -  G-Kermit source and text files.


 --DEVELOPMENT AREAS--

kermit/test      -        Kermit development or Beta Test versions,
                          see kermit/test/READ.ME.  This directory has a text
                          and a bin subdirectory, and some others.

kermit/test/tar  -        C-Kermit daily builds (tar.Z, tar.gz, zip).

 --BINARIES--

kermit/bin       -        Binary executable Kermit programs (use binary mode).

kermit/vmshex    -        VMS Kermit executables in HEX format (text mode).

kermit/uue       -        UUencoded, compressed G-Kermit binaries (text mode).

 --ARCHIVES--

kermit/archives  -        Packed archives of popular versions (binary mode).
                          cku*.tar.Z: compressed tar archive of current
                          UNIX C-Kermit release, e.g. cku206*.tar.Z;
                          msvibm.zip: ZIP archive of current MS-DOS Kermit
                          distribution diskette (KERMIT.EXE, KERMIT.PIF,
                          MSKERMIT.INI, MSCUSTOM.INI, etc etc).
                          cko191.zip: OS/2 C-Kermit distribution files.
                          See kermit/archives/read.me for further info.

 --OTHER--

kermit/charsets  -        Character set tables and info (8-bit text!)
kermit/printers  -        Printer utilities to be used with Kermit software
kermit/old       -        Old versions, superseded by new ones.
kermit/extra     -        Extra, redundant, or rarely-used versions.
kermit/vttest    -        The VT100/102 terminal emulation test program.

File names all start with letters and are of the form name.typ (lowercase!)
and normally appear in alphabetical order in a directory listing or on a tape.
Exception: READ.ME files have uppercase names, so as to appear at the top of
a directory listing, but are usually also accessible as read.me.

Kermit programs are stored in the Kermit distribution areas with related files
grouped together using filename prefixes; the names of all the files for a
certain implementation all start with the same 2- or 3-character prefix, for
instance all the files for MS-DOS Kermit have names starting with "ms".
Similarly, "ck" for C-Kermit, "ik" for IBM mainframe Kermit, "k11" for PDP-11
Kermit, and so on.

A group of files for a particular Kermit program is often headed by an "aaaa"
file, for example "msaaaa.hlp" for MS-DOS Kermit; "ckaaaa.hlp" for C-Kermit;
"ckvaaa.hlp" for the VMS version of C-Kermit, "ckoaaa.hlp" for the OS/2
version of C-Kermit, and so on.  These files explain the organization of the
files for a particular Kermit version.  The most popular Kermit programs are:

  MS-DOS Kermit for PC-DOS, MS-DOS, and MS-Windows:
    Overview file: kermit/a/msaaaa.hlp
    Binary ZIP archive: kermit/archives/msvibm.zip
    Sources: kermit/a/ms*.* (assembler and C)

  C-Kermit for UNIX, VAX/VMS, OS/2, Data General AOS/VS, the Commodore Amiga,
  Stratus VOS, the Atari ST, and OS-9:
    Overview file: kermit/f/ckaaaa.hlp. Binary compressed tar archive of UNIX
    source code: kermit/archives/cku206src.tar.Z (206 is the program edit
    number, subject to change).  Selected binaries are in kermit/bin/ck*.
    Hexified VMS binaries are in kermit/vmshex/ckv*.hex.  Other binaries can
    be found in kermit/b/ck*.uue (UUENCODed versions), ck*.boo (BOO-encoded
    versions), etc.  Sources: kermit/b/ck*.[cwh], ck*ker.mak.

  Macintosh Kermit:
    Overview file: kermit/f/ckmaaa.hlp
    Source code: kermit/f/ck[cuwm]*.[cwhr]
    Binary: kermit/f/ckmker.hqx (BinHex 4.0 format)
    Further information: kermit/f/ckmker.bwr

  IBM Mainframe Kermit for VM/CMS, MVS/TSO, MVS/ROSCOE, CICS, and MUSIC:
    Overview file: kermit/b/ik0aaa.hlp
    Source code: kermit/b/ik*.* (ik0*.* + ikc*.* for CMS, ikt*.* for TSO, etc)

Files whose names start with "aa" -- normally appearing at the top of a
directory listing -- give general information about Kermit.  There should be
an identical set of "aa" files at the top of each Kermit subdirectory a-e.

The following files describe what's available in the Kermit distribution:

  aafiles.hlp - Explanation of what files are available and how they are named.
  aanetw.hlp -- Information about network access to Kermit files.
  aatape.hlp -- Information about Kermit distribution tape formats.

Files whose names start with "aav" are complete tabular lists of existing,
available Kermit versions, sorted in various ways:

  aavers.hlp -- Master list, in no particular order
  aavnew.hlp -- Listed in reverse chronological order of release date
  aavops.hlp -- Listed alphabetically by operating system only
  aavlng.hlp -- Listed alphabetically by programming language
  aavpfx.hlp -- Listed alphabetically by filename prefix, regardless of tape
  aavsys.hlp -- Listed alphabetically by machine and operating system
  aavtap.hlp -- Listed by tape (A-F), then alphabetically by file prefix

And there are some bureaucratic files, whose names start with "aax":

  aaxfly.doc -- The Kermit catalog and mail-order form, terms and conditions.
  aaxfly.ps  -- A PostScript version of the catalog and order form.
  aaxcom.doc -- Commercial-Use policy.
  aaxcom.ps  -- PostScript version of commercial-use policy.

PUBLISHED DOCUMENTATION

 ... is available for MS-DOS Kermit and C-Kermit.  Please use it.  Sales of
the documentation are the primary source of funding for the Kermit project.
The manuals show you how to use the software and get the most out of it.

    Christine M. Gianone, Using MS-DOS Kermit, Second Edition, Digital
    Press / Butterworth-Heinemann, Woburn, MA, 1992, 345 pages, ISBN
    1-55558-082-3.  Packaged with version 3.14 of MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM
    PC, PS/2, and compatibles on a 3.5-inch diskette.  In computer and book
    stores, or order direct from Columbia University or from Digital Press.

    Frank da Cruz and Christine M. Gianone, "Using C-Kermit", Second Edition,
    Digital Press / Butterworth-Heinemann, Woburn, MA, 1997, 622 pages, ISBN
    1-55558-164-1.  In computer and book stores, or order direct from
    Columbia University or from Digital Press.

The Kermit File transfer protocol is specified in the following book, which
also includes tutorials on computers, file systems, data communications, and
using Kermit:

    Frank da Cruz, Kermit, A File Transfer Protocol, Digital Press /
    Butterworth-Heinemann, Worburn, MA, 1987, 379 pages, ISBN
    0-932376-88-6.  In computer and book stores, or order direct from
    Columbia University or from Digital Press.

(End of kermit/READ.ME)