Columbia Kermit/kermit.zip/e/newsn2.txt

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Columbia University Center for Computing Activities

KERMIT NEWS

  Volume 2, Number 1
  November, 1987

NOTE: This is an online copy of Kermit News, which is printed and mailed
to thousands of subscribers on a periodic basis.  To be added to the mailing
list, send your name and mailing address to:

  Kermit News
  Columbia University
  Center for Computing Activities
  612 West 115th Street
  New York, NY  10025  (USA)

In This Issue...

  Editor's Notes
  Major New Releases
  Kermit Around the World
  Recent Release Summary
  Order Form (omitted)


EDITOR'S NOTES

Christine Gianone
Columbia University, New York City

Kermit Distribution at Columbia University, and all around the world is,  after
6  years,  continuing  to  grow  at  a steady pace.  There are currently Kermit
versions available for nearly 300 machines and operating systems, and  hundreds
of versions are under development.  Our complete distribution now requires five
2400-foot 9-track magnetic  tapes  (about  60  Megabytes  of  source  code  and
documentation).

Kermit  has been shipped to each of the 50 states in the US and to more than 60
countries around the world.  Although Columbia University Center for  Computing
Activities has the most complete and up-to-date Kermit versions, we do not have
many of the computers on-site and cannot provide  Kermit  to  users  on  native
media.  We urge people to volunteer to distribute diskettes or submit a version
to a local user group and to inform us so that we can help  others  bypass  the
tedious bootstrapping procedures.

Kermit  has  always  been  a  voluntary  effort,  shared with prices to reflect
distribution costs.  Please help us to continue this valuable service.

KERMIT IN PRINT

The book Kermit, A File Transfer Protocol, by  Frank  da  Cruz,  Digital  Press
(1987),  has  been  a  success in its first year of publication, and is already
into its third printing.  Unlike the Kermit manuals, the Kermit  book  provides
background, motivation, and history, plus tutorials in computers, file systems,
and data communication, including hints on cable building and  troubleshooting.
There  are  numerous tables, figures, and illustrations, plus a glossary and an
index.  The book also includes a Kermit  command  reference  and  the  complete
Kermit protocol specification, with programming examples.

And be sure to look for our article, Evaluating RS-232 Communications Packages,
in a forthcoming issue of Data Communications Magazine.

KERMIT COMPETES

Kermit was selected as one of the 11 finalists for the First Andrew  Fluegelman
Award.   The award is given for ``a substantial, innovative contribution to the
personal  computer  community  in  commercial,  shareware,  or  public   domain
software''.    Established  in  1986  by  PCW  Communications  Inc.,  the award
commemorates Fluegelman's contributions to  the  software  field.    Fluegelman
developed  PC Talk, ``the first easy-to-use and powerful communications program
for the PC''.  The annual award is made  possible  through  a  fund  which  was
established  after  his  death  in  July,  1985.   The award was granted to Tom
Jennings' FIDO, a bulletin board and mail  system  which  includes  the  Kermit
protocol.

KERMIT AT DECUS SYMPOSIA

Kermit:  Current  Status,  Future  Directions,  was  the  title  of the session
conducted by myself at the Nashville Digital Equipment Corporation User Society
(DECUS) Symposium, which was attended by approximately 500 people.  The session
began with some Kermit history, an overview of  computer  networks  from  which
Kermit  files  can  be  obtained,  and  how  to  get these Kermit versions from
Columbia by mail  order.    The  current  status  of  Kermit  distribution  and
development  was  discussed,  and  details  about a number of particular Kermit
programs of special interest to DECUS attendees were addressed.    Arrangements
were  made  for  the  authors of some of the most popular Kermit versions to be
given the platform as guest speakers.  Frank da  Cruz  (who  was  greeted  with
quite  a  reception)  discussed  DEC-20  and  UNIX  Kermits,  and  some  Kermit
performance issues.  Professor Joe Doupnik of Utah State  University  discussed
the  new  release  of  MS-DOS  Kermit  (2.30), which he had been working on for
nearly a year.  Brian Nelson of the University of Toledo  (who  had  previously
given  a  ``Getting Started with Kermit'' session) discussed his PDP-11 Kermit.
And Bob McQueen of  Stevens  Institute  of  Technology,  talked  briefly  about
VAX/VMS  Kermit.   The session concluded with a question-and-answer period, and
much interest in continuing Kermit sessions at future DECUS symposia.

At press time, Frank and I are off to Tokyo at the invitation of Japan DECUS to
conduct  Kermit  presentations and courses, November 18-20.  Even though Kermit
has become an international language in its own right, we will  still  have  to
speak through an interpreter.

Kermit  presentations  are  also  planned  for the Spring US DECUS Symposium in
Cincinnati, Ohio, May 16-20, 1987.  See you there?

SOFTWARE PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE

The Software Publishers Association conference was held in  Cambridge,  MA,  on
October  12,  1987.    The  SPA  is  an  association  of software producers and
distributors.  Chris Stephenson  of  the  University  of  Toronto  conducted  a
session  titled  Software  from  the  Ivory  Tower:  Are Universities Producing
Products?.  The panelists included Frank da Cruz and myself from Columbia  (for
Kermit  software),  David  Fuchs  of  Stanford  University  (Manager of the TEX
project), Ric Holt of the  University  of  Toronto  (developer  of  the  Turing
programming   language),  and  Bill  McKeeman,  a  faculty  member  at  Harvard
University.

The session was attended by representatives of companies like Apple,  IBM,  and
Commodore,  and  some  reporters  from  the trade press.  It exposed commercial
software vendors to how universities produce and ``market'' software.  For many
corporate representatives, this was a first look at the broad range of projects
underway and how academic institutions deal with them.

KERMIT SEMINARS AND SHORT COURSES

Columbia University's Division of Special Programs  offers  noncredit  seminars
for  the  beginner  to the experienced computer user in the New York City area.
The Kermit series, conducted by Frank da Cruz and myself,  is  offered  several
times a year and consists of three levels of instruction.  Users who are new to
communications may attend  the  hands-on  introductory  session.    Experienced
computer users may attend a fast-paced course.  Technical managers, programmers
and software developers are exposed to more advanced Kermit usage, installation
and support.

Classes are held in the evening, on week-ends, and in full-day sessions for the
convenience of the busy professional.  For course descriptions  and  schedules,
contact:

  Columbia University
  The Division of Special Programs
  209 Lewisohn Hall
  New York, NY 10027
  [phone]

LONG PACKETS AND SLIDING WINDOWS

The  Kermit  protocol  extensions described in the previous issue of the Kermit
Newsletter, long packets and sliding windows, are gradually taking root in  our
collection  of  Kermit  programs.   Both extensions are designed to improve the
performance of Kermit file transfers.  Long packets may  be  used  to  increase
file  transfer  speed  over  relatively  clean  and/or half duplex connections.
Sliding windows may be used only on full duplex connections,  and  are  ideally
suited  to  connections with a long round-trip delay (such as satellite links).
Both extensions are described at length in the Kermit book.

Long packets are now suported by the following Kermit programs:  MS-DOS  Kermit
(version  2.29B  and later); IBM 370 VM/CMS Kermit (version 3.1 and later); IBM
370 MVS/TSO Kermit (the Pascal version, 2.0  and  later);  C-Kermit  for  Unix,
VAX/VMS, etc (version 4E or later); PDP-11 Kermit for RSX, RSTS, RT11, and P/OS
(version 3.50 and later); Apple II DOS and  ProDOS  Kermit  (version  3.75  and
later); CDC Cyber (Lehigh version 3.0 or later).

Sliding  windows,  which are much harder to program, are still relatively rare,
appearing to date only in the Prime PRIMOS minicomputer version, in one of  the
CDC  Cyber  versions,  and  in  various  commercial or semicommercial MS-DOS PC
packages.

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

MS-DOS KERMIT 2.30

Version 2.30 of MS-DOS Kermit, prepared by Prof. Joe R. Doupnik of  Utah  State
University,  is  now available after a long period of development, testing, and
refinement.  This program runs on the IBM PC and PS/2 families and compatibles,
with  special  versions also available for the DEC Rainbow, NEC APC3, and other
non-IBM compatibles, plus a generic MS-DOS version, and a special  version  for
Intel systems running iRMX-86 or -286.

Version  2.30  corrects  three  serious  problems in 2.29: incompatibility with
certain internal modems, faulty handshake with half duplex systems during  file
transfer,  and  inability  to  operate  as  a  "remote" Kermit after CTTY COM1.
Version 2.30 also includes:

 - Support for long packets, to improve the efficiency of file  transfers  with
   other Kermit programs that support this option (listed above).
 - Improved communication I/O performance.
 - Operation over Netbios-compatible networks.
 - A script language and raw file upload.
 - Revised and expanded key definitions, including the ability to assign Kermit
   "verbs" to keys.
 - Error code return to DOS, for batch operation.
 - Support for 8-bit and international character sets.
 - Security features for server operation.
 - Configurability for COM3 and COM4 expansion boards (IBM PC only).
 - VT102 ANSI printer controls.
 - Expanded screen rollback, macro, and key definition storage.

Special thanks to Joe for the tremendous amount of work  and  skill  that  went
into  this  new  release, to Jim Sturdevant of A.C. Nielsen Co. for the initial
script implementation, and to the numerous  other  volunteers  who  contributed
support  for  other  systems, fixes, ideas, and their time for testing.  MS-DOS
Kermit diskettes are available from Columbia by mail order (see order form).

(As of press time, version 2.30 was being distributed in "beta  test"  form  as
version 2.29C).

C-KERMIT 4E

Version  4E(067)  of  C-Kermit was released by Columbia University in September
1987.  Like previous releases, this program  includes  support  for  most  Unix
systems,  VAX/VMS,  the  Apple  Macintosh, and the Commodore Amiga.  Version 4E
also includes new support for Data General AOS/VS and Apollo Aegis, contributed
by  Phil  Julian  and  Jack Rouse of the SAS Institute.  The Macintosh code was
converted to Megamax C by Jim Noble of Planning Research Corp, so that for  the
first  time  it  can  be  built  and modified directly on the Macintosh (future
releases will probably also include support for Lightspeed and  MPW  C  on  the
Mac).    Version 4E includes several major (and many minor) bug fixes, and some
new features:

 - Long packet protocol support for more efficient file transfers,  plus  other
   performance improvements.
 - The  Unix version now executes its initialization file always, no matter how
   invoked.
 - File and terminal bytesize masks, to allow interaction with both  7-bit  and
   8-bit ASCII systems.

C-Kermit  for  Unix  and  VMS  is  distributed  in C-language source form only.
Encoded executable files (along with suitable decoding procedures) are included
with  the  Macintosh,  Amiga,  and  Data General versions.  Future releases are
expected to include improved VAX/VMS and Macintosh support.

CMS KERMIT 3.1

Version 3.1 of CMS Kermit was released in September  1986  for  IBM  370-series
mainframes  running  VM/CMS.    This Kermit version includes contributions from
several people; Vace Kundakci of Columbia University, John Chandler of Harvard,
Bob  Bolch  of Triangle Universities, and Clark Frazier of the Harvard Business
School.

New features include extended-length packets, advanced server  functions,  file
attribute  packets,  improved  performance and error recovery, support for 3705
linemode as well as connections through 7171-style  protocol  converters,  plus
many bug fixes.

NIH MVS/TSO KERMIT

A  new  IBM 370-series mainframe MVS/TSO Kermit from the US National Institutes
of Health (NIH), was first announced in December, 1986.  The program is written
in ``ALP'', which is a preprocessor for 370 assembly language developed at NIH.
The ALP preprocessor, also supplied, is written in PL/I.  A hexadecimal-encoded
object file is also provided, along with an assembler program to decode it into
a binary object file; this can be linked with a tailorable module  (written  in
straight  assembler)  in  which  site  dependencies,  such  as the ASCII/EBCDIC
translations, are specified.

Thanks to Roger Fajman at NIH  for  submitting  this  program  to  us.    Roger
participated  in the design with Dale Wright, who did the programming.  The new
program has many advanced features over previous TSO Kermit versions, including
server  mode,  binary  file  transfer,  file  interruption,  8th-bit prefixing,
run-length encoding, alternate block check types.  NIH TSO Kermit supports only
3705-style line mode connections.

PORTABLE IBM MAINFRAME KERMIT

John F. Chandler
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA

The IBM 370 architecture can run quite a variety of operating systems, and many
of these systems, including CMS, GUTS, MTS, MUSIC,  and  TSO,  have  their  own
implementations  of  Kermit.    Some  systems, in fact, have more than one, and
there are currently thirteen different Kermits listed  for  IBM  370's  in  the
Kermit  distribution.  A new development now promises to reduce the redundancy,
namely, a generic, portable Kermit-370.  The  new  Kermit,  like  most  of  the
others  now  available,  is  descended from the original Kermit-CMS 1.0, but it
differs from all the others in that the system-specific functions (such as disk
I/O,  file-system interaction, and terminal I/O) are segregated into a separate
section of code (and a separate  list  of  macro  definitions).    The  generic
(system-independent)  sections  of  code  are entirely re-entrant, and the same
mechanism for re-entrancy is available for the system-specific code as well.

Kermit-370 offers all the capabilities supported by Kermit-CMS 3.1,  plus  many
more.  Among the capabilities are:

 - Long-packet protocol with automatic adaptation of packet length to the noise
   environment.
 - Advanced Server functions plus commands for controlling  another  Kermit  in
   Server mode.
 - Optional passing of invalid Kermit commands to the host operating system for
   execution.
 - Support for 3705, 4994, 7171, Series/1, and 3708 front ends, with or without
   VTAM.
 - Optionally separate ASCII/EBCDIC translation for packet and disk I/O
 - File attribute packets.
 - Throughput statistics after each single or multiple file transfer.
 - Nestable TAKE files with optional command echoing and halt-on-error.

As  of  this  writing,  Kermit-370  has  been  fully implemented for VM/CMS and
partially implemented for MVS/TSO.  Sources and documentation are available  to
anyone  wishing  to port Kermit-370 to other operating systems, either as a new
product or as a replacement for one of the existing implementations of  Kermit.
When  the  TSO version is ready, it should be able to replace some of the older
TSO versions, in which a separate program was required for each kind  of  front
end (3705, 3708, 7171).

VAX/VMS KERMIT

VAX/VMS Kermit Version 3.3.111, contributed by Bob McQueen at Stevens Institute
of Technology, was released in April, 1987.   This  release  is  a  maintenance
version  only  and  does  not  contain any major development work.  It has been
tested under VMS 4.3, 4.4, and 4.5 but will definitely not  run  under  pre-4.0
releases  of  VMS (version 3.1 of VMS Kermit was the last version that would do
so and is kept on the Kermit distribution tape as VMSV31.HEX).

The major change is the addition of a TRANSMIT command  for  raw  file  upload.
There  are  also  internal  improvements  and  bug  fixes involving the CONNECT
command, IBM mainframe communication, etc.

3.3.111 is probably the last release of  this  Bliss-32  Kermit  version  since
Stevens  Institute  no  longer  has  the  resources  for continued development.
Unless a new VMS site running Bliss with Kermit expertise arises, the  emphasis
for  VMS  Kermit  will  shift  from  Bliss to C. A new release of C-Kermit with
improved support for VMS is expected soon.

APPLE II DOS/PRODOS KERMIT

Version 3.75 of Apple II Kermit was released in April, 1987.  This version  was
developed by Ted Medin to run under both Apple DOS 3.3 and ProDos.  It includes
new LOG, SERVER, and SET commands, the ability to do XON/XOFF, printer control,
VT52  emulation improvements, timeouts, support for various 80-column cards and
for a wide variety of communication cards, and it  has  extended-length  packet
support.

The program is based on the previous release of Apple II Kermit, written in the
CROSS assembler language, and comes with a  cross  assember  written  in  C  to
assemble  it.    This  cross assembler can be run on a Unix system (Berkeley or
Ultrix, and possibly any other 2's complement Unix system).

Version 3.79, released in October 1987, adds VT-100 emulation, support for  the
Apple IIc and Apple IIgs, plus some other new functions.

MANY THINGS TO MANY PEOPLE

The  following  articles  describe some of the ways Kermit is being used around
the world.  Readers are encouraged to submit their own articles describing  how
Kermit  is  being  put  to  good,  interesting  or  unusual  uses.  We would be
especially interested in stories about how Kermit is used to  benefit  humanity
(or  other  creatures),  to  foster  international cooperation, or to make life
easier for the disabled.  For many, Kermit is used for  mundane  purposes  like
saving money.  We'd like to hear about that too.

THE GREEN REVOLUTION

Georg Lindsey, CGNET, Palo Alto, CA

The  ``green  revolution''  of  the  1970s  has essentially doubled the world's
agricultural output, allowing millions of people to eat  who  once  would  have
starved.    Genetic engineering has resulted in more productive, resilient, and
nutritional strains of wheat, rice, corn, potatoes, chick  peas,  sorghum,  and
many other crops.

Research  in  these  areas is coordinated from a consortium of 13 international
agricultural  research  centers  sponsored  by   the   Food   and   Agriculture
Organization  (FAO)  of  the  United  Nations,  the  World Bank, and the United
Nations Development Program  (UNDP).    Its  mandate  is  to  support  research
programs  aimed  at  improving  the  quantity and quality of food production in
developing nations.

Some 130 remote outposts are located in over  70  countries.    This  group  of
centers (known as the CGIAR) is foremost in the field, and represents the state
of the art in agricultural research.  Experimental  data,  proposals,  budgets,
purchase  orders,  funds  transfers,  travel  schedules, etc., are communicated
among the centers and stations with a  variety  of  methods  including  E-mail,
telex, telegraph, telephone, post, and courier.

The  usage  of  electronic  mail services (such as Dialcom) has been increasing
used since 1985 when the centers began to interconnect their  various  computer
resources -- VAX 780s, IBM PCs, IBM 4341s, HP 3000s, Apples, MACs, Tandys, etc.
The use of modern electronic communication has been shown  to  save  the  CGIAR
about  $1  million  per  year by avoiding more costly methods such as telex and
courier.

The ``CGNET'' now connects researchers in countries  all  over  the  world  via
public  data  networks when available.  From countries such as Kenya, Zimbabwe,
Mali, Nepal, and Niger where these services are not available, there is  direct
international dialing to an electronic mail service in London.

However,  some  stations  are  not  able  to initiate international calls.  One
example is ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute  for  the  Semi-Arid
Tropics) Research Center in Hyderabad, India.  Messages that come in via E-Mail
from stations all over the world are relayed from CGNET Services  International
in Palo Alto, California, to a VAX-11/780 in Hyderabad via Kermit.

As  Richard Miller (formerly involved in the project) points out, ``It would be
understatement to say that the  use  of  international  direct  dial  telephone
between  California and India is noisy.  It's horrendous.  However, by reducing
the packet size and twiddling a few other parameters, we  have  had  very  good
success.''    In west Africa, Kermit is used to relay point-to-point traffic to
Hyderabad and to other stations -- Naimey, Niger; Ouagadougou, Upper Volta (now
Burkima  Faso); Bamako, Mali.  As Richard observes, ``You've never really LIVED
until you try to get 1200 bps access out of Upper Volta or Niger!''   Sometimes
connections are so noisy that login cannot be accomplished within VMS's timeout
period.   The  appearance  of  error-correcting  modems  in  recent  years  has
alleviated this problem.

An  example  of  the  kind  of  information  that  is transferred between these
stations is  the  results  (to  the  research  center  in  Mexico)  of  104,000
experimental  trials  that are annually conducted in 74 countries.  The results
of the  consortium's  research  activity  are  collected  by  the  centers  and
published  in journals and abstracts that are sent to the national agricultural
programs in each country (like the USDA in the United  States),  who  pass  the
information  along  to  the  farmers.  Through use of the CGNET facilities, the
process of abstracting the information  and  getting  it  to  the  farmers  was
reduced  from  six  months  to  six  weeks.  The ultimate beneficiaries are the
people who are nourished by these crops.

KERMIT AIDS IN GIOTTO PROJECT

Paul de Broeck
ESOC, Darmstadt, West Germany

During the mornings of March 6 and 9, 1986, the Soviet  spacecraft  VEGA-1  and
VEGA-2  flew  by  Halley's  comet  at  a distance of about 10,000 km.  For this
event, a cooperation under the name ``pathfinder'' was established between  the
spaceflight centre ``IKI'' in Moscow, and ESA's Operations Centre ESOC, located
in Darmstadt, West Germany.   ESA's  Giotto  probe  was  scheduled  to  fly  by
Halley's comet some days later, at a targeting distance of some 500 km.

American  physicists  had an experiment on-board the VEGA (a dust particle mass
spectrometer), the results of which were collected in Moscow  during  the  VEGA
encounters.   For transfer of their data to ESOC, Kermit was used.  The results
of the experiments were collected onto an IBM PC's hard disc.    The  data  was
then transferred using Kermit to ESOC on a 9.6 kbaud line from IKI in Moscow to
ESOC in Darmstadt.  This enabled American and European scientists, gathered  at
ESOC,  to  obtain  their valuable data in Western Europe, and made a very quick
analysis possible.

This analysis  was  needed  in  order  to  estimate  the  dust  hazard  in  the
neighbourhood  of  Halley,  so that the scientists could agree upon a targeting
distance for Giotto -- this was decided to be 550 km.

Using also the information  from  the  camera  pictures  taken  from  the  VEGA
spacecraft,  containing  the  position of Halley's nucleus, the flight dynamics
team at ESOC was able to improve considerably the orbit determination  accuracy
of  the  comet,  effectively  removing  an  error of about 300 km in the target
distance.

During the night of 13 March 1986, Giotto performed its very successful  fly-by
with  Halley's comet, and it was found that the error remaining on the orbit of
the comet was only in the order of 20 km.

It is believed that the 1 Mbyte of science data  which  in  total  crossed  the
``iron  curtain''  -- through Kermit -- after the VEGA encounters, considerably
helped towards a safe and successful Giotto fly-by.

ESOC (European Space Operations Centre) is  one  part  of  the  European  Space
Agency  (ESA).    ESOC  staff  are  responsible  for  controlling and sometimes
operating satellites after launch by the Ariane rocket.    The  computers  that
have access to satellites naturally do not have any access to networks.  Thanks
to Richard J. Waite of ESOC for contributing this article.

Kermit at the Center for Population and Family Health

Norman Weatherby, Ph.D.
Center for Population and Family Health
Columbia University, New York City

The Center for Population and Family Health (CPFH) in the Faculty  of  Medicine
of  Columbia  University has been using Kermit since 1982 in the United States,
Haiti, and Africa.  Our goals are  to  improve  family  planning  services  and
maternal  and  child  health  in urban slums and rural areas through operations
research, service delivery, and technical assistance.

Before Kermit was available, a major bottleneck in all programs assisted by the
CPFH  was  our inability to quickly and accurately transfer information between
computers.  We conduct many market research surveys in Africa to  get  baseline
estimates of contraceptive use, immunization, and oral rehydration.  It used to
take  months  to  keypunch,  edit,  and  read  decks  of  cards  into  Columbia
University's  IBM  mainframe.   By the time the data was analyzed, the programs
were in full operation.  This delay meant that health care  providers  did  not
have  access  to vital information about the population that they were serving.
They did not know, for example, how many mothers desired to begin using  family
planning.  Without such information, it was difficult to plan and carry out the
programs.

Now that microcomputers are installed in most of  the  programs  in  Haiti  and
Africa,  we  quickly enter and edit research data and bring floppy disks to our
New York offices.  Kermit is used to upload this  data  to  the  mainframe  for
analysis,  and  the  results  are available before the health care programs are
underway.    Followup  data  that  serves  to  evaluate  the  effectiveness  of
CPFH-assisted  programs  is  also  quickly  entered,  edited,  transferred, and
analyzed so that we know the results soon after the programs have ended.  Thus,
Kermit  has  all  but  eliminated  our  problems  with the speed of information
transfer.  We are able to design health care programs that match the  needs  of
the populations that they serve, and we quickly know results of our work.

More  recently,  CPFH-assisted  programs  have begun to use microcomputer-based
statistical packages (such as SPSS-PC).  This has  reduced  our  dependence  on
mainframe  computers  for  analysis.    We  now  use  mainframes  primarily for
communications with other researchers through BITNET and for  archival  storage
of  data.    We continue to heavily use Kermit to transfer messages, documents,
and large datasets between microcomputers and mainframes.  For example, we  are
currently  planning  to  use  Kermit  to  communicate  with colleagues at Johns
Hopkins University in our  AIDS  research  efforts.    No  postal  or  document
delivery  service  is  faster  than  the  speed  that  we  can  achieve through
telecommunications.

In summary, Kermit has had a major and beneficial impact on the  operations  of
domestic  and  international  programs  that are assisted by the CPFH.  This in
turn has helped to improve the health of  women  and  children  throughout  the
world.

KERMIT IN ANTARCTICA

Frank da Cruz
Columbia University, New York City

Kermit  is the primary communication software used between US research stations
in Antarctica -- Palmer, Siple, and South Pole Stations -- and a relay  VAX/VMS
system  in  Florida,  which  in  turn  is  accessed via Kermit by the principle
investigators of the  various  NSF-sponsored  projects  at  the  University  of
Maryland,   NOAA   GMCC  in  Boulder,  AT&T  Bell  Laboratories,  and  Stanford
University.

According to Eric  Siefka  of  ITT  Antarctic  Services  in  Paramus,  NJ,  the
Antarctic stations are linked with the Florida relay via NASA's ATS3 satellite,
which is 18 years old and provides a relatively  noisy  connection,  especially
during aurora borealis or other atmospheric disturbance.

Research   involves   studies   of   the   atmospheric  layers  --  ionosphere,
magnetosphere, ozone layer, etc -- their interactions,  their  effects  on  the
earth  and  its  inhabitants  (filtering  of  cosmic  rays,  telecommunications
applications, etc), and the  effects  of  pollutants  and  other  artifacts  of
civilization.    And  daily meteorological data is sent to the National Weather
Service for forecasting.

Atmospheric data is collected using  riometers  (relative  ionospheric  opacity
meters),  multichannel  recorders,  and  other instruments, as well as from ice
core samples.  The data is reduced on a PDP-11/73 and transferred once a day to
Florida  using  PDP-11  and VAX/VMS Kermits.  IBM PC Kermit is used to transfer
PC-resident databases of inventory, supplies, logistics, and cargo.  During the
9-month  Antarctic  winter  night,  when  supply  ships can't get in or out and
research staffs are otherwise cut off, the Antarctic crew takes  inventory  and
sends back the new counts so they can be supplied with the necessary scientific
equipment, food, fuel, and other supplies when the ice breaks  in  the  Spring.
Meanwhile,  scientific  and  inventory  management  programs  are  developed or
refined in the US and transferred to the Antarctic stations.

The  Antarctic  researchers  have  found  Kermit  more  effective  than   other
protocols, particularly over the long-distance, noisy links they must use.  The
user-settable parameters, particularly the timeout intervals,  allow  automatic
recovery  of long file transfers even after 60-90 seconds of total signal loss.
Kermit is used whenever link conditions are noisy or data must  be  transferred
without error.

SUMMARY OF RECENT RELEASES

Here  is  a concise list of Kermit releases since the last Newsletter in August
1986.  The notation (A:XYZ) means the version is available on tape A, as  files
whose  names  start  with  XYZ.    When  more than one release of a program has
occurred since August 1986, only the latest one is mentioned.

August-September 1986:

 - Atari ST series GEM Kermit v1.02, in  C,  from  Bernhard  Nebel,  Technische
   Universitaet Berlin (A:AST).
 - HP-1000  Kermit  v1.98  for  RTE-6 and RTE-A, written in SPL, contributed by
   Paul Schumann of E-Systems Inc, Greenville, TX (D:HPM).   Also  available
   on native media from Interex, the international HP user group.
 - Sperry  1100  Kermit v2.5, assembler, from Paul Stevens at the University of
   Wisconsin (D:UN).
 - Microsoft Windows Kermit v1.0, in Microsoft C, from Bill Hall,  Old  Bridge,
   NJ.    This   is  a  "bare  bones"  Kermit  that  can  run  in  MS  Windows
   mouse-and-window environment, concurrent with other programs, on the  IBM
   PC family or any other PC that runs MS Windows (A:WIN).
 - IBM  System/370-series  mainframe  Kermit  3.1  for  VM/CMS,  in  assembler.
   Supports both linemode and full screen connections.   Described  on  page
   3.  (B:CMS).
 - Honeywell  6000  Kermit  for DTSS, in "Virtual PL/I", from Dartmouth College
   (D:DTS).

October-December 1986:

 - Tandy/Radio Shack TRS-80 Model 4 Kermit v5.2 for TRSDOS, in  assember,  from
   Gregg Wonderly, Oklahoma State University (A:M4).
 - HP9845  Kermit  v1.00,  in  BASIC,  from  Martin  J.  Rootes, Sheffield City
   Polytechnic, UK (C:HP9).
 - Gould/SEL MPX/32 Kermit v2.3, in Fortran 77, from Simulation Associates  Inc
   (D:GM2).

January-March 1987:

 - DEC Rainbow Kermit, a special version with VT220 emulation, hot keys, pop-up
   menus, 20 rollback screens, etc, by Dave Knoell, Basic American Food
   Company, Vacaville, CA (B:MSVRB2).
 - Microdata PICK/REALITY Kermit v0.2C, in DATA/BASIC, from Joe Fisher, Austin,
   TX (D:PIC).
 - CIE 680/XX REGULUS Kermit, in C, from David S. Lawyer, Univ.  of  California
   at Irvine (C:CIE).
 - MODCOMP  Classic  MAX IV Kermit vA.0 in Fortran, from Bob Borgeson, Setpoint
   Inc, Brecksville, OH (D:MOD).
 - Computervision Kermit v1.21, in Fortran S, from  Val  Jawks,  Brigham  Young
   University, Provo, UT (D:CV).
 - Texas  Instruments  Explorer  Kermit 1.0, in Lisp, from Brian Carb and Steve
   Ford of UNISYS Corp, Bluebell, PA, a joint effort between TI and Sperry
   Corp (C:EXP).
 - Motorola  6809  Kermit,  for FLEX-09 or SK*DOS, in C, from Jur van der Burg,
   Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands (C:FL).
 - Apollo Aegis Kermit in Pascal, separate versions from Marconi Space  Systems
   (2.7) and Control Data Corp (2.8), in Pascal (C:APO and C:AP2).
 - Perkin-Elmer/Concurrent/Interdata  3200  OS32  Kermit v1.0, in Fortran, from
   C.J. Miller, Louisiana State University (D:PE2).
 - Tandy/Radio Shack TRS-80 Model II TRSDOS Kermit, from Serge  Kruk,  Systemes
   Temps Reel, St.-Laurent, PQ, Canada (A:TR2).
 - Data General Eclipse RDOS Kermit in BASIC from Remi Castonguay (D:RD2).

April-June 1987:

 - DEC  VAX/VMS  Kermit v3.3.111, in Bliss, from Bob McQueen, Stevens Institute
   of Technology, described on page 4 (B:VMS).
 - Commodore  64/128  Kermit  v2.0(57),  from  Ray  Moody,  Purdue  University.
   Includes VT52 and VT100 emulation, plus support for the 80-column screen of
   the Commodore 128 (A:C64).
 - Intel Development System ISIS Kermit, in PL/M,  from  William  Boyd,  Hughes
   Aircraft, Fullerton, CA (C:MD).
 - IBM  System/370-series  mainframe MVS/TSO Kermit 1.0, the original primitive
   TSO version in assembler, modified to support the 3708 front end by G.S.
   Mendelson, Sungard Central Computer Facility, Philadelphia, PA (B:TS3).
 - CDC Cyber NOS 2.4 Kermit, written in Compass, from A. Ballard and P. Jarvis,
   Imperial College, London, UK.  Includes sliding windows (D:NOS).
 - Lilith Workstation Medos Kermit  v1.0,  in  Modula-2,  from  Matthias  Aebi,
   University of Zuerich, Switzerland (C:M2).
 - Acorn  BBC  Micro  Kermit v1.45 from Alan Phillips, Lancaster University, UK
   (C:BBC).
 - Sinclair QL Kermit v1.10, in C, from Robert Coughlan, Liverpool  University,
   UK, and enhanced by Jonathan Marten, Farnborough, Hampshire, UK (C:QLK), and
   another Sinclair QL Kermit, in BCPL, from David Harper, Liverpool University
   (C:QL2).
 - HP86/87   Kermit  v1.01,  in  BASIC,  from  Martin  Rootes,  Sheffield  City
   Polytechnic, UK (C:HP8).
 - ICP PC Quattro Kermit for Concurrent CP/M-86, from  Chris  Lock,  Nottingham
   University, UK (C:CN8).
 - Tripos Kermit, in BCPL, from G. Selwyn of Metacomco Ltd, UK (C:TRI).
 - Acorn Cambridge Workstation PANOS Kermit, in C, from Acorn Computers Ltd, UK
   (C:AC).
 - ICL 2900 VME Kermit v1.01, in S3, from Bath University, UK (D:VME).
 - Harris H100 VOS Kermit v1.04,  from  Skipp  Russell,  Washington  University
   (D:H10).
 - Texas Instruments 990 DX10 Kermit v1.0, in Pascal, from Paul Madaus, Johnson
   Controls, Milwaukee, WI (D:TI9).
 - Motorola 68000 OS-9 Kermit v.1.0.00, in  assembler,  from  Roberto  Bagnara,
   Bologna University, Italy (C:K6). One implementation of a new portable 68000
   Kermit.

July-November 1987:

 - Intel RMX-86 and RMX-286 Kermit v2.29C from Jack Bryans at California  State
   University at Long Beach, an adaptation of MS-DOS Kermit to RMX (A:MSTRM).
 - CP/M-80  Kermit  4.08, from Bertil Schou, Loughborough University, UK, for a
   wide variety of CP/M-80 systems, in LASM (A:CPX).
 - CDC Cyber NOS  Kermit  v3.3,  in  Fortran  5,  from  Steve  Roseman,  Lehigh
   University (D:CD3).
 - DEC  PDP-11 Kermit v3.58 for RSX11M, RSX11M+, RSTS/E, RT11, TSX+, IAS, P/OS,
   Pro/RT, etc, from Brian Nelson, University of Toledo (B:K11).
 - C-Kermit 4E(067), for Unix,  VAX/VMS,  DG  AOS,  the  Apple  Macintosh,  the
   Commodore Amiga,  Apollo,  etc,  from  Frank da Cruz, Columbia University,
   described on page 3 (B:XK).
 - IBM System/370-series mainframe MVS/TSO Kermit 1.1A, in assembler/ALP,  from
   Roger Fajman, US National Institutes of Health.  Many advanced features, but
   supports linemode TTY connections only.  Described on page 3 (B:TSN).
 - IBM System/370-series mainframe MVS/TSO Kermit 2.3, in  Pascal,  from  Fritz
   Buetikofer,  University of Bern, Switzerland.  Many advanced features, but
   supports linemode only (B:TS2).
 - Convergent Technologies NGEN CTOS Kermit v1.02,  in  C  (based  on  C-Kermit
   4.2), from Joel Dunn, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  May also
   run on Burroughs B-20 systems (C:CT).
 - Apple II DOS and ProDOS Kermit v3.79, from Ted Medin, described  on  page  4
   (A:APP).
 - Turbo  Pascal  Kermit  v2.8  for  the IBM PC family, from Victor Lee, Queens
   University, Kingston, Ontario. Includes Tektronix emulation and some support
   for the Kaypro II and Apple II (A:QK).
 - HP264x  Kermit  v1.2,  in  assembler, from John Chandler, Harvard University
   (C:HP2).
 - MS-DOS Kermit v2.30 for the IBM PC and PS/2 families, compatibles,  the  DEC
   Rainbow,  NEC APC3,  and many other DOS machines, from Joe R. Doupnik, Utah
   State University.  Described on page 2 (A:MS).


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Kermit News is published periodically free of charge  by  Columbia  University,
Center for Computing Activities,
612 West 115th Street, New York, NY 10025, USA.

Editor: Christine Gianone

The  Kermit  file transfer protocol is named after Kermit the Frog, star of the
television series The Muppet Show, used by  permission  of  Henson  Associates,
Inc.

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