Columbia Kermit/kermit.zip/ibm370/ik0ker.ann

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Newsgroups: comp.protocols.kermit.misc,comp.protocols.kermit.announce
From: [e-mail] (John Chandler)
Subject: Re: Announcing IBM Mainframe Kermit-370 Version 4.3.2
Date: 16 Dec 1997 21:57:58 GMT
Keywords: IBM Mainframe Kermit, VM/CMS Kermit, MVS/TSO Kermit,
  CICS Kermit, MUSIC Kermit, "Year-2000 compliance"

Version 4.3.2 of Kermit-370 is now released for general use on all the
supported platforms (CMS, TSO, MUSIC, ROSCOE, and CICS).  The new
version is available in the form of updates relative to the base source
files for 4.3.0, which remain part of the package.  The updates are
mostly generic changes across all variants, but there are some system-
specific changes as well.  They are summarized below and are described
in somewhat more detail in the respective BWR files ik*.bwr in the
distribution.  The updates themselves are in ik*.upd.  The changes since
4.3.1 are relatively simple, but some (specifically, the support for
year-2000 dates) are highly topical.  Note: the new version has been
available in Beta for about a year.

The files for the new version are available at watsun.cc.columbia.edu
via anonymous FTP from the kermit/b directory -- to get the complete
distribution for a specific variant, fetch ik0* (eye kay zero) and ik?*
(where "?" is "c" for CMS, "t" for TSO, "m" for MUSIC, or "x" for CICS).
For ROSCOE, you need both ikt* and ikr*.  As always, the instructions
for installation are found in ik*ker.ins and ik*ker.bwr.  The files are
also available from BITNET KERMSRV at CUVMA.  You may also link to the
update files via the WWW at

  http://www.columbia.edu/kermit/ibm370.html

Brief highlights of the new version:

1. Kermit-370 has been updated to handle dates properly after 1999.
   The situation was different for each variant.  For the details, see
   the system-specific BWR files.  (The MUSIC variant has always been
   year-2000 compliant.)

2. Kermit now suppresses the "doubled" transmission of a file that can
   sometimes occur on a flaky connection.

3. Kermit-370 supports a feature present in some micro Kermits: it is
   possible to issue a SEND or GET to the mainframe Kermit, and the
   micro will automatically pop from terminal emulation into transfer
   mode and then revert to emulation as soon as the transfer is done.

4. Two obscure bugs in the RESEND command have been fixed.

5. The REGET command has been implemented (works like GET, but makes the
   server do a RESEND of the requested file).

6. Kermit-370 now announces its system type to the other Kermit during
   the initial negotiations.  This allows the both Kermits to know
   whether they are running on the same type of platform or not.

7. It is again possible to set the Kermit "working directory" to a PDS
   under TSO.

8. Kermit-370 now clears the "Kermit command error" status condition to
   "No errors" after all subcommands, as promised in the documentation.

Many thanks to the beta testers who put the new version through its
paces.

Date: Fri, 1996 Oct 18 13:51 EDT
From: "John F. Chandler"  <[e-mail]>
Subject: New version of Kermit-370

There is a new version of Kermit-370 ready for testing, available in all
variants (CMS, TSO, MUSIC, ROSCOE, and CICS).  The changes since 4.3.1
are relatively compact and will be found in the Kermit distribution in
the ik*ker.nup files.  These are the usual supplements to ik*ker.upd for
"not yet official" changes.  (The .upd files contain all changes from
4.3.0 to 4.3.1.).  Installation of the test version requires the
complete set of base source files, plus .upd and .nup.  The files are
available at watsun.cc.columbia.edu via anonymous FTP from the kermit/b
directory -- to get the complete distribution, fetch ik0* (eye kay zero)
and ik?* (where "?" is "c" for CMS, "t" for TSO, "m" for MUSIC, or "x"
for CICS).  For ROSCOE, you need both ikt* and ikr*.  As always, the
instructions for installation are found in ik*ker.ins and ik*ker.bwr.

Highlights of the new version:

1. Two obscure bugs in the RESEND facility were cured last year, and the
   fixes were made available in IKCKER NUP.  These are still included
   and have been propagated to the other variants as well.

2. The new REGET command was implemented (works like GET, but makes the
   server do a RESEND of the requested file).

3. Kermit now suppresses the "doubled" transmission of a file that can
   sometimes occur on a flaky connection.

4. Kermit now announces its system type to the other Kermit during the
   initial negotiations.  A soon-to-be-released version of the micro
   Kermits will add this to the transfer display.

5. Kermit-CMS has also been modified to take advantage of another
   imminent upgrade to micro Kermits -- it will be possible to issue
   a SEND or GET to the mainframe Kermit, and the micro will
   automatically pop from terminal emulation into transfer mode and
   then revert to emulation as soon as the transfer is done.

6. It is again possible to set the Kermit "working directory" to a PDS
   under TSO.

7. Last, but not least, Kermit-370 has been updated to handle dates
   properly after 1999.  The situation was different for each variant.

   Kermit-CMS has been updated to take action on the recently announced
   changes to CMS for supporting file dates after 1999.  There are two
   parts: Kermit recognizes when a file to be sent needs a leading "20"
   and sends the correct time tag to the other Kermit (actually, this
   part was already in place for dates up through 2049), and Kermit also
   sets the correct time tag for a received file as well.
   Unfortunately, the 2nd part operates only when Kermit is installed
   *without* SFS support (because SFS has not been upgraded to handle
   4-digit years, as far as I know).  I have already verified
   empirically that year-2000 support in Kermit is compatible with an
   existing version of CMS here (Rel 7) by creating a file dated
   2019/7/19 and sending it with Kermit.

   Kermit-TSO was changed to support the existing provisions for 2000+
   dates in MVS/TSO.  (The ROSCOE variant remains basically the same as
   the TSO variant, with just a few changes.)

   Kermit-MUSIC already supported year-2000 dates fully.

   CICS doesn't really have a file system, so dates are normally not
   used.  However, Kermit-CICS maintains its own built-in file
   directories with provision for time tags fully compatible with 2000+
   dates.

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

Date: Thu, 1995 Feb 9 16:29 EST
From: "John F. Chandler"  <[e-mail]>
Subject: Announcing IBM Mainframe Kermit-370 Version 4.3.1
Keywords: IBM Mainframe Kermit, VM/CMS Kermit, MVS/TSO Kermit, CICS Kermit
Keywords: MUSIC Kermit, "Recovery, File Transfer"

After a lengthy period of testing, version 4.3.1 of Kermit-370 is now
released for general use on all the supported platforms.  The new
version is available in the form of updates relative to the base source
files for 4.3.0, which remain part of the package.  These updates
include both generic and system-specific changes.  They are summarized
below and are described in somewhat more detail in the respective BWR
files ik*.bwr in the distribution.  The updates themselves are in
ik*.upd.  The generic changes (common to all variants) are as follows:

Kermit-370...

- honors the new level-1 restart/recovery mode, like the recently
  released versions of C-Kermit and MS-DOS Kermit.  When a similarly
  equipped Kermit is at the other end, an interrupted binary transfer
  can be resumed where it left off by issuing a RESEND instead of a SEND
  (same syntax).  Attributes must be enabled.

- honors a new protocol feature known as "WHATAMI".  When Kermit-370 is
  in server mode, the user can issue a SET FILE TYPE to the local Kermit
  and have it take effect in the server as well.  Setting the file type
  in both Kermits is still a good idea before doing transfers.

- supports the UPDATE option of FILE COLLISION.  With that option, an
  incoming file is rejected (on grounds of "date") if the transmitted
  time stamp is no later than that of an existing file of the same name.

- sends an explicit NAK packet when it receives a bad data packet,
  instead of resending the previous ACK (which is nominally the same
  thing in Kermit protocol).

- gives more accurate transfer statistics after uploads in server mode
  (via REMOTE KERMIT STAT).

SPECIAL NOTE for sites that plan to use one of the alternate-language
versions of Kermit-370: all the language-specific files were replaced
last November in anticipation of release 4.3.1.  The old ones are not
compatible with 4.3.1, so be sure to get the current ik0v*.pkt file.

The following changes have been made to the CMS variant:

Kermit-CMS...

- uses the date/time stamp, if any, received along with a file
  (instead of the date/time of reception).

- has improved code for detecting the terminal controller type.

The MUSIC variant has undergone major changes.  Not least of these is a
new, automated procedure for installing Kermit.  The procedure, called
IKMINS, is included in IKMKER.INS in the distribution.  Additionally:

Kermit-MUSIC...

- supports file directories (which appeared in MUSIC 2.3) and userids
  longer than four bytes (which appeared in MUSIC 2.4).  Sites running
  MUSIC 2.3 must include an additional update for compatibility
  (tagged SC94263 and supplied in IKMKER.BWR).

- starts up in the current directory and leaves the user in whatever
  directory it is looking at when it quits.

- emulates the MUSIC CD command.

- passes any non-emulated MUSIC commands to the system for execution.
  Such commands are executed in a sub-task, and any non-zero completion
  code is reported.

- attempts to prevent losing exclusive control over the screen during
  transfers by setting MESSAGE OFF (and restoring the old setting
  afterwards).  If control is lost anyway, Kermit attempts to recover.

- correctly executes the GIVE CONTROL subcommand (for saving the current
  values of the CONTROL-CHAR table of prefixed and unprefixed control
  characters).

There are no TSO-specific changes, just the generic ones listed above.

There are two CICS-specific changes:

Kermit-CICS...

- uses the date/time stamp, if any, received along with a file (in
  preference for the date/time of reception).  This is similar to the
  corresponding change for CMS, but applies only to files in the
  Kermit-maintained directories (HELP/TAKE files).

- offers compatibility with CICS 3.3.  This has not been fully tested.

Other projects are pending for Kermit-CICS, awaiting volunteers to help
implement the necessary code.  In particular, the external drivers for
spool files and arbitrary MVS data sets still need work.  Anyone
interested in helping should contact John Chandler <[e-mail]>
or <[e-mail]>.

Many thanks to the beta testers who have helped work out the bugs in the
new release.  Above all, thanks to Christian Robert and Paul Parker for
all their help in upgrading Kermit-MUSIC, and to Bert Morton for
contributing the CICS 3.3 compatibility code.

[Ed. - Many thanks, John!  The new IBM Mainframe Kermit version is available
on kermit.columbia.edu as ik0*.*, plus:

  ikc*.* for VM/CMS
  ikm*.* for MUSIC
  ikt*.* for MVS/TSO (and ROSCOE)
  ikx*.* for CICS

and also from BITNET KERMSRV at CUVMA.]

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

Date: Mon, 1993 Oct 18 13:51 EDT
From: "John F. Chandler"  <[e-mail]>
Subject: Announcing IBM Mainframe Kermit-370 Version 4.3.0
Keywords: IBM 370 Kermit
Xref: IBM Mainframe, Also see IBM 370

This is to announce Kermit-370 Release 4.3.  The sources have not been
completely rewritten, but numerous fixes, extensions, and improvements
have been inserted.  The changes in 4.3 include all updates formerly
available in the various system-specific update files plus many new
ones.  In addition, several components of the source have been
resequenced because of the increasingly crowded state of the sequence
numbers.  Most of the Kermit-370 files have been updated, and several
new files have been added, notably the set of updates for converting
Kermit to a language other than English.  All the variants of Kermit-370
are being re-released simultaneously; see the accompanying system-
specific announcements for further details: IKCKER.ANN (CMS), IKMKER.ANN
(MUSIC), IKTKER.ANN (TSO), and IKXKER.ANN (CICS).  Anyone interested in
helping to port Kermit-370 to still other operating systems should
contact John Chandler <[e-mail]> or
<[e-mail]>.

Of special interest to some users are the versions of Kermit-370 with
the interactive messages translated from English into other languages.
The currently available alternate languages are Czech, Dutch, Finnish,
French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.
Special thanks to Petr Adelsberger, Mauricio Alvarenga, Lorenzo
Beltrame, Janusz Bien, Jose Eduardo de Lucca, Richard Gatersleben, Kauko
Haumalainen, Jaroslaw Kurowski, Roberto Magana, Alberto Rio, Christian
Robert, Gisbert Selke, Karel Smuk, Rob van der Wal, Konstantin
Vinogradov, and Joachim Wlodarz for preparing these translations.
Anyone interested in translating Kermit's message file into other
languages should contact John Chandler.

Below is a list of the generic changes in Version 4.3 of Kermit-370,
including those appearing in intermediate releases:

 1) New "CC" option along with the line range for sending files.  This
    option specifies that the file has carriage control in column 1 and
    that it should be converted to ASCII control characters.

 2) More careful avoidance of built-in packet-size limits.

 3) V-binary (or D-binary) file transfers all the way up to records of
    64K-1 bytes.

 4) No looping due to a solid terminal I/O error sets, nor upon errors
    at the very end of a transfer (no reply expected).

 5) More liberal recognition of STOP commands in protocol mode.

 6) Extra explanatory error message, if available, now displayed upon
    completing a subcommand, along with basic status.  Also, any reason
    for cancellation is included in the E-packet text and noted in the
    transaction log.

 7) Time tags in transaction and packet logs.

 8) New SET TTABLE KP option, which enables a full 8-bit translation
    table based on Hollerith codes.

 9) Proper control-quoting on 8-bit analogs of ordinary control
    characters.

10) Suppression of echoing on LU1 3770-type front ends.

11) New VERSION subcommand, which displays the version number and date.

12) New "End-of-attributes" attribute.

13) 8th-bit quoting for the XECHO subcommand.

14) New FULLSCREEN controller type allowing Kermit file transfers in a
    generic way on nearly all protocol converters.  Also, specific
    support for IBM 3174 ASCII Graphics mode.

15) New locking shift protocol, which reduces overhead on transferring
    files containing many bytes with the 8th bit set.

16) Support for new transfer character sets, including Japanese Kanji,
    Thai, Arabic, Latin-2, Latin-3, and TRANSPARENT.  Also, recognition
    of CP1047 as a synonym for EBCDIC and support for CP870, CP905, and
    CP880, as well as the aliases L1, L2, and L3.

17) New-and-improved means of detecting the terminal controller type
    with less need for the optional update SC0131X (formerly SC89058).

18) New HINTS subcommand.

19) Support of remote server commands even when the transfer character
    set is TRANSPARENT.

20) Graceful acceptance of data packets with no data.

21) Suppression of certain lock-up conditions during file transfers.

22) New SIMULATE subcommand, which plays back a file giving one or both
    sides of a file transfer to supply the packets (instead of the
    communication line).

23) Compatibility with the (aging) F-level assembler.

24) New, optional unprefixed transmission of control characters.

25) Support for REMOTE PRINT, REMOTE MAIL, and REMOTE SUBMIT.

26) Correct observance of FILE COLLISION for all files in a group.

27) Ignoring spurious flow-control "packets", e.g., from MS-Kermit.

28) New versions of Kermit with the interactive messages in languages
    other than English.     See the installation guides (IK*KER.INS) for
    instructions on installing these versions.

29) New efficiency display in STATUS report, based on SPEED setting.

30) New, uniform messages upon entering protocol mode, in the form
    "KERMIT READY TO SEND..." (or RECEIVE or SERVE).

31) Improved debugging facilities.

32) The status code from a SEND or RECEIVE now available to the
    accounting exit, if any.

Many thanks to the beta testers who have helped work out the bugs in the
new release.