Columbia Kermit/kermit.zip/mskermit/msr310.ann

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Date: Mon, 18 Mar 1991 12:27:37 EST
From: Christine M Gianone <[e-mail]>
Subject: Announcing MS-DOS Kermit 3.10
Keywords: MS-DOS Kermit 3.10
Keywords: IBM PC, DEC Rainbow, Grid Compass, HP-110, HP-150
Keywords: NEC PC9801, Victor 9000, Sirius/1, Heath/Zenith-100, Zenith-100

MS-DOS Kermit 3.10 is now available.  Here is a list of its major new
features; a more detailed description follows:

 . Support for Cyrillic character sets during file transfer
 . Automatic parity detection during file transfer
 . Support for full-duplex RTS/CTS flow control
 . User-settable serial port address and IRQ line
 . Improved and expanded network support
 . Text and graphics terminal emulation improvements
 . Improved printer control
 . Additional script programming functions and variables
 . Bugs fixed

SYSTEMS

Version 3.10 is available for:

 . IBM PC and PS/2 families and compatibles
 . DEC Rainbow 100
 . Grid Compass
 . Hewlett Packard 110 and Portable Plus
 . Hewlett Packard 150
 . NEC PC9801 (with Japanese Kanji/Katakana support)
 . Victor 9000 / Sirius 1
 . Zenith / Heath 100
 . Generic MS-DOS

The non-IBM versions lack certain system-dependent features present in
the IBM version such as network support, terminal emulation features (VT320
emulation, Tektronix emulation), and character-set translation, but they
all include the basic file transfer mechanisms of version 3.0 and later:
long packets, sliding windows, and so forth.

MAJOR NEW FEATURES:

Support for Cyrillic character sets during file transfer: SET FILE
CHARACTER-SET CP866, SET TRANSFER CHARACTER-SET CYRILLIC (ISO 8859-5
Latin/Cyrillic).  This allows Cyrillic text to be transferred with IBM
mainframe Kermit 4.2 and C-Kermit 5A with correct translation to or from the
various system-specific Cyrillic character sets.  Languages covered by ISO
8859-1 and CP866 include Bulgarian, Byelorussian, English, Macedonian,
Russian, Serbian, and Ukrainian.  There is as yet no built-in support for
Cyrillic terminal character sets, but this can be accomplished on Cyrillic
PCs with SET TERMINAL CHARACTER SET TRANSPARENT plus user-constructed SET
TRANSLATE INPUT tables.

Automatic detection of EVEN, ODD, or MARK parity during file transfer (SPACE
parity cannot be automatically detected).  Reduces file transfer failures
when using a 7-bits-with-parity connection when you have forgotten to give a
SET PARITY command.

RTS/CTS full-duplex hardware flow control is selectable with the new command
SET FLOW RTS/CTS for smooth operation with high-speed modems, terminal
servers, and other high-speed devices that support this feature.

A new command for telling Kermit the address for COM ports 1, 2, 3, or 4, as
well as their IRQ line numbers.  IRQ values other than 3 and 4 can be used
with nonstandard serial communication boards.  Now you can adapt Kermit to
just about any serial communications configuration.  However, the PC
hardware provides no protection against spurious IRQ values, so you must use
the new IRQ selection feature with great caution (for example, to avoid
accidentally interfering with your hard disk).

New or improved network support:

 . Support for Novell's TELAPI TCP/IP telnet program via the new command
   SET PORT TELAPI <internet-address>.

 . Support for Interconnections Inc TES terminal emulation over Novell Netware
   to Netware-equipped VAX/VMS computers via SET PORT TES <hostname>.

 . Improved support for IBM EBIOS / LANACS.  Baud rate can now be set for ACS,
   server port name can be selected so REDIRECT program no longer needed,
   HANGUP and BREAK work with ACS.

 . Support for AT&T StarGROUP Asynchronous Gateway service (via EBIOS).

 . Improved grouping of escape sequences sent by function and arrow keys.

 . Improved operation over slow network connections.

 . Networks supported now include:

     3COM BAPI
     AT&T StarLAN / StarGROUP
     DECnet CTERM and LAT
     IBM EBIOS / LANACS
     Intel OpenNET
     NetBIOS
     Novell Netware NASI / NACS
     Novell Netware TELAPI
     Novell / Interconnections Inc TES
     Ungermann-Bass Net/One
     plus any BIOS Interrupt 14 interceptor for TCP/IP or other services

New terminal emulation features:

 . Improved 132-column support.  New command SET TERMINAL WIDTH {80, 132}
   allows you to specify the screen width from the keyboard, and Kermit also
   responds to host-generated escape sequences for switching screen width
   between 80 and 132 columns.  Video adapters supported for automatic
   screen-width switching include:

     ATI EGA and VGA Wonder (NEW)
     AST, Dell, and other boards based on Western Digital VGA boards (NEW)
     AT&T / Olivetti
     Everex Viewpoint EV-659, FVGA-673, EV-678, Micro Enhancer Deluxe (NEW)
     IBM XGA (NEW).
     Paradise AutoSwitch EGA Mono (NEW)
     Paradise VGA Plus 16 (ROM BIOS 003056-xxx firmware) (NEW)
     Paradise VGA Plus (ROM BIOS 003056-xxx firmware) (NEW)
     Paradise VGA Professional (ROM BIOS 003056-xxx firmware) (NEW)
     STB VGA/EM (Tseng TVGA)
     STB VGA/EM Plus (Tseng 4000), VGA/EM-16, VGA/EM-16 Plus (NEW)
     Tseng Labs EVA board with 132-column kit installed
     Tseng Labs UltraPAK mono/Hercules with 132 column modes
     Video 7 Vega Deluxe with 132X25.COM driver installed and Video 7 VGA

   Other 132-column capable adapters are supported via automatic execution of
   user-provided COLS80.BAT and COLS132.BAT files.

 . SET TERMINAL CHARACTER-SET <name> [ G0 [ G1 [ G2 [ G3 ] ] ] ].  The new
   trailing parameters let you explicitly designate a particular character set
   to one or more of the terminal emulator's G0..G3 areas.  This is necessary,
   for example, for using an 8-bit character set in the 7-bit environment with
   Shift-In / Shift-Out.

 . The host may now designate 7-bit National Replacement Character sets to
   G0..G3 using standard ISO 2022 or DEC character-set designation escape
   sequences.

 . Key definition strings can now contain a mixture of keyboard verbs and
   regular characters.  Verbs can be not only built-in \K verbs (like
   \Kbreak), but also names of user-defined macros (like {\Kmymacro}).

 . New command SET TERMINAL ARROW { CURSOR, APPLICATION } lets you switch
   arrow key modes manually.

 . SET KEY LK lets you tell Kermit that you are using a DEC LK250 keyboard
   with an external LK250 driver loaded.

 . New SET TERMINAL BELL option, NONE, tells Kermit to ignore incoming bell
   characters, rather than sounding them (AUDIBLE) or flashing the screen
   (VISIBLE).

 . Keyboard control sequences and strings are now grouped together in network
   packets.

 . Transparent printing is now done a line at a time, rather than a character
   at a time.

 . Improved coordination with DesqView during terminal emulation.

 . VT100 terminal type added.  This is the same as the VT102, but sends the
   VT100 identification string in response to "what are you?" queries to
   prevent host applications from sending VT102-specific escape sequences such
   as insert / delete character.

 . HONEYWELL terminal type added.  Same as VT102, but with built-in ENQ and
   other responses to mimic a Honeywell VIP7809 terminal.  This allows MS-DOS
   Kermit to be used with Honeywell DPS-6 computers.  (MS-DOS Kermit does not
   normally support the ENQ feature because it is a security risk.)

 . Terminal emulations supported by the IBM version now include:

     DEC VT52
     Heath/Zenith 19
     DEC VT100 (NEW)
     DEC VT102
     DEC VT320
     Honeywell VIP 7809 (= VT102 but with several VIP-specific features) (NEW)
     Tektronix 4010/4014 graphics with VT340 features
     NONE (allows external console drivers to provide other emulations)

Tektronix graphics terminal emulation improvements:

 . Graphics-mode fore- and background colors now user-selectable via new
   SET TERMINAL GRAPHICS COLOR command.  Separate fore- and background colors
   can be used for text screens and graphics screens.  Graphics screen colors
   are now preserved after a clear-screen operation.

 . A text cursor is now available in graphics mode, selectable with the new
   SET TERMINAL GRAPHICS CURSOR command.

 . New built-in support of the Microsoft mouse for moving GIN-mode
   crosshairs.

 . The GIN mode crosshair cursor is now full-screen for increased visibility.

 . Various BYPASS mode improvements.

 . Improved character placement and rendition.

 . Tektronix graphics are supported on the following display adapters:

     AT&T / Olivetti (in CGA mode)
     Hercules and compatibles
     IBM CGA, EGA, VGA, XGA and compatibles (VGA and XGA used in EGA mode)
     Wyse 1280x800, 1280x780, and 1024x780 models

Printer control:

 . New SET PRINTER command lets you redirect printing to a selected file or
   device during terminal emulation, for example SET PRINTER OOFA.TXT (file)
   or SET PRINTER NUL (device).  This applies to your use of the Print-Screen
   and Ctrl-Print-Screen keys as well as to Transparent Print and Autoprint
   escape sequences received from the host during terminal emulation.

New file transfer features:

 . New command REMOTE PRINT <filespec> <options> to send a local PC file to a
   remote Kermit program and ask the remote Kermit to print it with the
   specified options (such as printer name, number of copies, etc).

 . New SET SEND DOUBLE-CHAR <char> command, to cause the specified character
   to be doubled in outgoing packets.  Useful for transferring files through
   PADs, TIPs, Honeywell mainframes, etc, that use a printable character as an
   escape and require two copies in order to pass one copy through.

 . New SET RECEIVE IGNORE-CHARACTER <char> command, to tell MS-DOS Kermit to
   discard and ignore the given character when received during file transfer.
   Useful for getting around communications processors that insert line feeds
   or similar characters in the data stream, e.g. for "screen wrapping".

 . New REMOTE SET FILE COLLISION UPDATE command requests the remote Kermit to
   reject all incoming files that are not newer than existing files of the
   same name.

 . SET FILE COLLISION { OVERWRITE, RENAME, DISCARD } tells what to do when an
   incoming file has the same name as an existing file.

 . New REMOTE LOGIN syntax allows imbedded spaces in username, passwd, acct.

 . Pressing Q or Ctrl-Q during file transfer now sends an XON character to
   break XOFF deadlocks.

New script programming features:

 . New IF commands added: IF LLT <word1> <word2> ("lexically less than") and
   IF LGT <word1> <word2> ("lexically greater than") for lexical string
   comparisons (IF EQUAL was already available), similar to IF <, IF >, IF =
   for numeric comparisons.  Both forms may be used with NOT, e.g. IF NOT LLT
   \%a \%b ...

 . New PRODUCT macro, similar to TERMINALS/TERMINALR.  Invoked when host sends
   CSI Pn;..Pn ~.  If macro named PRODUCT is defined, it is invoked with its
   arguments set to the numeric Pns (up to 9 of them).  Designed to let host
   applications invoke custom procedures on the PC, e.g. for VAX Lotus to
   automatically invoke a Kermit key mapping command file to set up the PC's
   keyboard for using VAX Lotus.

 . New CLS command to clear screen while in command mode.

 . New ON_EXIT macro, executed automatically (if the user has defined it) by
   the EXIT or QUIT command.  Useful for restoring video modes, etc.

 . Built-in variables of the form \v(name) added to command parser, for use in
   script programs, TAKE files, etc:

   \v(argc)        macro argument count
   \v(count)       current value of loop counter (SET COUNT / IF COUNT)
   \v(date)        current date dd-mm-yyyy, e.g. 08-02-1991
   \v(ndate)       numeric date yyyymmdd, e.g. 19910208
   \v(directory)   current disk and directory, e.g. C:\LETTERS
   \v(errorlevel)  current value of ERRORLEVEL variable (SET ERRORLEVEL)
   \v(keyboard)    IBM PC keyboard type: 88, 101, or (for LK250) 250.
   \v(platform)    PC type, e.g. IBM-PC, DEC-RAINBOW
   \v(program)     Program name, MS-DOS_KERMIT
   \v(speed)       Current transmission speed (only for COM1..4)
   \v(status)      0 if previous command succeeded, nonzero if it failed.
   \v(system)      MS-DOS
   \v(time)        Current time of day, hh:mm:ss, e.g. 12:30:01
   \v(version)     Numeric program version, e.g. 310 for version 3.10.

   These variables can be used in any context in any command where a \%x
   variable can be used, except they cannot be the objects of DEFINE, ASSIGN,
   or ASK commands; that is, they are read-only.  View all built-in variables
   with the new SHOW VARIABLES command.

 . Read access of DOS environment variables via \$(name), for example \$(PATH).

 . WAIT command now accepts modem signal names without backslashes: CD CTS DSR
   (for compatibility with C-Kermit), as well with with them: \CD, \CTS, \DSR.

 . New, more flexible WRITE command.

Bugs fixed since 3.01:

 . Redirection of REMOTE command output has been fixed
 . Unwanted echo of path from CD command in command files or macros
 . REMOTE LOGIN operation fixed
 . Corrected operation of ASK operation if used within a macro
 . Corrected operation of SET LOG command within macros
 . Latin1 transfer character set identification changed from I2/100 to I6/100
 . Serial port input buffer now cleared at start of a file-sending operation
 . Improvements in half duplex operation
 . Corrected calculation of screen rollback space for small and big memories
 . Corrections to character set translation tables
 . Corrections to VT300 UDK (user-defined keys) feature
 . Corrections to transparent printing
 . Corrections to split/speed Xon/Xoff flow control
 . Corrected operation with remote servers that don't understand I-packets
 . Correction to print-screen operations with local-echo on
 . Various minor VT and Tektronix terminal escape sequence bugs fixed
 . PC disk i/o errors during file transfer now reported to other Kermit
 . Corrected recovery from disk-full errors when logging a terminal session

INCOMPATIBILITIES BETWEEN MS-DOS KERMIT 3.10 and 3.00/3.01:

Macro arguments are now "stacked", saved at each macro entry and restored
upon exit, so that calling macro B from within macro A does not destroy macro
A's arguments.  Note: this changes the operation of the LOOKUP macro
described in "Using MS-DOS Kermit" (1st edition).  Variable \%0 now holds the
name of the currently active macro.

An INPUT command interrupted by keyboard activity now sets a FAILURE status
rather than SUCCESS, by popular demand.  You can use IF ALARM to test whether
failure was because of timeout or keyboard interruption.

The REPLAY command now allows screen rollback, dump, print, etc.  At the end
of the replay file, use regular terminal emulation keys (PgUp, Ctrl-End,
PrintScreen) to invoke these functions, and use Alt-X, Ctrl-]C, or Ctrl-C to
get back to the prompt.  Previously, any keystroke would return to the prompt.

BYE, FINISH, or LOGOUT commands that fail (e.g. because the remote server has
these operations disabled) no longer behave as if they had succeeded.

WRITE command has new format: WRITE <destination> <text>.  The <text> may
contain any Kermit variables, including \v(...) variables.

CRLF is now supplied automatically at the end of WRITE and ECHO text.

DOCUMENTATION:

See FILES below.  A new edition of "Using MS-DOS Kermit" is in preparation.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

Another collosal effort by Professor Joe R. Doupnik of Utah State University,
with help from Merton Campbell, John Chandler, Frank da Cruz, Max Evarts, Mike
Freeman, Hirofumi Fujii, Bo Gedda, Thomas Goerz, Brian Holley, Terry Kennedy,
Ted Medin, Jason Merrill, Andy Newcomb, Dan Norstedt, John Nyenhuis, Bert
Tyler, Robert Weiner, Steve Wood, Konstantin Vinogradov, Dave Zielke, and many
others.  Special thanks to all of you who participated in the testing period
and sent in valuable reports and suggestions.

NEW FILES:

Internet anonymous ftp    EARN/BITNET
watsun.cc.columbia.edu    KERMSRV@CUVMA   Description

  GENERAL FILES

 kermit/a/mskerm.hlp       MSKERM HLP      Help file (plain text)
 kermit/a/mskerm.bwr       MSKERM BWR      "Beware File" (bugs & limitations)
 kermit/a/msr310.doc       MSR310 DOC      Detailed description of new features
 kermit/a/mskerm.ed        MSKERM ED       Detailed cumulative edit history
 kermit/a/mskermit.ini     MSKERMIT INI    Sample initialization file
 kermit/a/msihay.scr       MSIHAY SCR      Hayes modem dialing script

  IBM PC FILES

 kermit/bin/msvibm.exe     (none)          Executable Kermit program for IBM
 kermit/a/msvibm.boo       MSVIBM BOO      BOO-encoded .EXE file for IBM
 kermit/a/msvibm.vt        MSVIBM VT       VT terminal emulator summary for IBM
 kermit/a/msvibm.tek       MSVIBM TEK      Tektronix emulator summary for IBM
 kermit/a/msivt3.ini       MSIVT3 INI      VT-200/300 keyboard mappings for IBM
 kermit/a/msivt3.doc       MSIVT3 DOC      Documentation for MSIVT3.INI
 kermit/a/msgtif.doc       MSGTIF DOC      Documentation for TIFF file format
 kermit/a/msulk2.asm       MSULK2 ASM      New LK250 keyboard driver

  OTHER VERSIONS

 kermit/a/ms*gen.*         MS*GEN *         Generic DOS files
 kermit/a/ms*gri.*         MS*GRI *         Grid Compass files
 kermit/a/ms*hp1.*         MS*HP1 *         HP-150 files
 kermit/a/ms*hpx.*         MS*HPX *         HP-110 / Portable Plus files
 kermit/a/ms*ibm.*         MS*IBM *         IBM-specific files
 kermit/a/ms*p98.*         MS*P98 *         NEC PC9801 files
 kermit/a/ms*rb1.*         MS*RB1 *         DEC Rainbow 100 files
 kermit/a/ms*v90.*         MS*V90 *         Victor 9000 / Sirius 1 files
 kermit/a/ms*z10.*         MS*Z10 *         Zenith / Heath 100 files

The ACT Apricot, Sanyo, NEC APC, DECmate, RMX, TI Professional, and Wang PC
versions have not been updated.

  SOURCE FILES

 kermit/a/ms*.asm, ms*.h   MS* ASM, MS* H   Microsoft assembler source files
 kermit/a/ms*.lnk          MS* LNK          Linker command files
 kermit/a/ms*.mak          MS* MAK          makefiles for "make"

All MS-DOS Kermit files have been removed from the test directories,
kermit/test/ms*.* on watsun and T:MS* * on KERMSRV.

The ".boo" files for each version are .EXE files encoded in a printable
ASCII format, suitable for BITNET, e-mail, and other nontransparent modes of
transmission.  You can decode the boo-files back into .EXE files using any
of the MSBPCT.* programs available in kermit/a/msbpct.* or MSBPCT * from
KERMSRV.  See msbaaa.hlp for details.

For a detailed description of the MS-DOS Kermit file naming conventions, see
the file msaaaa.hlp (MSAAAA HLP).

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