Columbia Kermit/kermit.zip/mskermit/msr312.ann

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Date: Mon, 24 Aug 1992 14:00:00 EDT
>From: Christine M Gianone <[e-mail]>
Subject: MS-DOS Kermit 3.12 Available for Beta Testing
Keywords: MS-DOS Kermit 3.12, Kanji, ODI, SLIP, TELNET, TCP/IP, WINPKT

This is to announce a maintenance release of MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM PC,
PS/2, and compatibles, for beta testing from Professor Joe R. Doupnik of
Utah State University.  The version number is 3.12.  The major new features
of version 3.12 are:

 . Networking and communications improvements.
 . Japanese Kanji text file transfer translation.
 . Locking shift protocol for file transfer.
 . IBM mainframe file transfer extension.
 . New script programming and other features.
 . Bug fixes.

Here is a more detailed list:

 . All 3.11 patches and corrections incorporated.

 . Improved TCP/IP networking:
   - ODI drivers now supported directly
   - SLIP and ETHERSLIP packet drivers now supported
   - TCP/IP networking in Microsoft Windows (see below)
   - Specific TCP service ports can be selected in the SET PORT TCP/IP command
   - Incoming TCP/IP connections are now accepted
   - Packet driver interrupt now can now be given explicitly
   - Improved TELNET operation:
     . Option negotiation bugs fixed
     . Screen size is sent to the host if the TELNET server requests it
     . A terminal-type negotiation override is now available
     . Improved handling of Enter key (CR)
   - BIOS Interrupt 14H no longer used internally for TCP/IP, freeing Int 14H
     for use by external drivers, e.g. for speaking devices.
   - Improved interactions with Domain Name Servers.
   - Kermit now responds to traceroute requests and supports ICMP redirects.
   - Workarounds for Western Digital 8003PKDR.EXE problems.

 . Improvements in other networking methods:
   - Now works with PATHWORKS LAT when LAT is loaded in expanded memory.
   - Now works with PATHWORKS version 3 as well as with 2 and 4.
   - Now works with Novell LWP 3.5 as well as 4.
   - Now works with Interconnections TES 2.2 R8.
 . User is warned upon attempt to EXIT Kermit while network connection active.

 . Serial communications:
   - HANGUP now leaves DTR signal down until port is used again.
   - IRQ 4 is no longer tested first if COM1 is not the desired port.
   - Improved serial port hardware handling on fast 486 machines.

 . Terminal emulation:
   - PRIME PT200 type added (= VT320 with minor differences).
   - New SET TERMINAL OUTPUT-SHIFT {NONE, AUTOMATIC, SI/SO, SS2, SS3}
     command for controlling output of 8-bit characters on 7-bit connections.
     Input shifting is handled automatically, as always.
   - Correctly recognize extended (bold) line drawing patterns for Tek drawing.
   - Use of ESC 1 and ESC 2 to enter and leave Tek mode now disabled.

 . File transfer:
   - New support for Japanese Kanji file translation during file transfer,
     via SET TRANSFER CHARACTER-SET JAPANESE-EUC.  Works with Kermit-370 4.3
     and C-Kermit 5A.
   - Locking shifts for transferring 8-bit files on a 7-bit connection, via
     SET TRANSFER LOCKING-SHIFT {OFF, ON, FORCED}.  Works with Kermit-370 4.3
     and C-Kermit 5A.
   - New SET TRANSLATION CHARACTER-SET {READABLE, INVERTIBLE} command
     to select different styles of text translation during file transfer.
   - Create zero length files if the host sends them.
   - Support for transferring files through non-transparent IBM mainframe
     front ends (like the 3708).  Works with Kermit-370 4.3.  Includes:
     . Support for printable start-of-packet
     . Support for BLANK-FREE-2 block check
     . Packet echo suppression, etc etc
   - Improved negotiation of 8th-bit prefixing.

 . Other new commands and features:
   - OUTPUT \L sends a Long BREAK.
   - IF [NOT] INPATH <filename> <command>
   - Optional <path> added to PATCH command, e.g. PATCH C:\KERMIT
   - Keyword "O" is (once again) a snyonym for OUTPUT.
   - Variable \v(terminal) reports the current terminal type.
   - INCREMENT <variable>
   - DECREMENT <variable>

 . Fixes:
   - TRANSMIT fixed to wait for handshake from host, if requested.
   - SET PROMPT <string> no longer lets long strings overwrite memory.
   - WAIT now sets SUCCESS or FAILURE correctly.
   - Close log files when asked to do so, not just when EXITing from Kermit.
   - Lexical comparisons IF LLT, IF LGT fixed.
   - STOP and END now accept an optional numerical argument, to be used as a
     return code or failure/success code, plus optional trailing message text
     to be printed.
   - Better handling of Ctrl-C interruption during script execution.
   - \v(directory) value now always ends in backslash (the directory separator)
   - DESQview corrections and enhancements.

With MS-DOS Kermit 3.12, Joe is also releasing an improved version of the
WINPKT "shim" - a program that sits between the packet driver and a Windows
application (such as MS-DOS Kermit) that uses the packet driver.  Since
Windows can move applications around in memory, deactivate them, or possibly
swap them out, the packet driver (which stores packets at specific,
registered addresses in the application) will fail.  WINPKT solves this
problem by recognizing the Windows Enhanced mode virtual machine in which
the program is running and invoking that machine before delivering a packet
to the program.  This eliminates the need to "lock application memory" in
its .PIF file and eliminates the Crynwr (nee Clarkson) PD command argument
"-w", which simply rejects a packet if the program is not immediately
active.  WINPKT was originally written by Roger F. James.  These mechanisms
will also appear in Joe's next edition of the shim, DIS_PKT, Packet Driver
interface for NDIS.

Joe expresses his special thanks for assistance, contributions, and
suggestions to Frank da Cruz, Hirofumi Fujii, John Chandler, James
Sturdevant Andre Asselin, Jim Fregin, Jim Reisert, Rick Sladkey, Richard
Stanton, Bertil Stenstrom, Konstantin Vinogradov, Robert Weiner, and to
Digital Equipment Corporation, Quarterdeck Online Systems, Novell, AT&T, and
Interconnections Inc.

NEW FILES

MS-DOS Kermit 3.12 Beta is being released only in binary form.  Sources will
be made available after the testing period is over.

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

 kermit/test/mstibm.boo     MSTIBM BOO    BOO-encoded KERMIT.EXE for IBM PC
 kermit/bin/mstibm.exe      (none)        Binary executable for IBM PC
 kermit/text/msr312.upd     MSR312.UPD    List of changes since version 3.11

The ".boo" file is the .EXE file 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 (MSBAAA HLP) for details.

WINPKT is available only on watsun, in the packet-driver collection:

 packet-drivers/bin/winpkpt.com           WINPKT executable
 packet-drivers/doc/winpkpt.hlp           WINPKT help file
 packet-drivers/src/winpkpt.asm           WINPKT help source code

My usual thanks to Joe, on behalf all MS-DOS Kermit users everywhere, for
all the work and skill he put into this new release, and to Dr. Hirofumi
Fujii for extensive contributions to the Kanji support.  Please send
questions, bug reports, and comments to me at the Internet e-mail address
above, or to KERMIT@CUVMA on BITNET/EARN.

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

Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1992 13:00:00 EDT
>From: Christine M Gianone <[e-mail]>
Subject: MS-DOS Kermit 3.12 Released
Keywords: MS-DOS Kermit 3.12, Kanji, ODI, SLIP, TELNET, TCP/IP, WINPKT

This is to announce a maintenance release of MS-DOS Kermit for the IBM PC,
PS/2, and compatibles, from Professor Joe R. Doupnik of Utah State University.
The version number is 3.12, first announced for beta testing on August 26th.
The major new features of version 3.12 are:

 . Networking and communications improvements, including support for ODI.
 . Japanese Kanji text file transfer translation.
 . Locking shift protocol for file transfer.
 . IBM mainframe file transfer extension.
 . New script programming and other features.
 . Bug fixes.
 . WINPKT "shim" for TCP/IP connections under Microsoft Windows.

The Kanji and locking shift protocol extensions can be used with C-Kermit 5A
and IBM Mainframe Kermit-370 4.2.3 and 4.2.4.  The IBM mainframe file
transfer extension (which allows files to be transferred through
non-transparent 3270 protocol converters) works with the new IBM mainframe
Kermit.

See Info-Kermit V16 #2, 26 August 1992, for a more detailed announcement
of MS-DOS Kermit 3.12.  See V16 #1, 6 August 1992, for detailed announcements
concerning the new IBM mainframe Kermit, as well as the announcement below.

(Note: Info-Kermit Digest volumes are archived in kermit/e/imail.yyx on watsun
and IMAIL.yyx on CUVMA, where yy is the year, and x = "a" for first half of
year or "b" for second half of year, for example imail.92b (IMAIL.92B) for the
current volume.)

NEW FILES

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

 kermit/bin/msvibm.exe      (none)          Binary executable for IBM PC
 kermit/a/msvibm.boo        MSVIBM BOO      BOO-encoded KERMIT.EXE for IBM PC
 kermit/a/msr312.upd        MSR312 UPD      List of changes since version 3.11
 kermit/a/mskerm.hlp        MSKERM HLP      Updated help file
 kermit/a/mskerm.bwr        MSKERM BWR      Updated beware file
 kermit/a/mskermit.ini      MSKERMIT INI    Updated initialization file
 kermit/a/mscustom.ini      MSCUSTOM INI    New customization file

Use MSR312.UPD, MSKERM.HLP, and MSKERM.BWR as your supplement to the MS-DOS
Kermit 3.11 documentation.

The source files are available on both watsun and CUVMA in the same directory
as the .BOO and .UPD files.  The source files are all ASCII text files.  Their
names begin with the letters MS (lowercase on watsun), and they have file
types of .C, .H, and .ASM (lowercase on watsun).  Microsoft MASM and C 6.0
are required for building version 3.12 from the source files.

The MSVIBM.BOO file is the .EXE file encoded in a printable ASCII format,
suitable for BITNET, e-mail, and other nontransparent modes of transmission.
You can decode the BOO-file back into an .EXE file using any of the MSBPCT.*
programs available in kermit/a/msbpct.* or MSBPCT * from KERMSRV.  See
msbaaa.hlp (MSBAAA HLP) for details.

WINPKT is available only on watsun, in the packet-driver collection:

File name                              Description
  packet-drivers/bin/winpkt.com           WINPKT executable (binary)
  packet-drivers/doc/winpkt.hlp           WINPKT help file (ascii)
  packet-drivers/src/winpkt.asm           WINPKT source code (ascii)

My special thanks to Joe, on behalf all MS-DOS Kermit users everywhere, for
the work and skill he put into this new release, and to Dr. Hirofumi Fujii
of the Japan National Laboratory of High Energy Physics, Tokyo, for
extensive contributions to the Kanji support.  And thanks to all of you
who sent in helpful comments on the Beta version.

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