MacFormat 1994 November

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Text File | 1994-09-08 | 9.8 KB | 2 lines | [TEXT/R*ch]

YModem Tool v 1.0 ©Glenn R. Howes 1993 --> shareware version -------------------------------------- ************************************** This is the first release of this tool. Redistribute it as you wish with the exception that vendors must obtain a license from me to bundle this tool with commercial software. Please include this read me file with the tool. ************************************** version history: initial release 1.0 Description: This Macintosh Communications Toolbox file transfer tool implements the YModem transfer protocol has described by Chuck Forsberg in his paper "XMODEM/YMODEM PROTOCOL REFERENCE". YModem is a simple batch sending protocol designed for 8-bit connections. Useage: 1) Acquire a CTB capable applications: ClarisWorks, Termy, VersaTerm, etc. 2) For System 6 users (6.0.4 and up) install the communications toolbox (available from Apple). 3) Place this tool in the Extension folder for System 7 or the Communications folder for system 6. 4) Run your application and select this tool from the appropriate dialog. 5) Connect up with a remote computer and run a X,Y or Z program on it. (sb and rb on Unix machines). The connection must be transparent to all 8 bit characters. Problems: If a transfer won't start, or proceeds for a few thousand bytes and then stops, the most likely problem is the connection is not 100% 8 bit clean. There is nothing that can be done about this other then trying another connection, or using Kermit (or sometimes ZModem). Sometimes, you can receive but not send files, depending on the setup. If YModem-g mode works sporadically, the most likely problem is that the receiver is unable to keep up with the data stream and the connection tools buffer is overflowing. You need some sort of flow control to solve this, and avoid using this option while doing transfers in the background. Better yet, don't use this option. If auto-receive doesn't work, perhaps your application doesn't support it, or maybe the trigger selected doesn't match the output of the remote program (in which case see "Lovers of ResEdit" below). If you want the modified time of downloaded non-macbinary files to be right, try using the Map control panel to set your current location. (YModem uses Greenwich Mean Time to specify this parameter). If while using Versaterm 4.6.2 or before, you experience a system freeze always at the beginning of a transfer, upgrade to 4.6.3 or later. (Or use Versaterm's built in YModem :) ). If the tool cancels on a transfer error, but the remote keeps on sending data in -g mode, you can try holding down the control key and hitting the "x" key a few times, this might work, but then again, it might not, because the tool already tried it. In this case, there isn't much to do but wait for the file to be finished or disconnect. If text files show up a one long line. You are probably having the remote send Unix text, while the tool is set for PC Text. If it is one long line interspersed by " ", you are probably sending Unix text and receiving in binary. If the text is double spaced, you are probably sending PC Text and receiving Unix text. The safest way is probably to send/receive text in ascii mode with a tool setting of "PC Text" (for example by using the Unix commands "sb -a filename" and "rb -a"). Options: • Use YModem-g, a turbo version of YModem which assumes no transmission errors will occur. If errors occur the transfer will automatically fail. Try using this method if you wish, but be prepared to abandon it. This effects only files being received. To send in -g mode, you have to tell the receiving program to use streaming mode (for example, in Unix typing "rb -g". • Use 1-K blocks, in order to increase the transfer speed send data in 1 kilobyte blocks instead of 128 byte blocks. This may be a problem when dealing with some XModem implementations. This only effects packets sent by this tool. You have to tell the remote computer to send 1K packets (for example by typing "sb -k filename"). • Method popup menu: macbinary: send files in macbinary format, this is the only way to transmit most mac specific files. In receiving mode, files are checked for macbinary format and decoded if they are macbinary. binary: send a file's "data" fork untouched. Use for binary data files such as compressed archives, or for sending text files to another macintosh. unix text: on sending, replace all instances of the carriage return character with a line feed, on receiving, replace all instance of the line feed character with a carriage return. Alternatively, you could tell the remote Unix machine to send pc text (usually by using the command "sb -a filename". pc text: on sending, add a line feed after every carriage return, on receiving, remove all line feeds. This is the format that YModems expects generic text files to be in (when you type "rb -a" for instance). • Creator: This 4 character token represents the application that you wish to use to open a downloaded document. This will be overridden in valid macbinary downloads. • Type: This 4 character token represents the format type you believe the downloaded document to be in. This will be overridden in valid macbinary downloads. • Set Document Type…: This button will bring up a standard file dialog asking you to select another document of the same type as the document, or an application which will be used to open it. This will fill in the Creator and Type items. • Save Preferences: This button will take the current parameters and store them into a preference file (located in the preferences folder of system 7 or the system folder of system 6). Then when you switch back to this tool from using another or when setting up a new session document, these parameters will appear by default • Modify Sent Filename: Outgoing file names are converted to a format more friendly for unix systems. • UseAutoreceive: Some CTB compliant applications allow the file transfer tool to specify a string of characters in the data stream to look for; when they appear, the application invokes the tool in receive mode. • Trigger: This is a menu that describes the string used to trigger autoreceiving. I've put in "Macbinary" (which will invoke when <ESC>b is sent, "sz" which will invoke when <CAN>B0000 is sent, "and "Start Your..." which will activate when "Start your YModem Receive". Of course, if you were reading this message on your terminal when the above line was shown, you might have gone into receive mode. So be wary. You can add your own (see "Lovers of Resedit" below.). The Macbinary option will also send out a <ESC>b when starting to send. Notes to Developers: • I expect a hard dialog ID in the FSSpec passed to the tool on the ftReceiveMsg. If you pass me a notification pointer, I will call it after closing each successfully transferred file. • If you pass me an array of FSSpecs for a ftSendMsg, I copy it right away, so you can dispose of the original if you want. • I set the autoreceive string in both the fval and fcsr code (so look) for it, if you implement that feature. Lovers of ResEdit: You can add your own autoreceive strings by: 1) Open the 'Auto' resources and create a new one with the next number sequentially from those already there. These are stored as hex representations of pascal strings so remember to put in a length byte first. 2) adding an item to the 'MENU' resource used in the setup box 3) If you really like to go the whole nine yards, you can add a balloon help string by looking in the 'STR#' resources and adding another one to the "trigger strings" resource. You can change the keywords used in macros by opening the 'STR#' labled macro types and macro values. These keywords must be lowercase and end with a space. If you don't like the wording of anything in the status window, most of the strings used are stored in a 'STR#' resource labled "status strings". ************ Don't distribute modified copies. ************ Legalisms: I, Glenn R. Howes, retain all rights to this tool and to its source code. It shall not be bundled with commercial applications capable of making use of it, nor sent by a vendor of such an application to a customer without a license from me. A licensable version is available for commercial vendors. This tool is the shareware version. If you use it for two weeks feel obliged to send me $8 US to the address below. I give no warranty for this tool. Any loss or damage brought about by its useage is not my responsibility. The user takes his chances when using any piece of software, including this one. Complaints/Ideas/Offers/Salutations: (even if you didn't pay a fee) Glenn R. Howes 1101 University Ave. Madison, WI 53706 Internet: howes@bert.chem.wisc.edu Thanks to: • Ed Turner for loaning me "Inside the Macintosh Communication's Toolbox" • Chuck Forsberg for inventing YModem and writing "XMODEM/YMODEM PROTOCOL REFERENCE". • Stephen Satchell for writing and putting into the public domain the lookup cyclic redundancy algorithm used in my packet error checking and macbinary II generation routines. • Jim Matthews for providing the code for extracting the Finder comments found in Macbinary files. Sorry, I haven't incorporated the code to put comments into my own Macbinary generation. • Brian Hall for his constant stream of suggestions. • My beta testers: esp. Bill Lippa, John Rawnsley and Alex Rosenberg. • The teachers of the St. Thomas Aquinas elementary school in International Falls, MN; nothing like a solid Catholic education to drum the fundamentals into you. • Dave Mark and Cartright Reed for writing the "Macintosh C Programming Primer", which started me on this journey in the first place.