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- The MPt Protocol v1.10
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- User's Manual
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- Copyright (c)1990 by Matthew Thomas
- All Rights Reserved
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- The MPt Protocol v1.10 User's Manual
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- T a b l e o f C o n t e n t s
- __________________________________________________________________
-
-
- 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
- Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
- Licensing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
- Customer Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
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- 2. Getting Started. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
- The Help Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
- The Setup Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
-
- 3. The MPt Program. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
- Running MPt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
- Program Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
- A+/- Delete aborted downloads. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
- B+/- Beep upon completion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
- CDSx Log to a CDS file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
- D+/- Stamp with current date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
- Ex Effective baud rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
- F+/- Enable 16550A FIFO buffers. . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
- HF Handshake fast. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
- HD Handshake on disk writes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
- HN No handshaking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
- HS Handshake slow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
- Lx Log to a DSZ file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
- N+/- monitor the carrier signal. . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
- O+/- allow overwriting received files. . . . . . . . . . 9
- Px COM port number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
- R+/- allow resumed transfers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
- Sx UART baud rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
- M+/- Hangup modem when finished. . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
- W+/- Wait for keystroke when finished. . . . . . . . . . 10
- X+/- Enable RLE compression. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
- Sender File Specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
- Receiver File Specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
- Exit Codes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
- Examples. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
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- 4. The MPt Display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
- Screen Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
- Colors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
- The Help Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
- Batch Status. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
- Current File Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
- Throughput Efficiency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
- UART. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
- Stats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
- Display Footer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
- Messages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
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- The MPt Protocol v1.10 User's Manual
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- 5. The Setup Program. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
- Main Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
- Change Default Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
- Adjust Screen Colors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
- Install Registration Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
- Quit and Save Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
-
- 6. Acknowledgments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
- Inside. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
- Outside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
- Trademarks and Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
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- Appendices
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- A. Log File Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
- Enhanced DSZ Log Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
- CDS Log Format. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
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- B. MPt Auto-Start Receive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
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- C. Suggested Reading. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
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- D. Software Revisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
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- The MPt Protocol v1.10 User's Manual
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- 1 - I n t r o d u c t i o n
- __________________________________________________________________
-
-
- FEATURES
-
- The MPt Protocol is a powerful tool for getting your data from one
- place to another through a serial link. Whether downloading or
- uploading files to and from a bulletin board system, or moving
- files between PC compatible computers over a serial cable without
- a modem, you will find that MPt will do the job, and will do it
- quickly and accurately.
-
- MPt offers many advanced features:
-
- ■ Full color screen display of transfer status.
- ■ Standalone setup program for changing default options,
- configuring screen colors, and installing registration
- information.
- ■ UART (serial port) baud rates up to 115200 bps.
- ■ Auto-sensing of 8250, 16450, 16550, and 16550A UARTs. Full
- support for 16550A FIFO buffers.
- ■ The ability to use COM ports 1 through 4, with each port's IRQ
- and base I/O address fully configurable.
- ■ Call Data Standard (CDS) logging of file transfers.
- ■ Enhanced DSZ compatible logging of file transfers.
- ■ All screen operations use direct video memory access, or
- DESQview, TaskView, OmniView, TopView, Microsoft Windows, and
- IBM 3270 PC multi-tasking video buffers (MTVB), if present.
- ■ Optional auto-start of the protocol receiver.
- ■ Optional data compression on a block level using RLE
- techniques.
- ■ Fast and reliable recovery from line and data errors.
- ■ Dynamic block scaling for optimal data throughput.
- ■ Up to 99 files transferred in a batch.
- ■ and many more features...
-
-
- LICENSING
-
- The MPt Protocol and its accompanying documentation have been
- released as Shareware. This gives you the chance to experience
- the performance of the software for a 30 day evaluation period.
- If you continue to use this product beyond this period, you are
- required to register. Information on becoming a registered user
- can be found in the file LICENSE.TXT.
-
- The author specifically disclaims all warranties, expressed
- or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of
- merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose and the
- program license granted herein in particular, and without limiting
- operation of the program license with respect to any particular
- application, use, or purpose. In no event shall the author be
- liable for any loss of profit, lost savings, commercial damage, or
-
-
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- Page 1
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- The MPt Protocol v1.10 User's Manual
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- other incidental or consequential damages arising out of the use
- or inability to use the MPt Protocol even if the author, Matthew
- Thomas, or an authorized distributor of the product has been
- advised of the possibility of such damages, or for any claim by
- any other party.
-
- This agreement shall be governed by the laws of the state of
- Wisconsin.
-
-
- CUSTOMER SUPPORT
-
- Product support is available through three channels. To contact
- the author with questions, suggestions, problems, or other
- comments,
-
- 1) Call the Programmer's Guild BBS at (414) 639-8456 and send
- E-mail to Matt Thomas.
-
- or
-
- 2) Call the Exec-PC BBS at (414) 789-4210, and send E-Mail to
- Matt Thomas.
-
- or
-
- 3) Drop a note via US Mail to:
-
- MPt Software Company
- Matthew Thomas
- PO Box 4694
- Racine, WI 53404
-
-
- The author offers limited support to unregistered users of the MPt
- Protocol, in order to help them get the program installed for
- evaluation. If you have a problem installing or using the
- software, and you have read this entire User's Manual (please do
- read the manual before requesting help; many times problems can be
- cleared up by finding the answer in the manual), then feel free to
- request help through either of the channels mentioned above. We
- will make an attempt to answer all mail received, but please be
- aware that registered users have first priority for support.
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- Page 2
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- 2 - G e t t i n g S t a r t e d
- __________________________________________________________________
-
-
- For experienced users who wish to get a quick start using the MPt
- Protocol, this brief chapter has been included to help you along.
- For a complete explanation of how to use the protocol and the
- setup program, continue reading beyond this chapter.
-
-
- THE HELP SCREEN
-
- When you run MPt the first time, try executing MPT.EXE
- without parameters. You will see a screen full of information
- about command line options. This screen is your "quick reference"
- card, so to speak. It will help you to get the software running
- if you choose not to read the rest of the documentation right
- away.
-
-
- THE SETUP PROGRAM
-
- Also included with MPt is a file called MPTSET.EXE. This program
- allows you to change the software's default options and screen
- colors, and to enter registration information.
-
- In order for the setup program to operate, you must be logged to
- the drive and directory containing the MPT.EXE file (the MPt
- Protocol program). Type MPT, and press enter. If the setup
- program cannot read the MPT.EXE file in the current directory, or
- the file has been corrupted, you will be alerted.
-
- Much of the setup program is self-explanatory, but a few things
- might not be obvious without some explanation:
-
- ■ When choosing a baud rate for the UART, the value of "Current"
- will cause the software to sense and use the current baud rate
- of the UART when MPT.EXE is executed.
-
- ■ When choosing an "effective" baud rate, the value of "UART"
- will cause MPt to use the UART baud rate (whether specified or
- auto-sensed) as the "effective" baud rate.
-
- ■ In the "Adjust screen colors" mode, pressing the M key will
- cause the color scheme to change to monochrome. If you use a
- monochrome monitor, you may wish to use this option
- immediately upon entering the color set screen. To return to
- the default color set, press the C key. Both of these keys
- destroy any changes made to the color set before saving!
-
- ■ In the "Change default options" screen, the options that you
- choose will be written to the MPT.EXE file as defaults. When
- running MPt, you may override any of these defaults by using
- command line parameters, detailed in Chapter 3.
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- 3 - T h e M P t P r o g r a m
- __________________________________________________________________
-
-
- This chapter will familiarize you with the MPt Protocol, and its
- features and command line parameters.
-
-
- RUNNING MPT
-
- To load and run the MPt program, a command line must be given.
- This command line can come from the keyboard, at the MS-DOS
- prompt, from a batch file, or from a calling program, such as a
- BBS, which loads MPt directly without using the DOS command.com
- program.
-
- This command line has a specific syntax. Here are the three
- general formats for the MPt command line:
-
- MPT [options] s filespec [filespec] [filespec] [...]
- MPT [options] s @listfile
- MPT [options] r [path]
-
- Anything appearing in square brackets is optional, and may not
- need to be specified for proper operation of MPt.
-
- Note that MPt completely ignores the "case" of the command line,
- which means that upper and lowercase characters may be mixed in
- any combination.
-
- The word "MPT" at the beginning of each command line is required
- in all cases. This is what tells MS-DOS to load the MPT.EXE
- program file.
-
- The "options" are outlined below, in the "Program Options"
- section.
-
- The "s" and "r" letters, which follow the options, are required on
- the command line. The letter "s" tells MPt to send files to
- another computer, while "r" tells MPt to receive files from
- another computer.
-
- The "filespec", "@listfile", and "path" portions of the command
- lines are described below, in the sections entitled "Sender File
- Specifications" and "Receiver File Specifications".
-
-
- PROGRAM OPTIONS
-
- The MPt Protocol offers a number of features and settings. This
- section will explain each command line option, and how each
- affects MPt operation. Note that a plus (+) in the syntax enables
- an option, while a minus (-) disables it.
-
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- Following is a description of each option:
-
-
- ------------------------------------
- A+ or A- (delete aborted downloads)
- ------------------------------------
- If enabled (A+), this setting will cause MPt to delete the
- transferred portion of any files that were not fully received.
-
- If disabled (A-), this setting will cause the protocol to leave
- any partially received files on the disk. This gives the user the
- option of continuing the transfer later, by using the "Allow
- Resumed Transfers" option.
-
- Note: This parameter has no effect when used in the send mode.
-
-
- --------------------------------
- B+ or B- (beep upon completion)
- --------------------------------
- Enabling this setting causes MPt to emit a series of beeps to
- alert the user when a transfer is finished. The beeper will sound
- regardless of whether the transfer was a success.
-
- Disabling this setting causes the program to remain silent at all
- times.
-
-
- -------------------------
- CDSx (log to a CDS file)
- -------------------------
- This option allows the user to specify a log file where MPt will
- create a CDS log entry for each file transferred. You may replace
- "x" with any valid DOS drive:\path\file combination. If only
- "CDS" is specified, with no value for "x", a CDS log entry will
- not be written to any file. For example, the following command
- line will receive files, and each will be logged using CDS to the
- file "c:\logs\mptlog":
-
- MPT CDSc:\logs\mptlog r
-
- Whereas, the following receiver command line will not log the
- files in CDS format:
-
- MPT CDS r
-
- For information on the CDS log format, see Appendix A, "Log File
- Formats".
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- -----------------------------------
- D+ or D- (stamp with current date)
- -----------------------------------
- This setting, when enabled, will cause MPt to stamp each received
- file with the current time and date of the transfer.
- When this setting is disabled, MPt will stamp the file with the
- original time and date that are passed in a header packet at the
- beginning of each file transfer.
-
- This is a useful setting for BBS SysOps who wish to date-stamp
- their files according to when they were uploaded.
-
- Note: The D+/- option has no effect when used in the send mode.
-
-
-
- -------------------------
- Ex (effective baud rate)
- -------------------------
- When using this option, the "x" may be replaced by a numeric value
- between 0 and 115200, inclusive. A non-zero value will adjust the
- effective baud rate to the specified value. A value of zero will
- cause MPt to set the effective baud rate to the same value as the
- UART baud rate. See the section below entitled, "Sx (UART baud
- rate)" for information on UART baud rates.
-
- * * * * * * * * * * * Effective Baud Rates * * * * * * * * * * *
- Typically, the baud rate of the UART (serial port) is displayed
- and logged by communications programs as the baud rate used during
- the session. However, many modems communicate with the computer
- at one baud rate, while communicating over the phone line at a
- different baud rate.
- For example, the USRobotics Courier 14400 HST modem can
- communicate with another Courier HST modem at an effective baud
- rate of 14400 bits per second. However, the modem is actually
- communicating with the UART at 19200 bps.
-
- Because of this difference in UART baud rate and effective baud
- rate, MPt allows each to be specified separately. MPt will use
- the effective baud rate to calculate estimated transfer times and
- efficiency percentages which are displayed during a transfer.
- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
-
-
- --------------------------------------
- F+ or F- (enable 16550A FIFO buffers)
- --------------------------------------
- This option is only effective when the COM port in use has a
- 16550A or equivalent UART installed. When enabled, this setting
- allows MPt to enable the FIFO buffers on the 16550A, and to use
- them during the transfer. When this setting is disabled, the FIFO
- buffers will be disabled during the transfer. MPt will always
- return the UART to the state it was in when MPt began.
-
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- In almost all cases, this setting should remain enabled. The
- disable option is provided for users who wish to emulate the 16450
- UART with a 16550A UART during MPt transfers.
-
-
- --------------------
- HF (handshake fast)
- --------------------
- This setting enables fast hardware handshaking during file
- transfers.
-
- If you are unsure whether to use hardware handshaking, it is a
- good idea to consult your modem manual. Most 300, 1200, and 2400
- baud modems do not use hardware handshaking. However, MNP modems
- do, as do high-speed modems, such as the USR Courier 14400 HST,
- and the USR HST/Dual Standard.
-
- When using MPt to transfer files over a direct-connect link
- between two computers, hardware handshaking may not be necessary,
- but should be enabled in case one computer sends faster than the
- other can receive.
-
- * * * * * * * * * * * Hardware Handshaking * * * * * * * * * * *
- Hardware handshaking uses two pins on the serial port, called CTS
- (an input), and RTS (an output) to arbitrate data flow to and from
- the serial port.
-
- The rules of CTS/RTS handshaking are fairly easy to understand:
-
- 1) Data may be sent to a serial port as long as the CTS line is
- high. If the CTS line goes low, the sender must stop
- transmitting data until CTS again goes high.
-
- 2) When ready to receive data, the receiver must raise the RTS
- line. If, at some point, the receiver cannot receive data, it
- must lower the RTS line until data can be received again.
- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
-
-
- ------------------------------
- HD (handshake on disk writes)
- ------------------------------
- This setting enables fast hardware handshaking and disk write
- handshaking.
-
- Disk write handshaking causes the protocol to lower the RTS line
- whenever data is being written to disk.
-
- This setting is useful for computers that have BIOS or DOS disk
- drivers that cause hardware interrupts to be disabled for extended
- periods of time. MPt can not read data from the UART while
- interrupts are disabled. As a result, it is not uncommon at baud
- rates of 9600 or more, to get "overrun errors". If the disk
- drivers are the cause of this problem, then this setting will very
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- likely solve the problem. If overrun errors are continually
- occurring, you may need to use the HS parameter (detailed below).
-
- Note: The HD parameter is typically used by the receiver (where
- disk writes occur). However, the sender may use this
- setting to force the receiver (on the other end) to use
- disk write handshaking.
-
-
- --------------------
- HN (no handshaking)
- --------------------
- This option completely disables CTS/RTS handshaking.
-
- --------------------
- HS (handshake slow)
- --------------------
- This setting enables slow hardware handshaking and disk write
- handshaking.
-
- Slow handshaking is useful for receiving files on a computer that
- is too slow to process received characters at the UART baud rate.
- In this situation, the RTS line is toggled to pace the sender to a
- speed suitable for the slow machine to process the data.
-
- If you are experiencing overrun errors while receiving files with
- MPt, try using the HD parameter (detailed above), or the HS
- parameter. If the errors continue, another possible solution is
- to install a 16550A UART in your serial port or internal modem.
- MPt supports the 16550A UART's provisions for buffering received
- data, which takes part of the load off of the CPU.
-
- Note: The HS parameter is typically used by the receiver.
- However, the sender may use this setting to force the
- receiver (on the other end) to use slow handshaking.
-
-
- -----------------------
- Lx (log to a DSZ file)
- -----------------------
- This option allows the user to specify a log file where MPt will
- create a DSZ log entry for each file transferred. You may replace
- "x" with any valid DOS drive:\path\file combination. If only "L"
- is specified, with no value for "x", a DSZ log entry will not be
- written to any file. For example, the following command line will
- receive files, and each will be logged to the file "c:\logs\log":
-
- MPT Lc:\logs\mptlog r
-
- Whereas, the following receiver command will not write a log file:
-
- MPT L r
-
- For information on the DSZ log format, see Appendix A.
-
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- --------------------------------------
- N+ or N- (monitor the carrier signal)
- --------------------------------------
- This setting, when enabled, will cause MPt to end if the DCD
- signal (carrier) is lost during a transfer.
-
- When this setting is disabled, MPt will ignore the state of the
- DCD signal.
-
- Note: BBS SysOps should enable this setting, so if a user drops
- carrier during a transfer, MPt will end, and control will
- be immediately restored to the BBS software.
-
-
- --------------------------------------------
- O+ or O- (allow overwriting received files)
- --------------------------------------------
- This setting, when enabled, allows MPt to overwrite existing
- files. For example, if a file header is received for "foo.bar",
- and a file of the same name already exists in the receive path,
- MPt will delete the old file and write the new one under the same
- name.
-
- If this setting is disabled, MPt will not allow a received file to
- overwrite another file.
-
-
- ---------------------
- Px (COM port number)
- ---------------------
- This setting tells MPt which COM port to use. The "x" may be
- replaced by a value between 1 and 4, inclusive. If the specified
- COM port is not installed, MPt will not attempt to use it. For
- information on COM port configurations, see Chapter 5, "The MPt
- Setup Program".
-
-
- -----------------------------------
- R+ or R- (allow resumed transfers)
- -----------------------------------
- This setting, when enabled, allows the MPt receiver to request a
- resumed transfer. For example, if a file header is received for
- "foo.bar", and a file of the same name already exists in the
- receive path, MPt will check to see if it is shorter than the
- expected length. If it is, a resume request will be sent, which
- will cause the transmitter to only send the remaining portion of
- the file. This feature is useful for recovering from a lost
- carrier signal, or an abnormal amount of line noise.
-
- When this setting is disabled, MPt will not attempt to resume any
- transfers. In this case, if a header for an existing file is
- received, MPt will check the "allow overwriting received files"
- setting before writing the new file to disk.
-
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- --------------------
- Sx (UART baud rate)
- --------------------
- When using this option, the "x" may be replaced by a numeric value
- between 0 and 115200, inclusive. A non-zero value will adjust the
- UART baud rate to the specified value. A value of zero will cause
- MPt to auto-detect and use the current UART baud rate when the
- MPt program is executed.
-
-
- * * * * * * * * * * * * UART Baud Rates * * * * * * * * * * * * *
- The UART is an integrated circuit that resides in a serial adaptor
- card, internal modem, or sometimes on the motherboard of your
- computer. UART is an acronym for Universal Asynchronous Receiver-
- Transmitter. This is a complicated way of saying "serial port".
- The serial port can communicate with external devices at various
- speeds, or baud rates. The UART baud rate setting of MPt adjusts
- this speed. If you're unsure about which value to use for the
- UART baud rate, try using the auto-detect value (0). You may wish
- to consult your modem manual for more information about which baud
- rates can be used to communicate with your modem.
- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
-
-
- --------------------------------------
- M+ or M- (hangup modem when finished)
- --------------------------------------
- When this setting is enabled, MPt will lower the RTS and DTR
- signals at the end of the session. Most modems can be configured
- to "hang up" when the DTR signal is lowered.
-
- When this setting is disabled, MPt will end with the RTS and DTR
- signals set high.
-
-
- --------------------------------------------
- W+ or W- (wait for keystroke when finished)
- --------------------------------------------
- This setting, when enabled, causes MPt to wait for a keystroke at
- the end of a transfer before returning to DOS. If this setting is
- disabled, MPt will return control to DOS immediately after the
- session ends.
-
-
- ----------------------------------
- X+ or X- (enable RLE compression)
- ----------------------------------
- This setting, when enabled, allows MPt to use RLE compression
- where possible when transferring data.
-
- If either end of the MPt connection (sender or receiver) disables
- this parameter, RLE compression will not be used.
-
-
-
-
-
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-
-
- * * * * * * * * * * * * * RLE Compression * * * * * * * * * * * *
- MPt uses RLE compression techniques in an attempt to shorten
- blocks of data before they are transferred. MPt will never
- transmit a compressed block of data unless the compressed block is
- shorter than the original block.
-
- The compression routines in MPt are written in Turbo Assembler,
- and are quite efficient. However, at very high baud rates, when
- transferring pre-compressed files (such as those created by PKZIP)
- the overhead that is caused by MPt analyzing each block for
- compressibility can slow throughput slightly (especially on slower
- machines). Therefore, RLE compression can be disabled to allow
- for the greatest possible throughput on compressed files at high
- baud rates. Note that disabling RLE compression is typically only
- beneficial at baud rates above 9600 baud. Even most slow machines
- are fast enough to analyze and output data with compression
- enabled at baud rates up to 9600 baud very efficiently.
- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
-
-
- SENDER FILE SPECIFICATIONS
-
- This version of the MPt Protocol is capable of sending
- up to 99 individual files in a single batch. Each file which is
- transmitted by MPt is preceded by a header packet which contains
- the name of the file, its length, the original time and date
- stamp, and other control information. The receiver reads these
- header packets to determine what the sender is transmitting.
-
- When invoking the sender command line, there are two distinct
- syntaxes for specifying files to transmit:
-
- MPT [options] s filespec [filespec] [filespec] [...]
- MPT [options] s @listfile
-
- In the first syntax, at least one file specification must be
- placed on the command line. Additional file specifications may be
- placed after the first. These file specifications may be actual
- filenames, including drive letter, and sub-directories, or may
- include wildcard characters (ie. *.*). MPt will parse each
- wildcard specification into individual file names. If more than
- 99 files are specified, MPt will send the first 99 files found.
-
- In the second syntax, a single absolute file specification (no
- wildcards) is specified on the MPt command line, immediately
- preceded by the @ symbol. MPt will read this file, expecting to
- find that it contains a list of file specifications (which may
- contain wildcard characters) each separated by CR/LF characters.
- For example, for the command line,
-
- MPT s @c:\file.lst
-
- A file named "file.lst" must be placed in the root directory of
- drive C, which contains a list of file specifications to send.
-
-
-
- Page 11
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-
-
-
- RECEIVER FILE SPECIFICATIONS
-
- When receiving files with MPt, the syntax for the command line is
- as follows:
-
- MPT [options] r [path]
-
- The "path" portion is optional, and may be any single
- drive:\path\filename combination.
-
- The purpose of the "path" is to tell MPt where to place all the
- files it receives. If a file name is specified in the "path"
- parameter, the file name portion will be ignored, because MPt
- determines file names from the information packet it receives for
- each file from the sender. Therefore, when specifying only a path
- (no filename), this parameter MUST end with a backslash character
- (\). For example, both of the following command lines are valid,
- and will cause the same result:
-
- MPT r c:\download\myfile.ext
- MPT r c:\download\
-
- Because the first command line has no terminating backslash on the
- path parameter, the "myfile.ext" portion will be ignored, and all
- received files will be placed in the "c:\download\" directory.
-
- MPt allows a file name to be specified only because certain
- calling programs insist on passing it along with the receive path.
-
- If more than one path specification appears on the MPt command
- line in receive mode, the first one following the "r" parameter
- will be used. The remainder of the command line will be ignored.
-
-
- EXIT CODES
-
- When the MPt Protocol returns control to DOS at the end of a
- transfer, it will return a DOS exit code to the calling program.
- The following codes are returned by MPt:
-
- 0 Transfer was completed successfully
- 1 Transfer began, but ended without completing
- 2 Session ended before transfer began
- 3 MPt detected invalid registration information
- 4 MPt was invoked without any command line parameters
-
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- EXAMPLES
-
- Following are some examples of command line syntaxes:
-
- MPT s c:\file1.txt (send a file using default options)
-
- MPT hf s p1.exe p2.exe (send two files, use fast handshaking)
-
- MPT s d:\*.* (send all files in root dir of d:)
-
- MPT x+ s *.txt (send text files, allow compression)
-
- MPT x- s *.zip (send ZIP files, don't try to compress)
-
- MPT n- s @files.lst (send files in a list, ignore carrier)
-
- MPT s9600 e2400 s *.* (send at 9600 bps, effective 2400 bps)
-
- MPT p3 cdsmpt.log r (receive files from COM3, log with CDS)
-
- MPT r c:\files\ (receive into "c:\files\" directory)
-
- MPT r \ (receive into root of current drive)
-
- MPT a+ r (receive files, delete aborted downloads)
-
- MPT ldsz.log r (receive with DSZ logging)
-
- MPT r+ o+ r (receive, allow resume and overwriting)
-
-
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- 4 - T h e M P t D i s p l a y
- __________________________________________________________________
-
-
- This chapter will familiarize you with the MPt display, and the
- meaning of each item shown during a MPt session.
-
-
- SCREEN ACCESS
-
- When MPt is executed, the first thing it does is to put up a full
- screen display. If MPt is run under normal DOS conditions, all
- accesses to the screen will use direct memory access. In other
- words, MPt will put updated screen information directly into the
- memory on board the resident display adaptor, bypassing the slow
- BIOS and DOS routines that are the alternatives to this technique.
-
- Since protocol programs are often used in multitasking
- environments, where direct video access can cause conflicts on a
- "shared" monitor, MPt offers an alternative. When MPt is
- executed, the program checks for the presence of one of the
- following multitasking sub-systems:
-
- DESQview TaskView OmniView TopView
- Microsoft Windows IBM 3270 PC
-
- If one of these systems is active, and the Multitasking Video
- Buffers (MTVB) are enabled for the current process, MPt will
- direct all video access to the corresponding MTVB, instead of the
- physical memory on the display adaptor. This technique allows for
- complete display compatibility with the above list of multitasking
- sub-systems.
-
-
- COLORS
-
- The color scheme of the MPt display can be easily customized for
- color or monochrome displays by using the MPt Setup program. See
- Chapter 5, "The Setup Program", for more details.
-
-
- THE HELP SCREEN
-
- The help screen will appear when MPt is executed without any
- command line parameters. It is always available for quick
- reference to command line syntaxes. For detailed information
- about the options shown on the help screen, see Chapter 3, "The
- MPt Program".
-
- * * *
-
- When MPt is executed with command line parameters, a status
- display will appear, filling the screen with information
- concerning the status of each transfer.
-
-
-
- Page 14
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-
-
-
-
- The next few sections will explain the contents of each area of
- the display.
-
-
- BATCH STATUS
-
- This display area contains information on the entire batch
- transfer at hand. On the left side of the Batch status window are
- totals for the batch, and an estimated time of transfer. This is,
- as are all other estimates, based on the "effective baud rate",
- not the "UART baud rate". See Chapter 3, "The MPt Program", for
- more information on baud rates.
-
- On the right side of the window are current values for the
- progress of the batch. The Batch progress meter at the bottom
- reflects the percentage of completion for the entire batch.
-
-
- CURRENT FILE STATUS
-
- This display window contains information on the file which is
- currently being transferred. Of particular interest in this
- window is the "Last message" item. This is where all verbal
- messages are shown regarding MPt status. Message descriptions are
- discussed below, in the section entitled, "Messages".
-
-
- THROUGHPUT EFFICIENCY
-
- This window shows information concerning the estimated efficiency
- of the file transfer in progress. The "Compression" item shows
- "RLE" if the current block of data is compressed, or "none" if it
- is a normal block of data. This item may also show "disabled" if
- either end of the connection has specified the "X-" option on the
- command line, or disabled RLE compression using the setup program.
-
- The "Block size" meter reflects the length of the current block,
- from 64 bytes to 1024 (1K) bytes.
-
- Also shown in this window are average speed in characters per
- second, and an estimated efficiency in percentage of theoretical
- "maximum" efficiency.
-
-
- UART
-
- The UART status, or "modem light" display, gives the status of the
- signals that MPt uses on the serial port.
-
-
-
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-
-
- At the top of the UART window is shown the type of UART that is
- installed in the COM port that MPt is using. The recognized UARTs
- are:
-
- 8250B (INS8250 or INS8250-B)
- 16450 (NS16450, NS16C450, NS8250A, or INS82C50A)
- 16550 (NS16550)
- 16550A (NS16550A, NS16550AF)
-
- MPt will optionally use FIFO buffers, if the "enable 16550A FIFO
- buffers" option is enabled, and the UART type is 16550A.
- See Chapter 3, "The MPt Program", for more information on using
- the FIFO buffers.
-
- The remainder of the UART display shows the status of the transmit
- line (TXD), the receive line (RXD), the carrier detect line (DCD),
- the clear to send line (CTS), and the request to send line (RTS).
- The indicator next to each item will light when the corresponding
- signal is high or active.
-
-
- STATS
-
- The stats window shows some miscellaneous information about
- options. The indicator beside each item will normally be lit if
- the item is enabled, unless otherwise noted. Following is a brief
- description of each item:
-
- Beep - status of the "beep upon completion (B+/-)" option.
-
- Date - status of the "stamp with current date (D+/-)" option.
-
- DCD - status of the "monitor the carrier signal (N+/-)" option.
-
- Dele - status of the "delete aborted downloads (A+/-)" option.
-
- Hang - status of the "hangup modem when finished (M+/-)" option.
-
- FIFO - this indicator will be lit when FIFO buffers are used.
-
- Over - this indicator will be lit when the "allow overwriting
- received files (O+/-)" option is enabled. If the MPt
- receiver actually overwrites a file, this indicator will
- blink for the remainder of the transfer of that particular
- file.
-
- Resu - this indicator will be lit when the "allow resumed
- transfers (R+/-)" option is enabled. If the MPt receiver
- actually resumes a file, this indicator will blink for the
- remainder of the transfer of that particular file.
-
-
-
-
-
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-
- Page 16
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-
-
- Virt - this indicator will be lit if MPt is using an MTVB (virtual
- screen) for display access. For more information on this
- item, see the section entitled, "Screen Access" near the
- beginning of this chapter.
-
- Wait - status of the "wait for keystroke when finished
- (W+/-)" option.
-
-
- DISPLAY FOOTER
-
- The footer line of the MPt display indicates miscellaneous items
- of interest. We'll cover them from left to right, as displayed on
- the MPt screen:
-
- The far left section will contain "S" or "R", to indicate send or
- receive mode.
-
- Next is the COM port which MPt is using.
-
- The following two items are UART baud rate, labeled Ubps, and
- effective baud rate, labeled Ebps. These values are shown in bits
- per second.
-
- Next is the handshaking indicator. This will show the type of
- handshaking in use:
-
- N = None
- S = handshake slow
- D = handshake disk
- F = handshake fast
-
- Finally, on the far right, is the version number and User ID of
- the remote MPt Protocol driver. This item will show "unknown"
- until synchronization has been established with the remote
- protocol.
-
-
- MESSAGES
-
- There are a number of messages which may be conveyed to the user
- by the MPt Protocol. This section gives the most important
- messages and their meanings:
-
- SYNCHRONIZING
- MPt is attempting to communicate control information with the
- connecting protocol. This occurs at the beginning of each file
- being transferred.
-
- SYNCHRONIZATION FAILED
- MPt was unable to synchronize with the connecting protocol.
-
- SENDING/RECEIVING FILE
- MPt is synchronized and has begun the file transfer.
-
-
-
- Page 17
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-
- filename.ext DONE
- Transfer of "filename.ext" has completed successfully.
-
- filename.ext DELETED
- The partially received file, "filename.ext" has been deleted.
- This will only occur if the "delete aborted downloads" option is
- enabled.
-
- ERROR WRITING CDS/DSZ LOG FILE
- MPt had problems writing to a log file.
-
- ERROR AT BYTE xxxx: errortype
- This message indicates that MPt is attempting to recover from
- some type of line error. The value of xxxx shows the byte
- position in the current file where the error occurred. The
- errortype indicates what caused the error. There are seven
- causes for line errors:
-
- CRC - MPt detected an error when comparing CRCs. This
- is usually causes by line noise on a bad
- connection.
-
- Long - The MPt receiver received a block longer than 1K
- in length. This is typically a result of line
- noise "adding" spurious garbage characters into
- the bit stream.
-
- Short - The MPt receiver got a partial block, which was
- not complete.
-
- Duplicate - The MPt receiver received a block of data that had
- already been received successfully.
-
- Waiting - The MPt receiver is waiting for the next logical
- block in the sequence.
-
- Timeout - The receiver has not received a block of data
- within a reasonable time frame.
-
- Overrun - The MPt receiver has experienced a UART buffer
- overrun error. This is usually caused by slow
- receiver CPU's at high baud rates, slow disk BIOS
- or drivers, or multitasking receiving computers
- without a 16550A UART. For information on
- correcting this problem, see Chapter 3.
-
- ERROR READING FILE: filename.ext
- The MPt sender could not read the current file from disk.
-
- CANCELLED BY SENDER/RECEIVER
- The transfer was cancelled by the other end of the connection.
-
- CANCELLED
- The transfer has been cancelled locally by pressing the ESC key.
-
-
-
- Page 18
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-
-
- CARRIER LOST
- The DCD signal was lowered during the transfer. This will only
- be reported if the "monitor the carrier signal" option is
- enabled.
-
- FATAL TIMEOUT
- The sender received no response from the receiver within a
- reasonable amount of time.
-
- TOO MANY ERRORS
- More than twenty consecutive line errors occurred during the
- transfer.
-
- NOT ALLOWED TO OVERWRITE FILE
- The receiver got a file header for an existing file, and the
- "allow overwriting received files" option is disabled.
-
- CAN'T CREATE FILE
- The receiver can't create the file to be received.
-
- CAN'T WRITE TO DISK
- The receiver can't write received information to the disk file.
-
- * * *
-
- The following messages can occur only before the transfer begins,
- and will cause an ERRORLEVEL 2 to be returned to DOS.
-
- INVALID REGISTRATION INFORMATION
- The MPT.EXE file contains an invalid UserID/Serial number
- combination.
-
- INVALID PARAMETER: xx
- An invalid parameter (xx) has been given on the command line.
-
- INVALID SPEED: xxxxx
- An invalid speed (baud rate) has been specified.
-
- INVALID HANDSHAKING
- An invalid handshaking option has been specified.
-
- INVALID PORT: x
- An invalid COM port has been specified. This will occur if MPt
- cannot identify an active UART in the specified port.
-
- SEND/RECEIVE NOT SPECIFIED
- The "s" or "r" parameter was not given on the command line.
-
- ERROR READING LIST FILE
- The MPt sender could not read the specified list file
- (@listfile).
-
-
-
-
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- FILE NOT FOUND: filename.ext
- MPt could not locate the file filename.ext as specified in a
- list file, or on the command line.
-
- NO FILES SPECIFIED
- The MPt sender found no file specifications on the command line
- or in a list file.
-
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- 5 - T h e S e t u p P r o g r a m
- __________________________________________________________________
-
-
- Accompanying the MPt Protocol program is a setup program called
- MPTSET.EXE, which allows the user to customize MPt. The setup
- program accomplishes this by reading the MPT.EXE file, which must
- reside in the default directory, and updating it with the custom
- setup information.
-
- Using the MPTSET program is easy. First, log to the directory
- where the MPT.EXE file resides. This can be done in DOS by using
- the "chdir" or "cd" command.
-
- Next, execute the MPTSET.EXE program. This program can reside
- anywhere on your hard disk, or on a floppy disk.
-
- The setup program will first attempt to read the MPT.EXE file. If
- it is not present in the current directory, or is somehow
- corrupted, you will be alerted.
-
- When the MPT.EXE file has been found and read successfully, you
- will be presented with the setup program's main menu.
-
-
- MAIN MENU
-
- The main menu contains the following information:
-
- -> Change default options
- Adjust screen colors
- Install registration information
- Quit and save settings
-
- From here, you have four options from which to choose. You may
- select an option by moving the arrow that is shown on the screen
- to point at the option you wish to select. The up and down arrow
- keys move the arrow. Press Enter to choose the selected item.
- From the main menu, you may also press the ESC key. The results
- of this action are the same as selecting the "Quit and save
- settings" option.
-
-
- CHANGE DEFAULT OPTIONS
-
- After selecting this item, you will be presented with a screen
- showing a number of options and their current defaults, as they
- are currently set in the MPT.EXE file.
-
- An explanation of each of these options is detailed in Chapter 3,
- so we won't repeat ourselves in this section.
-
-
-
-
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-
-
- A few things to note about setting options:
-
- The UART baud rate - When choosing a UART baud rate, the setting
- "Current" will cause MPt to use the baud rate at which the UART
- is operating when the program is executed.
-
- The Effective baud rate - The setting "UART" will cause MPt to
- match the effective baud rate to the UART baud rate when MPt is
- executed.
-
- IRQs and Base addresses - The IRQ settings adjust the hardware
- interrupt for each COM port. The base address settings adjust
- the base I/O address where the UART is mapped for each COM port.
- Base addresses must be entered in hex format. These settings
- allow customization of non-standard COM ports. See your
- internal modem or serial port manual for more information on
- IRQs and Base address settings.
-
- The CDS and DSZ log files - These settings allow default log
- files to be specified.
-
- All default settings except for COM port base addresses and IRQs
- can be overrided by using command line parameters when executing
- MPt.
-
-
- ADJUST SCREEN COLORS
-
- Selecting this item causes a portion of the MPt Status screen to
- be shown, along with a menu of items that can be colorized. Using
- the up and down arrow keys, you can position the arrow to point to
- an item to be adjusted. The following keys affect the "selected"
- item:
-
- Enter - changes the foreground color
- Space - changes the background color
- ESC - return to main menu
-
- The following two keys affect the entire display:
-
- C - select default color scheme
- M - select monochrome scheme
-
-
- INSTALL REGISTRATION INFORMATION
-
- This item allows registered MPt users to install their User ID and
- serial number. For information on registering, please read the
- file, LICENSE.TXT.
-
- A note to registered MPt (or Puma) users:
-
- When you receive your User ID and serial number in the mail, you
- can use the "Install registration information" option to install
-
-
-
- Page 22
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-
-
-
- the information into MPT.EXE.
-
- When typing the UserID, you may use mixed upper and lower case
- letters, all CAPS, or all lower case, whichever you desire.
-
- Enter the serial number EXACTLY as it is shown on your
- registration certificate. MPt will not run with improper User ID
- or serial number information. If you receive the message,
- "Invalid registration information" when running MPt, double check
- the ID and serial number on your certificate with the information
- entered into MPTSET.EXE.
-
- Registered Lynx Users:
-
- You may use the LYNX_MPT.EXE program to extract the registration
- information from LYNX.EXE for use with The MPt Protocol.
-
- You must first place your REGISTERED LYNX.EXE file into the
- current directory, and then execute the LYNX_MPT.EXE program.
- Follow screen instructions for more details.
-
-
- QUIT AND SAVE SETTINGS
-
- This option causes MPTSET to prompt you for a response:
-
- Save new settings in MPT.EXE <Y or N> ?
-
- Responding with "N" will cause MPTSET to end without updating
- MPT.EXE.
-
- Responding with "Y" will cause MPTSET to end after writing the new
- setup information into the MPT.EXE file.
-
-
- * * *
-
-
- When running MPt after using MPTSET, note that the "Stats" window
- will reflect the default settings that you have specified. These
- defaults can be overrided by command line parameters.
-
-
-
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- 6 - A c k n o w l e d g e m e n t s
- __________________________________________________________________
-
-
- This chapter is dedicated to the people who made the MPt project
- possible, including all the users who registered as Lynx Protocol
- users, all those who helped test Lynx and MPt, and those who
- contributed in other ways. . .
-
-
- INSIDE
-
- A large percentage of the development time on MPt was spent coding
- and tuning the UART interface routines using Turbo Assembler 1.0.
- Repeated tests have revealed that MPt operates quite reliably on a
- 115200 baud direct link between an 8 Mhz 80286 and a 12 Mhz 80286,
- even with a 16450 UART. Hats off to Borland International for a
- fine assembler!
-
- The remainder of the project was coded in Turbo Pascal 5.5,
- Borland's award-worthy compiler and development system.
-
- The speed of the display in MPt is attributed to the QWIK toolbox
- from Eagle Performance Software - QWIK is an irreplaceable kit
- full of goodies that makes programming without the CRT unit a
- genuine pleasure. Good work, Eagle!
-
- TheDraw from TheSoft Programming Services was used to develop
- everything visual in the MPt software package. TheDraw proved to
- be an invaluable tool for designing the user displays. Kudos to
- Mr. Ian Davis for his quality screen design software!
-
- The MPt Protocol is distributed in ZIPPED format, a technology
- made possible by the wonderful PKZIP shareware product from
- PKWARE, Inc. Thanks to Mr. Phil Katz for a top-notch shareware
- product!
-
- OUTSIDE
-
- MPt has made it to the Shareware marketplace only after very
- extensive testing by the author, and by these fine people, who
- kindly volunteered their testing services:
-
- Nick Anis Kevin Bass Mike Callahan
- Chuck Dennis Charles Edstrom Ken Flower
- Shawn Johnson Scott Kuntzelman Al Maynard
- Lee Pollard Bob Rapp John Schuit
-
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- Thanks, folks!
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- The MPt Protocol v1.10 User's Manual
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- TRADEMARKS AND PRODUCTS
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- The Courier HST and HST/Dual Standard are products of USRobotics
-
- DESQview is a product of Quarterdeck Office Systems
-
- DSZ is a product of Omen Technology, Inc.
-
- IBM 3270 PC and Topview are trademarks of International Business
- Machines
-
- MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows are registered trademarks of
- Microsoft Corporation
-
- PKZIP is a registered trademark of PKWARE, Inc.
-
- QWIK is a product of Eagle Performance Software
-
- Taskview is a product of Sunny Hill Software
-
- TheDraw is a trademark of TheSoft Programming Services
-
- The MPt Protocol is a trademark of Matthew Thomas
-
- Turbo Assembler and Turbo Pascal are registered trademarks of
- Borland International, Inc.
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- Appendix A - L o g F i l e F o r m a t s
- __________________________________________________________________
-
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- ENHANCED DSZ LOG FORMAT
-
- The Enhanced DSZ logging that MPt uses is provided for some
- compatibility with programs that recognize this type of logging.
-
- The log file consists of a single line of text for each file
- transferred. Following is a sample entry:
-
- S 217837 57600 bps 5050 cps 0 errors 0 1024 MPT110.ZIP MPt
-
- The format of each field in this entry is as follows, beginning
- with the leftmost field:
-
- - 'S' for send, 'R' for receive, 'E' for aborted transfer, or
- 'L' for lost carrier.
-
- - The length of the file, in bytes.
-
- - The effective baud rate. MPt follows the DSZ format of using
- '65535' to represent an actual baud rate of 115200.
-
- - The average transfer rate, in characters per second.
-
- - The total number of errors which occurred during transmission.
-
- - The number of flow control restrictions, as specified in the
- DSZ documentation. MPt does not record this value, so this
- field will always contain a zero.
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- - The length of the last block transferred in the file.
-
- - The name of the file which was transferred.
-
- -*The name of the protocol used.
-
- -*The last field is either empty, or contains '(resumed)' to
- signify that the file was resumed.
-
- * These fields are not part of the original DSZ specification.
-
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- CDS LOG FORMAT
-
- CDS logging is a standard of recording online activities of all
- types. It was developed in an attempt to standardize the
- interface between various communication utilities, such as
- terminal emulators, BBS software, external protocols (such as
- MPt), and phone bill analyzers.
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- By supporting CDS logging, MPt's activities can be tracked by any
- utility that will read a CDS file.
-
- Following is an example of a CDS log entry made by MPt:
-
-
- 90-01-04 00:46:11 020 MPt
- COM port 1
- Comm parameters 2400 8 N 1
- Sent file AUTOEXEC.BAT
- File size 142
- Protocol MPt
- Ended 90-01-04 00:46:11 (call ended abruptly)
- Transfer Errors 1
- Efficiency 0.0 %
- Average CPS 0
-
-
- The first line is the record header, which gives the date and time
- the transfer began, the record number (020), which identifies the
- record as a file transfer entry, and 'MPt', the name of the
- program that created the entry.
-
- Following the header are single-line entries describing the
- transfer:
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- COM port N
-
- The communications port used for the transfer. N will have a
- value from 1 to 4.
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- Comm parameters 2400 8 N 1
-
- Designates the effective baud rate, data bits, parity check, and
- stop bits during a transfer. Each parameter is separated by a
- space. MPt always uses '8 N 1' for data type.
-
- Sent file FILENAME
- Rcvd file FILENAME
-
- The name of the transferred file.
-
- File size NNN
-
- The size of the transferred file. NNN is the size in bytes (not
- kilobytes).
-
- Protocol MPt
-
- The file transfer protocol used.
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- Ended YY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS
- Ended YY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS (aborted by sender)
- Ended YY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS (aborted by receiver)
- Ended YY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS (call ended abruptly)
-
- Tells when the transfer terminated, and shows if the sender or
- receiver aborted the transfer, or if the carrier signal was
- lost (call ended abruptly).
-
- Transfer Errors NNN
-
- Provides the total number of errors encountered during the
- transfer. If the entry is missing, no errors occurred during
- the transfer.
-
- Efficiency NNN %
-
- Provides the efficiency of the file transfer. "NNN" is the
- efficiency as a percentage ("96.2 %" for example).
-
- Average CPS NNNN
-
- Provides the average characters transmitted per second for the
- file. "NNNN" is the CPS average as a whole number, "239" for
- example.
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- Appendix B - M P t A u t o - S t a r t R e c e i v e
- __________________________________________________________________
-
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- MPt has a feature that allows the sending protocol to alert the
- receiver to start download synchronization. This can decrease the
- number of required keystrokes to start a download.
-
- At this time, none of the terminal programs that were evaluated by
- the author directly support any type of auto-receive mode for
- external protocols, other than Zmodem.
-
- It may be possible for some terminals to support MPt auto-receive
- by using their built-in script language to wait for the MPt auto-
- packet, and then beginning the external MPt receiver protocol.
-
- Following is the format of the MPt auto-packet, which the MPt
- sender transmits at one-second intervals at the beginning of a
- batch transfer:
-
- Turbo Pascal format:
- #24#8#24#8#24'MPt '#24#8#24#8#24
-
- When this string of characters is received during a terminal
- session, the MPt receive protocol should be initiated.
-
- Perhaps we will see this type of feature supported in future
- releases of the popular terminal programs. But for now, it has to
- be done using scripts.
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- Appendix C - S u g g e s t e d R e a d i n g
- __________________________________________________________________
-
-
- For in-depth information on all aspects of computer
- telecommunications, the author recommends the following book:
-
- "Dvorak's Guide to PC Telecommunications"
- By John C. Dvorak and Nick Anis
- Published by Osborne/McGraw-Hill, 1989
-
- This book has over 1000 pages, and contains two 5.25" floppy
- disks. Included on the first disk is "Telix SE", a complete and
- powerful communication package, along with a Modem Tutor Program.
- The second disk is packed (zipped, actually) with a number of very
- useful shareware programs.
-
- Suggested retail price is $49.95. Check your local computer or
- book store for this excellent source of information!
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- Appendix D - S o f t w a r e R e v i s i o n s
- __________________________________________________________________
-
- The following revisions have been made to the MPt Protocol
- Software package:
-
- v1.00 (01-15-90)
-
- This was the initial release of the protocol. The name of the
- software was "Puma" in its first release.
-
-
- v1.10 (08-07-90)
-
- This release was made only to change the name of the protocol to
- "The MPt Protocol", due to a trademark problem with the previous
- name.
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