Summary of C-Kermit changes from 4E(072) to 5A(170)

Last update: Thu Apr 18 18:06:02 1991

This is a very brief overview of the new features of C-Kermit 5A, over
two years in the making.

Systems Supported:
  Most known post-V6 variations of UNIX on all platforms (but with some 
    features removed on systems with small address spaces or limited 
    compilers/linkers).
  Full support for VAX/VMS including a completely new RMS interface.
  Commodore Amiga.
  Full ANSI C and/or POSIX compliance can be selected.

Network Support:
  SET HOST command replaces telnet and other network virtual terminal 
  programs; files can be transferred in the normal Kermit way.  Using Kermit
  on a network gives features otherwise unavailable: such as unattended 
  operation via script language procedures, character set translation, etc:

  On 4.x BSD-based UNIX systems, support for TCP/IP connections:
    4.2BSD or later, Ultrix, NeXT, SUNOS, Olivetti, many more...
  TCP/IP support on other UNIX systems with Berkeley sockets library:
    Apple A/UX, AIX,  HP-UX, SCO Xenix with Excelan or Racal/Interlan TCP/IP.
  On SUNs with SunLink X.25, support for X.25 network connections, with
    commands to control operation at both the X.25 and X.3 level.
  On VAX/VMS systems with TGV MultiNet, support for TCP/IP connections.

Kermit Protocol Features:
  Performance improvements (see below)
  Transfer of files with international character set translation (see below)
  Sending and recognition of file attribute (A) packets:
    File size, creation date, file type, character set, system ID.
    Control of use of individual attributes via SET ATTRIBUTES.
  Automatic entry into binary or text mode when receiving files that specify
    the file type in the attribute packet.
  New MSEND command to send a list of files ("msend foo.* dir/*.c aaa bbb")
  New MAIL and REMOTE PRINT commands (work in both directions).
  REMOTE SET commands are now supported in both directions.
  GET, BYE, FINISH, REMOTE commands now work in both local & remote modes.
  SET ATTRIBUTES ON/OFF can be used to enable/disable attribute packets.
  DISABLE and ENABLE commands to control client access to server functions.

International Character Sets
  Conversion among all major Roman- and Cyrillic-based character sets
    during file transfer.
  Special language-specific transliteration rules.
  SET FILE CHARACTER-SET <name>.  Supported file character sets include:
    Alternative Cyrillic, Apple Quickraw, ASCII, British NRC, IBM Code Pages
    437 and 850, DEC Multinational, Dutch NRC, Finnish NRC, French and French
    Canadian NRCs, German NRC, Italian NRC, Old KOI-8 Cyrillic, ISO Latin-1,
    ISO Latin-Cyrillic, the NeXT character set, Norwegian/Danish NRC, and
    the Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, and Swiss NRcs.
  SET TRANSFER CHARACTER-SET { TRANSPARENT, LATIN1, CYRILLIC, ASCII }
  SET LANGUAGE { Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, German, Russian, etc. }
    to enable language-specific transliterations, like umlaut-u to ue, when
    transfer or file character set is ASCII.
  Character set information is conveyed in attribute packets.
  Automatic recognition and translation of character set of incoming file
    when reported properly in attribute packet.
  SET TERMINAL CHARACTER SET for character set translation during CONNECT.
  SET SHIFT-IN/OUT { ON, OFF } for using Shift-In/Shift-Out during CONNECT.
  TRANSLATE local files from one character set to another.
  SET COMMAND BYTESIZE { 7,8 } to allow 8-bit characters in commands/filenames.
  Correct operation in "8-bit clean" Unix and VMS environments.

File Transfer Improvements:
  Sliding windows, up to 31 window slots. 
  Maximum packet size increased to 9024 (less on some systems).
  Sliding windows and long packets can be used together.
  Packet buffers allocated dynamically, overall size specifiable by user.
  Low-level packet readers and writers recoded for increased efficiency.
  Dynamic sizing of packets based on error history.
  Automatic parity detection during packet operations.
  Ability to run external protocols.
  Increased maximum number of files that can be sent in a single operation.

Command parser:
  Expansion of variables and functions in commands (see below).
  Parial completion of filenames.
  Improved error and help messages.

Macros and variables:
  DEFINE macros and variables.
  ASSIGN variable's current value to another variable.
  INCREMENT and DECREMENT numeric variables by 1 (or any other number).
  Execute macros using DO or just by giving their name.
  Execute built-in string and arithmetic functions.
  Define your own functions.
  Arguments are passed as parameters \%1..\%9
  Global variables \%a..\%z (and others).
  Arrays \&a[]..\&z[].
  Access to environment variables via \$(name).
  Access to builtin Kermit named variables via \v(name), e.g. \v(date).
  Backslash notation for numbers and characters as in MS-DOS Kermit.
  Dynamically allocated space for macro names and definitions.
  Variables and backslash codes in all commands are fully expanded.

Script programming language:
  INPUT, OUTPUT, REINPUT, PAUSE, GOTO, IF, ASK, ASKQ, ECHO, STOP, END commands.
  INPUT, PAUSE, and WAIT interruptible from keyboard.
  SET INPUT, SET TAKE, SET MACRO commands to control echoing, error handling.
  WRITE <log> <string>.
  OPEN, READ, WRITE, and CLOSE local files.
  FOR and WHILE loops, which may be nested.
  BREAK and CONTINUE allowed in FOR and WHILE loops.
  Trailing comments ; like this one, allowed in all contexts.
  Command line continuation using hyphen (-) or backslash (\).
  Relaxed prefixing rules; backslashes no longer doubled.
  Conditional branching or execution of commands via IF; the IF command:
    May have an ELSE part.
    IF NOT can be used to reverse the truth of the following condition.
    IF <, IF =, IF > for numeric variables.
    IF EQUAL, LLT, LGT for string comparison.
    IF COUNT for looping.
    IF EXIST for files.
    IF DEFINED for variable and macro names.
    IF SUCCESS, IF FAILURE based on success of previous command.
  Extended IF statement (XIF) allows nested, compound parts.

  C-Kermit's script language is in most ways a proper superset of the script
  language of MS-DOS Kermit 3.0.

Other:
  Ability to use flow control on most connections.
  SET FILE COLLISION { APPEND, BACKUP, DISCARD, OVERWRITE, RENAME, UPDATE }
  Many file-format-related options for VMS.
  Tilde-expansion in local UNIX filenames (~ = home directory).
  Ability to ask shell to expand wildcards ("send ck[cuw]*.{[cwh],{doc,ps}}").
  Alternative initialization filename specifiable on command line with -y.
  Kermit "application files" start Kermit automatically (UNIX only).
  New TYPE command, interruptible by Ctrl-C.
  New DELETE command.
  New RENAME command.
  New TRANSMIT command, interruptible by Ctrl-C, plus SET/SHOW TRANSMIT.
  Command synonyms added for compatibility with MS-DOS Kermit: RUN, PUSH, etc.
  And with UNIX: RM, LS, etc.
  And with VMS: SET/SHOW DEFAULT, SPAWN, etc
  SHOW command divided into SHOW FILE, SHOW PROTOCOL, SHOW COMMUNICATIONS, etc.
  SET SPEED no longer required with SET LINE - current speed used by default.
  75/1200 Split-speed communication supported in some implementations.
  Terminal interrupt (Ctrl-C) now returns to prompt rather than exiting.
  Correct handling of Suspend interrupt (Ctrl-Z) in UNIXes with job control.
  Improved control and monitoring of modem signals.
  Improved interaction with Hayes modems.
  Support for speed-matching modems.
  Support for many new modem types including Telebit, Microcom.
  New DIAL command controls: HANGUP, TIMEOUT, INIT-STRING, DISPLAY, etc.
  New REDIAL command.
  Compatibility with new and distributed (struct dirent) file systems.
  Improved flow control during packet operations.
  Improved use of UUCP lockfiles.
  Improved operation and security when run setuid/setgid on UNIX.
  Improved handling of disk-full and disk-write errors.
  More detailed statistics reporting.
  New debugging display available during CONNECT.
  Text and binary mode options for session log.
  Under UNIX, Kermit no longer appears "idle" while transferring files.
  Program exit status code now reflects protocol success/failure.
  EXIT n explicitly sets program's exit status code to n.
  Many new additions and improvements to UNIX makefile.
  Simplification and expansion of makefile configuration options.
  New documentation - user manual, man page, improved built-in help text.
  Many bugs fixed.

Incompatibilities with MS-DOS Kermit 3.10:
  Macro definitions can be longer (1024 vs 255).
  If a variable is given as part of a command, only the first word is used.
  INPUT and REINPUT require a timeout parameter.
  REINPUT does not use (or need) its timeout.
  SET INPUT DEFAULT-TIMEOUT has no effect.
  PAUSE and WAIT only take arguments in seconds, not hh:mm:ss.
  WAIT command does not test for modem signals.
  No IF ALARM or IF ERRORLEVEL.
  No specific terminal emulation, SET KEY, SET TERMINAL (except BYTESIZE), etc,
    except in OS/2 and Macintosh versions.
  No \Kverbs.
  Macro and TAKE-file echo and error action are separately controllable.
  Trailing comments are allowed on interactive commands and within macros.
  Syntax of WRITE command is different (simpler).

Tested on:
  Alliant FX/8 Concentrix
  Amdahl UTSV
  Apollo SR10
  Apple Macintosh A/UX
  AT&T 3B2 Series
  AT&T 6300, 6386
  AT&T 7300 UNIX PC, 3B1
  AT&T System III, System V R2 and earlier, many platforms
  AT&T System V R3 and later, many platforms
  Berkeley UNIX 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, many platforms
  Convex C1
  Cray X/MP, Y/MP, Unicos
  Data General Aviion
  DEC VAX (various models, Ultrix 2.x, 3.x, 4.x)
  DEC VAX with 4.1, 4.2, 4.3 BSD, AT&T System V R2
  DECstation 3100, 5810, Ultrix 4.x
  DIAB DS90 68010 / DNIX 5.2 and 5.3
  Encore 310, 510 (UMAX 4.2, 4.3)
  FPS 500, FPX 4.1
  HP-9000 HP-UX
  IBM 370-series mainframe, AIX/370 3.0
  IBM PC/XT/AT & compatibles with various versions of Xenix, Minix
  IBM PS/2 AIX 1.0, 3.0
  IBM RT PC AIX 2.2.1, ACIS 4.x
  Intel 302, Bell Tech Sys V/386 R3.2
  Interactive 386
  Masscomp/Concurrent RTU 4.x
  MIPS Sys V R3
  NCR Tower 32, OS 1.x, 2.x
  NCR Tower 1632, System V
  NeXT, Mach 1.0
  PFU Compact A
  Pyramid
  SCO Xenix/286
  SCO UNIX/386 
  SCO Xenix/386
  Sequent Balance and Symmetry
  Silicon Graphics Iris
  Solbourne OS/MP 4
  Sony NEWS, 4.3 BSD
  SUN-4 with SUN OS 4.0, 4.1 (both BSD and System V R3 environments)
  Tandy 16/6000, Microsoft Xenix 68000 3.02
  Tektronix 4336 Utek

Other systems:
  VAX/VMS.  Ready for testing.
  Commodore Amiga:  Ready for testing.
  Apple Macintosh, MAC OS.  In progress.
  IBM OS/2 (includes VT100 and Tektronix terminal emulation).  Partly done.
  Data General AOS/VS:  Volunteers needed!
  Apollo Aegis:  Volunteers needed!

Needs testing on:
  Many, many, many...

(*** skip the rest in the announcement ***)

BACKSLASH NOTATION

\ (backslash) in any command means what follows is not ordinary text, but
rather a code, variable, or function whose value is to be substituted into the
command at that point.

The character after the backslash identifies which kind of quantity this is:
  % - a user-defined simple (scalar) variable
  & - an array reference
  $ - an environment variable
  v - (or V) a built-in variable
  f - (or F) a function
  d - (or D) a decimal number
  o - (or O) an octal number
  x - (or X) a hexadecimal number
  \ - the backslash character itself
  b - (or B) the BREAK signal (OUTPUT command only)
  a decimal digit - a 1-3 digit decimal number.

Numbers:
  \{...} A grouped number, braces discarded, e.g. \{17}5 != \175
  \nnn (1-3 decimal digits) replaced by binary number 0-255, e.g. \13 = CR.
  \dnnn or \Dnnn - Same as above
  \onnn or \Onnn (1-3 octal digits) replaced by binary number 0-255.
  \xnn or \Xnn (2 hexadecimal digits) replaced by binary number 0-255.

Variables:

All variables have character string values.  When used in a numeric sense
(as in the IF <, IF =, IF >, INCREMENT, and DECREMENT commands), they are
automatically converted to numbers.

User-defined variables have names \%a, \%b, ... \%z.  Case is insigificant
(\%a is the same variable as \%A).  These variables are set via the DEFINE,
ASSIGN, or ASK commands, and are global, i.e. available at all times from
within any macro or command file, after they are defined.

Macro parameters are assigned automatically upon macro invocation.  They are
\%0, \%1, ... \%9.  \%0 is the macro name, \%1 is the first parameter, etc.
Parameters are individual words or series of words grouped by braces.
Variables that do not have corresponding parameters are undefined (empty).  
Macro parameters are local to the macro they are passed to.

Arrays must be declared before use: DECLARE \&X[20] declares an array called
\&x (case doesn't matter) with 20 elements.  Arrays are global, and their
elements are referred to with a subscript, as \&x[12] or \&x[\%i].  The array
\&@[] is preloaded with the program's argument vector.

Built-in variables are read-only, you cannot change them.  They are:
  \v(date): current date in dd mmm yyyy format (e.g. 8 Feb 1991 or 10 Nov 1991)
  \v(ndate): numeric date (19910208)
  \v(time): current time in hh:mm:ss 24-hour clock format (e.g. 13:45:23).
  \v(argc): number of arguments passed to currently active macro.
  \v(args): number of command-line arguments to program.
  \v(count): current value of COUNT (loop control via SET COUNT, IF COUNT).
  \v(filespec): most recent file transfer filespec.
  \v(directory): current directory.
  \v(home): home (login) directory.
  \v(host): network host name.
  \v(input): current INPUT buffer contents.
  \v(line): current communication device or network host.
  \v(return): return value of user-defined function.
  \v(version): numeric version number of C-Kermit.
  \v(status): 0 or 1 depending on success or failure of previous command.
  \v(system): operating system name (UNIX, VMS, etc)
  \v(program): "C-Kermit"
  \v(platform): like "SUNOS_4.1" or "NeXT_Mach_1.0"
  \v(speed): communication line speed.

Built-in functions are of the form \fname(args).  The F and the name can be
upper or lower case.  The args are a comma-separated list of arguments.  The
function reference replaced by its value.  For example:

  define \%a ABC123XYZ
  define \%b ...\Flower(\%a)...

Results in a value of ...abc123xyz... for \%b.  Functions include:

String functions that return a string:
 \Fliteral(arg1)       - Copies its argument literally, without any evaluation.
 \Fsubstr(arg1,arg2,arg3) - Substring of arg1 starting at arg2, length arg3.
 \Flower(arg1)         - Converts arg1 to lowercase.
 \Fupper(arg1)         - Converts arg1 to uppercase.
 \Freverse(arg1)       - Reverses the string argument.
 \Frepeat(arg1,arg2)   - Repeats arg1 arg2 times.
 \Fexecute(macro args) - Execute a macro, return its RETURN value if any.
 \Fcontents(variable)  - Returns the definition (contents) of a variable.
 \Fdefinition(macro)   - Returns the definition of the named macro.

String functions that return a number:
 \Flength(arg1)     - Returns the length of the string arg1.
 \Findex(arg1,arg2,arg3) - Returns the position of string arg2 in string arg1.

Integer arithmetic functions:
 \Fmax(arg1,arg2)   - Returns the maximum of its two numeric arguments.
 \Fmin(arg1,arg2)   - Returns the minimum of its two numeric arguments.
 \Feval(arg1)       - Evaluates the enclosed arithmetic expression.
 \Flpad(string,n,c) - Left-pads a string out to length n with character c.
 \Frpad(string,n,c) - Right-pads a string out to length n with character c.

File functions:
 \Ffiles(filespec)  - Returns the number of files that match the specification.
 \Fnextfile()       - Returns the next filename that matches the \Ffiles()
                      file specification.

The names of built-in functions and variables can be abbreviated to their
minimum unique length, for example \feval(1+1), \v(dir), etc.