USING MS-DOS KERMIT TERMINAL EMULATION AND FILE TRANSFER Connecting your PC to the Electronic World SECOND EDITION DRAFT of 25 July 1991 Christine M. Gianone Copyright 1991 by Christine M. Gianone. Publication pending by Digital Press, Bedford, MA. Reproduction prohibited. This book is lovingly dedicated to my parents, Sal and Phyllis, who nurtured me with encouragement, support and love throughout my life. Foreword It is with tangible joy that I introduce Christine Gianone's book, Using MS-DOS Kermit. This is the first book dedicated to a particular Kermit communications program, and it truly brings Kermit into the realm of the serious. Until now, users of Kermit programs have had only a thick sheaf of computer output to guide them through the intricacies of in- stallation, communication setup, terminal emulation, file transfer, and script programming. Now MS-DOS Kermit, the most popular of all Kermit programs, has the book it deserves. Because of its unglamorous user interface, MS-DOS Kermit may appear to the uninitiated as a no-frills product. Believe me, the frills are there, but beneath the surface where you really need them. They are found in its precision-engineered character and graphics ter- minal emulation, its support for every model of PC and PS/2 as well as for many non- IBM-compatible PCs, its high-speed and efficient operation, its powerful macros and scripts, and in one of the most advanced and solid implementations of the Kermit file transfer protocol to be found anywhere. Compare these aspects of MS-DOS Kermit with any commercial PC communications software package and you'll be pleasantly surprised, especially when you consider the price! Credit for MS-DOS Kermit goes primarily to Professor Joe R. Doupnik of Utah State University, the principal author of the program. Since 1986, when he took over respon- sibility for MS-DOS Kermit, Joe, like all Kermit volunteer programmers, has generously donated his labors to the public through Columbia's Kermit Development and Distribution Office, which is directed by Christine, who in turn releases the Kermit software to the people of the world. Joe's work is of the highest quality, with a sensitivity to users' needs that is seldom seen among nonprofit software developers. i Chris has been responsible for the worldwide Kermit development and distribution effort for more than five years. In that time she has transformed a public-spirited but chaotic enterprise into an efficient nonprofit ``business'' as responsive to its customers as any commercial software house (more than most). Chris's dedication, her persuasive charm and wit, her unerring good sense, and her uncanny feeling for what users need have kept unruly Kermit developers (like me) firmly on track, and Kermit's countless users satisfied and loyal. And through magazine articles and press releases, seminars and lectures in far- flung areas of the world, Chris has effectively promoted the Kermit protocol into a worldwide de facto standard for file transfer. Chris's book is for the average PC userÐa person who doesn't care how Kermit works, how clever it is, or what goes on behind the scenes; a person whose life does not revolve around data communications, but who simply needs results. After all, Kermit is just a tool that you use to accomplish your actual goals. With this book, learning how to use the tool is a true delight. Chris's presentation is based on years of helping people install and use Kermit, her ex- perience designing Kermit courses and teaching beginners, experts, and everyone in between, and on her past authorship of many of the major Kermit manuals. She is expert in the material, and has an amazing talent for paring difficult concepts down to their bare essentials and conveying them simply and directlyÐespecially to people who don't have that peculiar technical orientation that most PC communication packages seem to require. If you're an experienced PC user, you can skip right ahead to Chapter 6 to learn about Kermit itself. But if you are new to PCs and data communications, computer-shy, bewil- dered, or lost, read the early chapters in which Chris takes you through the mechanics of program installation and checkout, modems and cables, and the basics of MS-DOSÐall with a minimum of pain and effort. After these preliminaries, Using MS-DOS Kermit will lead you gently and safely through the unpredictable and often hostile world of data com- munications without drowning you in jargon or confusing you with unnecessary detail. Chris's instructions are clear, concise, and step-by-step, and they are presented with a humor and sympathy rarely encountered in computer books. Useful examples appear on nearly every page, so you can build your confidence and increase your skill as you progress through the chapters. Once the material is mastered, the book remains a thought- fully organized and valuable reference. The command summary is thorough and replete with examples. The meticulously compiled tables alone are worth the price of the book, and the Index gives you quick access to any desired topic. Chris's book has a unique international perspective. Her travels as ``proprietor'' of the non-proprietary Kermit protocol have taken her not only throughout the United States, but also to Europe, Japan, and most recently the Soviet Union. In response to the needs of the ii Foreword non-English-speaking world, Chris has designed a groundbreaking extension to the Ker- mit protocol that allows for entry, display, and transfer of text in many languages; a com- plex topic that she describes with remarkable clarity in Chapter 13. Another unique aspect of this book, and of MS-DOS Kermit itself, is its concern for the disabled computer user. MS-DOS Kermit, unlike most other ``mass-market'' PC applica- tions, includes features that allow it to be used effectively by people who are partially sighted, blind, deaf, or physically challenged. These are presented by Chris simply and without fanfare in Chapter 15. It has been a constant pleasure to work with two such accomplished and inspiring people as Christine and Joe. Without Joe's efforts, MS-DOS Kermit would be a dusty old has- been, and without Chris, the Kermit protocol itself would have faded into obscurity years ago. On behalf of the millions of Kermit users all over the world, my deepest thanks to them both. Frank da Cruz New York City, 1990 Foreword iii iv Preface If you picked up this book and began reading it because you wondered why a muppet character's name was in the computer section of the bookstore, you'll soon discover that this book is not about muppets: Kermit is the name of a communications software pro- gram. In fact, it's the name of a very large family of programs that make it possible for just about any two computers anywhere to communicate with each other at the lowest pos- sible cost. If this interests you, read on. Using MS-DOS Kermit describes MS-DOS Kermit version 3.11 for the IBM PC, PS/2, and compatibles. With MS-DOS Kermit, a cable, and possibly a modem, you can intro- duce your isolated PC to the rest of world: to information and electronic mail services like CompuServe, Dow Jones News/Retrieval, or MCI Mail; to databases like BRS or DIA- LOG; to public data networks like SprintNet and TYMNET; and to the worldwide net- works described in John Quarterman's book, The Matrix.1 But most of all, you can intro- duce your PC to other computers: the PC on your desk to the corporate mainframe, your PC at home to the computers at work, your traveling laptop back to company headquar- ters, the PC in your dormitory room to the university computer center, the PC in your lab to a number-crunching supercomputer. Kermit can be your passport to the world of electronic information. 1Quarterman, John S., The Matrix, Digital Press (1990). v MS-DOS Kermit is only one of hundreds of Kermit programs written by public-spirited volunteers for virtually every kind of computer in existence. Each Kermit program fol- lows the Kermit file transfer protocol, a set of rules for reliably transferring information between two computers, and many of these programs, including MS-DOS Kermit, also let you interact directly with other computers or services using your keyboard and screen for terminal emulation. This book includes a 5.25-inch MS-DOS Kermit 3.11 diskette. If you need a 3.5-inch dis- kette, you may order it for a nominal fee, using the card at the back of this book. For fur- ther information about Kermit programs and how to get them, or to be placed on the mail- ing list for the free newsletter, Kermit News, write to: Kermit Distribution Columbia University Center for Computing Activities 612 West 115th Street New York, NY 10025 USA Kermit programs are in a category by themselves. Unlike commercial software packages or ``shareware,'' Kermit programs can be freely reproduced and shared as long as this is not done for profit. No licensing or registration is required. However, Kermit programs are not in the public domain. In general, each Kermit program includes a copyright notice to protect its special status. A large organization can potentially save itself millions of dollars by standardizing on Kermit rather than on commercial software packages, and many organizations have done just that. And, of course, private individuals save money too. The Kermit protocol was developed in 1981 at Columbia University by Bill Catchings and Frank da Cruz at Columbia's Center for Computing Activities to fill the need for inexpen- sive, reliable file transfer among Columbia's diverse PCs, minicomputers, and mainframes.