00README.TXT (5 January 1984)
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY KERMIT DISTRIBUTION TAPE
This tape includes all the versions of Kermit which were in our possession as
of the time this distribution tape was made, plus some miscellanous files.
The files on the tape have names of the form
NAME.TYPE
Where NAME is the name of file, and TYPE is its type (program source,
documentation, executable core image, etc). No NAME is more than 9 characters
long (the maximum accepted by VAX/VMS), and every NAME is unique in the first
6 characters (the maximum under TOPS-10). On TOPS-10 BACKUP/Interchange
tapes, names longer than 6 will be truncated to 6. No type is longer than 3
characters. NAME and TYPE are separated by a period.
* Prefixed Files:
The file names for files associated with each implementation of KERMIT are
prefixed by a few characters denoting the implementation. The following are
presently used:
Prefix Machine(s) Operating System Language
20 DECSYSTEM-20 TOPS-20 MACRO-20
K10 DECsystem-10 TOPS-10 MACRO-10
CMS IBM 370 Series VM/CMS IBM Assembler
MTS IBM 370 Series MTS Assember, Pascal
VMS VAX VMS Bliss-32
VX VAX VMS C
VF VAX VMS Pascal and Fortran
UX VAX, SUN, PDP-11, etc UNIX C
UC Terak UCSD p-System Pascal, Macro-11
HP9 HP-98xx UCSD p-System HP Pascal
RT PDP-11 RT-11 OMSI Pascal
CPM 8080, 8085, or Z80 CP/M-80 ASM
PC IBM PC or Zenith Z100 PC DOS, MS DOS PC Macro assembler
APP Apple II 6502 Apple DOS DEC-10 CROSS
86 Rainbow-100, NEC APC CP/M-86 ASM86
VIC Sirius 1/Victor 9000 MS DOS, CP/M-86 MASM, ASM86
170 Cyber 170 NOS Fortran-77
MU Honewyell MULTICS PL/I
UN Univac-100 EXEC Assembler
(The VAX/VMS C version is based on an old version of UNIX Kermit; the VMS
support has yet to be merged with the current UNIX Kermit)
(The Victor versions are based on an old version of IBM PC Kermit; the Victor
support has yet to be merged with the current IBM PC (MS/PC DOS) and DEC
Rainbow (CP/M-86) versions.)
In some cases, binaries (.REL, .EXE, .COM, etc) are not supplied. For
instance, no binaries come with the UNIX sources, since these can be compiled
to run on many different machines, under different versions of UNIX. No
binaries come with the VAX/VMS source, since the VMS file attributes cannot be
saved on the DEC-20 tape. Binaries are provided when it makes sense, however:
DEC-10 and DEC-20 .EXE files are provided on DEC-10 and -20 distribution
tapes, MODULE files for CMS KERMIT on the IBM VM/CMS tape. In any event, all
necessary files for building each version of Kermit from program source are
included on all tapes.
When working with one of these implementations, you would normally copy them
to a separate area and strip the prefix from the file names, and install the
programs on the appropriate systems without the prefix. For instance, on the
DEC-20 you would copy 20KERMIT.MAC to KERMIT.MAC, then assemble it, and store
the result as KERMIT.EXE in SYS:. The VAX/VMS and TOPS-10 versions are
exceptions; in these cases REPLACE the "VMS" or "K10" prefixes with "KER".
The following HEX files for specific CP/M implementations are included:
CPMBASE.M80 The current, working source file for CP/M KERMIT.
CPMBASE.DOC A list of recent changes to CP/M KERMIT (not in manual yet).
CPMKERMIT.DOC An explanation of why there are three source files...
CPMAPPLE.HEX Apple II with Z80 Softcard & DC Hayes Micromodem
CPMAPPLE.SSC Notes for using above with Super Serial Card
CPMBRAIN.HEX Intertec SuperBrain
CPMDMII.HEX DECmate II with CP/M
CPMGENERI.HEX "Generic" CP/M Kermit.
CPMHEATH.HEX Heath/Zenith 89
CPMKAYPRO.HEX Kaypro-II
CPMKERMIT.ASM Source file for all Kermit-80s but Generic Kermit
CPMOSBORN.HEX Osborne 1
CPMOSI.HEX Ohio Scientific
CPMPLUS.HEX For any system running CP/M-Plus (3.0)
CPMRAINBO.HEX DEC Rainbow-100
CPMROBIN.HEX DEC VT180 "Robin"
CPMTELCON.HEX Telcon Zorba
CPMTRS80.HEX TRS-80 II with Lifeboat CP/M 2.25
CPMVECTOR.HEX Vector Graphics
CPMZ100.HEX Heath/Zenith Z100 with CP/M-85
"Generic Kermit" can be used on micros not specifically supported, if the CP/M
IOBYTE facility is implemented, and the fields of the IOBYTE point to the
right devices. The CP/M-Plus version can run "generically" on any CP/M 3.0
system. See the User Guide for details.
The Kermit Users Guide contains instructions for installing or bootstrapping
the various versions of Kermit.
* Manuals:
There are two Kermit manuals: USER and PROTO, a user's guide and a protocol
manual, respectively. Four versions of these files are provided:
.MSS Scribe (UNILOGIC Ltd text formatter) source.
.LPT Line Printer format (overstriking, underscore, etc).
.DOC No special effects, suitable for reading on line.
.FOR Like .LPT, but with Fortran-style carriage control.
If you have Scribe and the appropriate Scribe device drivers, you can run the
.MSS files through it to produce output suitable for printing on any device
supported at your site, including the Xerox-9700, Imagen Imprint-10, or other
multifont laser printers or photocomposers. As of this writing, Scribe is not
entirely bug-free; you may notice some problems with the footnotes in the .DOC
and .LPT files. Note that some parts of the user manual rely on underlining
to clarify examples; the underlines are missing from the .DOC files, but will
be found in the .LPT and .FOR files.
The user's guide is intended for users of Kermit (including those who want to
install it), the protocol manual is for those who would like to write a new
implementation (i.e. a Kermit program for a new machine or operating system).
ASCII.MSS is the ASCII/EBCDIC character table, which is included as an
appendix in both manuals.
MANUAL.HYP is a hyphenation dictionary for building the manual with Scribe.
* Other Files:
00README.TXT is this file, which should appear at the top of any alphabetical
directory listing, and is the first file on the tape.
FLYER.DOC is a short KERMIT "brochure", explaining the distribution policy.
MAIL.TXT is the archive of the CCNET/BITNET/ARPANET KERMIT discussion group.
The files MAC80.*, M80UNV, etc, are an 8080/8085 cross assembler for the DEC-10
or DEC-20; MAC80.DOC is a brief description. TORTUR.M80 is a "torture test"
for MAC80, which illustrates its features. MAC80 is used to assemble CP/M
KERMIT, and is mostly compatible with the standard CP/M 8080 assembler.
There is also a new, "beta test" version of MAC80. This version assembles Z80
code as well as 8080 code, and it has a real manual. These files are stored as
ZAC80, Z80UNV, etc (the same names as the MAC80 files, but starting with a Z
instead of an M).
HEXIFY.* is a program for converting a CP/M .COM file resident on the DEC-10
or DEC-20 to a CP/M .HEX file. This is handy when binary file transfers are
failing to work for some reason. The .HEX file can be LOADed on the CP/M
system in the normal way to reconstruct the original .COM file. HEXCOM.* is
the inverse of HEXIFY, and provides .HEX-to-.COM file conversion.
The files CROSS.* are a general purpose cross assembler for the DEC-10 and
DEC-20; CROSS.DOC is the manual. CROSS is used to assemble Apple DOS KERMIT.
TTLINK.* is a terminal linking program for the DEC-20, allowing you to log in
to another system over a TTY line (e.g. using an autodialer). KERMIT-20 runs
TTLINK to execute the CONNECT command. (NTTLINK is a new, experimental version
that can send a BREAK).
EZFIX.* is a utility for converting EasyWriter files sent to the DEC-20 from
the IBM PC into ordinary text form. Strip is a program for stripping away
the 8th bit.
KERMIT.WHO is a list of all the sites Columbia has sent KERMIT tapes to.
VERSIONS.DOC is a list of all known versions of KERMIT, even those that aren't
being distributed yet, showing their status, who's working on them, etc.
* Finally...
If you make any modifications to Kermit, fix any bugs, or write any new
implementations or documentation, please send them back to us on magnetic tape
so we can distribute them to other Kermit users:
KERMIT Distribution
Columbia University
Center for Computing Activities
612 West 115th Street
7th Floor
New York NY 10025
or via network mail notify
CC.FDC@COLUMBIA-20.ARPA
SY.FDC@CU20B.BITNET (or .CCNET)
We'll return your tape to you with the latest Kermit distribution.
[End of 00README.TXT]