3 C-KERMIT VERSION 9.0.301
6 Communications software for UNIX and (Open)VMS.
8 And in former versions also for:
9 Stratus VOS, AOS/VS, QNX,
10 Plan 9, OS-9, Apollo Aegis, and the Commodore Amiga.
11 The Apple Macintosh, the Atari ST.
13 The Kermit Project - Columbia University
15 http://kermit.columbia.edu/ - kermit@columbia.edu
18 Copyright (C) 1985, 2011,
19 Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York.
20 All rights reserved. See the C-Kermit COPYING.TXT file or the
21 copyright text in the ckcmai.c module for disclaimer and permissions.
22 BRIEFLY: C-Kermit 9.0 has the OPEN SOURCE 3-clause MODIFIED BSD LICENSE.
27 C-Kermit is documented in the book "Using C-Kermit", Second Edition, by
28 Frank da Cruz and Christine M. Gianone, Digital Press, ISBN 1-55558-164-1,
29 supplemented by Web-based updates for C-Kermit 7.0, 8.0, and 9.0.
33 Name Included Last Updated
35 Unix Yes 9.0.300 30 Jun 2011
36 (Open)VMS Yes 9.0.300 30 Jun 2011
37 Windows (K95) Yes 8.0.208 14 Mar 2003 (K95 2.1)
38 OS/2 (K95) Yes 8.0.208 14 Mar 2003 (K95 2.1)
39 DG AOS/VS No 7.0.196 1 Jan 2000
40 Stratus VOS No 7.0.196 1 Jan 2000
41 Bell Plan 9 No 7.0.196 1 Jan 2000
42 Microware OS-9 No 7.0.196 1 Jan 2000
43 Commodore Amiga No 7.0.196 1 Jan 2000
44 Macintosh No 5A(190) 16 Aug 1994 (Mac Kermit 0.991)
45 Atari ST No 5A(189) 30 Jun 1993
47 QUICK START FOR FTP USERS
49 If you have a Web browser, go to:
51 http://www.columbia.edu/kermit/ckermit.html
53 And take it from there. Otherwise...
55 The definitive FTP source for Kermit software is kermit.columbia.edu.
56 Kermit software obtained from other FTP sites is not necessarily complete
57 or up to date, and may have been modified.
59 C-Kermit for UNIX computers that have a C compiler and 'make' program:
61 Directory kermit/archives, binary mode, file cku211.tar.Z or cku211.tar.gz
63 This is a compressed tar archive of UNIX C-Kermit source code, makefile, and
64 other files. It unpacks into its current directory, so download it into a
65 fresh directory. Transfer in binary mode, uncompress (or gunzip), untar (tar
66 xvf cku211.tar), and then give the appropriate "make" command to build for
67 your UNIX system; read the comments in the makefile and ckuins.txt for
72 If you have VMS UNZIP, get the file kermit/archives/ckv211.zip in binary
73 mode, unzip -aa, and build with CKVKER.COM (@ckvker.com). Read the comments
74 at the top of CKVKER.COM for details.
76 Others: In the kermit/f or kermit/test directories under the appropriate
77 prefixes, explained below.
82 Installation procedures depend on the operating system. Please read the
83 CK?INS.TXT, if any, file for your operating system (?=U for UNIX, V for VMS,
84 etc). Please note the naming and placement for the initialization files:
87 .kermrc in the user's home directory (UNIX).
88 CKERMIT.INI in the user's home directory (other OS's).
92 .mykermrc in the user's home directory (UNIX).
93 CKERMOD.INI elsewhere.
96 Dialing directory files can be system-wide, per-group, or per-user, or
97 any combination. For example, there can be a corporate wide directory
98 shared by all users, a supplemental directory for each division or
99 department, and a personal directory for each user. Simply be sure the
100 dialing directory files are identified a SET DIAL DIRECTORY command in
101 the user's (or the system-wide) C-Kermit initialization file, or in the
102 environment variable (logical name, symbol) K_DIAL_DIRECTORY. (The
103 standard initialization file looks by default in the user's home or login
104 directory.) When installing C-Kermit on multiuser platforms from which
105 users will dial out, you can also set environment variables for area
106 code, country code, and the various dialing prefixes as described on page
107 478 of "Using C-Kermit" (second edition), so users don't have to worry
108 about defining these items themselves. Network directories and service
109 directories can also be set up in a similar manner.
112 In UNIX, the general C-Kermit man page (or one of the versions tailored
113 for a specific platform, like HP-UX or Solaris) should be installed in
114 the appropriate place. In VMS, the VMS help topic (CKVKER.HLP) should
115 be installed as described in CKVINS.TXT. Plain-text documentation such
116 as CKERMIT2.TXT should be put in whatever place people are accustomed
119 FILES AND FILE NAMING CONVENTIONS
121 C-Kermit is a family of Kermit programs for many different computer systems.
122 The program shares a common set of system-independent file transfer protocol
123 modules, written in the C language. System-dependent operations are collected
124 into system-specific modules for each system.
126 C-Kermit file names all start with the letters "CK", followed by a single
127 letter indicating the subgroup. When referring to these files in the UNIX,
128 AOS/VS, or VOS environments, use lowercase letters, rather than the uppercase
129 letters shown here. Subgroups:
131 _: Security/Authentication/Encryption code, possibly regulated by law
132 a: General descriptive material and documentation
133 b: BOO file encoders and decoders (obsolete)
134 c: All platforms with C compilers
135 d: Data General AOS/VS
136 e: Reserved for "ckermit" files, like CKERMIT.INI, CKERMIT80.TXT
140 i: Commodore Amiga (Intuition)
144 m: Macintosh with Mac OS
145 n: Microsoft Windows NT
146 o: OS/2 and/or Microsoft Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP/...
149 r: DEC PDP-11 with RSTS/E (reserved)
150 s: Atari ST GEMDOS (last supported in version 5A(189))
151 t: DEC PDP-11 with RT-11 (reserved)
152 u: UNIX or environments with UNIX-like C libraries
154 w: Wart (Lex-like preprocessor, used with all systems)
159 4: IBM AS/400 (reserved but probably never will be used)
165 ckaaaa.txt - This file
166 ckufio.c - File i/o for UNIX
167 ckstio.c - Communications i/o for the Atari ST
168 makefile - makefile for building UNIX C-Kermit
169 ckpker.mk - makefile for building Plan 9 C-Kermit
170 ckvker.com - build procedure for VMS C-Kermit
172 IMPORTANT FILES (use lowercase names on UNIX, VOS, or AOS/VS):
174 ckaaaa.txt - This file (overview of the C-Kermit files).
175 For system-specific distributions, this will normally
176 be replaced by a system-specific READ.ME file.
178 ckermit70.txt - Updates: Supplement to "Using C-Kermit", 2nd Ed, for 7.0.
179 ckermit80.txt - Updates: Supplement to "Using C-Kermit", 2nd Ed, for 8.0.
180 ckututor.txt - C-Kermit Tutorial for Unix (plain text)
181 ckcbwr.txt - "Beware file" (limitations, known bugs, hints), general.
182 ckermit.ini - Standard initialization file (rename to .kermrc in UNIX, OS-9)
183 ckermod.ini - Sample customization file (rename to .mykermrc in UNIX, OS-9)
185 The following can be found at the Kermit FTP site:
187 ckermit.kdd - Sample dialing directory file (rename to .kdd in UNIX, OS-9)
188 ckermit.knd - Sample dialing directory file (rename to .knd in UNIX, OS-9)
189 ckermit.ksd - Sample services directory file (rename to .ksd in UNIX, OS-9)
190 ckedemo.ksc - Demonstration macros from "Using C-Kermit"
196 ckuins.txt - UNIX-specific installation instructions.
197 ckubwr.txt - UNIX-specific beware file.
198 ckuker.nr - "man page" for UNIX.
202 ckvins.txt - VMS-specific installation instructions.
203 ckvbwr.txt - VMS-specific beware file
204 ckvker.hlp - VMS C-Kermit HELP topic (needs updating).
206 DG AOS/VS-specific files:
208 ckdins.txt - Data General AOS/VS C-Kermit installation instructions
209 ckdbwr.txt - AOS/VS "beware" file
210 ckd*.cli - Procedures for building AOS/VS C-Kermit
212 The following files are of interest mainly to programmers and historians
213 (find them at the Kermit ftp site in the kermit/f directory):
215 ckcker.ann - Release announcements.
216 ckccfg.txt - Configuration information (feature selection), general.
217 ckcplm.txt - Program logic manual (for programmers).
218 ckc300.txt - Program update history for edit 212-300 (C-Kermit 9.0).
219 ckc211.txt - Program update history for edit 201-211.
220 ckc200.txt - Program update history for edit 198-200 (big)
221 ckc197.txt - Program update history for edit 195-197 (big)
222 ckc190.txt - Program update history for edits 189-190 (big).
223 ckc188.txt - Program update history, edits 179-188 (big).
224 ckc178.txt - Program edit history, 5A edits through 178 (very big).
225 ckcv4f.txt - Program edit history, version 4F.
226 ckcv4e.txt - Program edit history, version 4E.
230 If you have FTP access to kermit.columbia.edu (also known as
231 kermit.cc.columbia.edu, ftp.cc.columbia.edu), you can also retrieve various
232 C-Kermit binaries from the directory kermit/bin/ck*.*, or more conveniently
235 http://www.columbia.edu/kermit/ck80binaries.html
237 Test versions would be in kermit/test/bin/ck*.*. Be sure to transfer these
238 files in binary mode. The READ.ME file in that directory explains what's
243 The source files for the UNIX version (all UNIX versions) are available in
244 kermit/archives/ckuNNN.tar.Z, approximately 1MB in size. Transfer this file
245 in binary mode. This is a compressed tar archive. There is also a gzip'd
246 version, cku211.tar.gz. To get the binary tar archive:
248 mkdir kermit (at shell prompt, make a Kermit directory)
249 cd kermit (make it your current directory)
251 ftp kermit.columbia.edu (make an ftp connection)
252 user: anonymous (log in as user "anonymous", lower case!)
253 password: (use your email id as a password)
254 cd kermit/archives (go to the archives directory)
255 type binary (specify binary file transfer)
256 get cku300.tar.Z (get the tar archive) (or get cku192.tar.gz)
257 bye (disconnect and exit from ftp)
259 uncompress cku300.tar.Z (at the shell prompt, uncompress the archive)
260 tar xvf cku300.tar (extract the files from the tar archive)
261 make xxx (build C-Kermit for your system)
263 (where "xxx" is the makefile entry appropriate for your system.)
265 All C-Kermit source and other text files are also kept separately in the
266 kermit/f directory. The files necessary to build a particular implementation
267 of C-Kermit are listed in the appropriate makefile or equivalent:
269 UNIX: makefile (or rename ckuker.mak to makefile)
270 2.11 BSD: ckubs2.mak (rename to makefile), ckustr.sed
271 Plan 9: ckpker.mk (rename to mkfile)
272 Macintosh: ckmker.mak (rename to kermit.make, use MPW C 3.2)
273 VMS: CKVKER.COM (DCL) (and optionally also CKVKER.MMS)
274 or CKVOLD.COM (for VMS 4.x)
275 Amiga: CKIKER.MAK (Aztec C) or CKISAS.MAK (SAS C)
277 OS-9: ck9ker.mak or ck9ker.gcc
278 AOS/VS: ckdmak.cli, ckdcc.cli, ckdlnk.cli
279 Stratus VOS: cklmak.cm
281 Minimal source files for building selected versions (these patterns get all
282 the files you need, and in some cases maybe a few extra):
284 UNIX: ck[cuw]*.[cwh] (including QNX, Plan 9, and BeBox)
285 UNIX: ck[cuw_]*.[cwh] (Unix with security modules)
286 VMS: ck[cuwv]*.[cwh] VMS
287 VMS: ck[cuwv_]*.[cwh] VMS with SSL/TLS
288 Mac: ck[cuwm]*.[cwhr] Old Mac OS, not Mac OS X, which is UNIX.
289 AOS/VS: ck[cuwd]*.[cwh]
291 Amiga: ck[cuwi]*.[cwh]
292 Atari: ck[cuws]*.[cwh]
293 OS-9: ck[cuw9]*.[cwha]
295 Finally, here is a more detailed description of the C-Kermit file naming
296 conventions. A C-Kermit filename has the form:
298 CK<system><what>.<type>
302 <system> is described earlier in this file;
304 <type> is the file type (use lowercase on UNIX, VOS, or AOS/VS):
307 h: Header file for C language source
308 w: Wart preprocessor source, converted by Wart (or Lex) to a C program
309 r: Macintosh resource file (8-bit text)
313 nr: Nroff/Troff text formatter source for UNIX "man page"
314 mss: Scribe text formatter source
315 ps: Typeset material to be printed on a PostScript printer
316 pdf: An Adobe PDF file
317 hlp: A VMS Help topic
319 ini: Initialization file
320 ksc: A Kermit Script to be executed by the TAKE command
321 kdd: A Kermit Dialing Directory
322 knd: A Kermit Network Directory
323 ksd: A Kermit Services Directory
325 mak: A Makefile or other build procedure (often needs renaming)
326 com: (VMS only) a DCL command procedure
327 cli: (AOS/VS only) a command procedure
328 cmd: (OS/2 only) a Rexx command procedure
330 boo: "boo"-encoded executable program, decode with CKBUNB program.
331 hex: "hex"-encoded executable program, decode with CKVDEH program (VMS only).
332 hqx: BinHex'd Macintosh Kermit program, decode with BinHex version 4.0.
333 uue: A uuencoded binary file, decode with uudecode or (DG only) CKDECO.
335 def: An OS/2 linker definitions file.
336 sh: A UNIX shell script.
337 sed: A UNIX sed (editor) script.
338 str: A file of character strings extracted from C-Kermit (BSD 2.1x only).
340 <what> is mnemonic (up to 3 characters) for what's in the file:
342 NOTE: After C-Kermit 6.0, text filetypes such as .DOC and .HLP were changed
343 to .TXT to avoid confusion in Windows-based Web browsers, which would
344 otherwise mistake them for Microsoft Word or Windows Help documents.
346 aaa: A "read-me" file, like this one
347 ins: Installation instructions or procedures
348 bwr: "Beware" file -- things to watch out for, hints and tips
349 plm: Program Logic Manual
350 ker: General C-Kermit definitions, information, documentation
352 nnn: Digits: C-Kermit edit number (e.g. cku300.tar.gz)
355 cns: CONNECT command (UNIX only - version that uses select(), not fork())
356 deb: Debug/Transaction Log formats, Typedefs
357 dia: Modem/Dialer control
358 fio: System-dependent File I/O
359 fns: Protocol support functions
360 fn2: More protocol support functions (and FN3, ...)
361 lib: Common library routines module
363 net: Network i/o module
366 tel: Telnet protocol module
367 tio: System-dependent communications i/o & control and interrupt handing
368 sig: Signal handling module
369 usr: Interactive/script user interface
370 us2: More user interface (mainly help text)
371 us3: Still more user interface (and USR4, USR5, USR6, USR7)
372 usx: Common user interface functions
373 usy: Command-line parsing
374 xla: Character set translation module
376 pty: Pseudoterminal support
377 mdb: Malloc-debugging module (not included in real builds)
378 str: Strings module (only for 2.xBSD)