Kermit Bibliography

Frank da Cruz
April 30, 2002
Most recent update: Fri Apr 7 10:42:33 2017

Also see:  [Printed books] [Online books]

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1. da Cruz, Frank, and Bill Catchings, "Kermit: A File Transfer Protocol for Universities", BYTE Magazine, Volume 9, Numbers 6 and 7, June and July 1984. The first published Kermit article, written in 1983, publication delayed for a year while BYTE waited for an appropriate theme issue. BYTE also changed the original title, "Kermit, A Simple File Transfer Protocol for Microcomputers and Mainframes" to fit its Computing in Academia theme. Of course BYTE's title is completely misleading and inappropriate.
2. Jesty, P.H., Networking with Microcomputers, Blackwell Scientific Publications (1985). Basic Kermit protocol summarized on pp.70-75.
3. Campbell, Joe, C Programmer's Guide to Serial Communications, Howard W Sams & Co, Indianapolis IN (1987), ISBN 0-672-22584-0. Includes a section on Kermit protocol, with illustrations, block diagrams, etc.
4. da Cruz, Frank, Kermit, A File Transfer Protocol, Digital Press, Bedford MA (1987), ISBN 0-932376-88-6. Foreword by Donald Knuth. The first Kermit book. Contains the Kermit Protocol definition. It remained in print from 1986 until 2001. That must be some kind of record for a computer book. Here too, the title was to have been "The Kermit File Transfer Protocol", but the cover designer changed it for layout reasons. A Russian edition was in preparation by the USSR Akademia Nauk prior to the dissolution of the Soviet Union. CLICK HERE to see Chapter 3.
5. da Cruz, Frank, and Christine M. Gianone, Using C-Kermit, Digital Press, Burlington MA (1993), ISBN 0-55558-108-0. C-Kermit 5A.
6. da Cruz, Frank, and Christine M. Gianone, Using C-Kermit, Second Edition, Digital Press / Butterworth Heinemann, Newton MA (1997), ISBN 0-55558-164-1. C-Kermit 6.0..
7. da Cruz, Frank, and Christine M. Gianone, C-Kermit: Einführung und Referenz, Verlag Heinz Heise, Hannover (1994), ISBN 3-88229-023-4. Hardcover. German translation by Gisbert W. Selke.
8. 藤井啓文, 湯浅富久子, MS-Kermit入門, Computer Todayライブラリ-6, サイエンス 社, 日本 (Fujii, Hirofumi, and Fukuko Yuasa, MS-Kermit Primer, Computer Today 6, Saiensu-Sha Co., Ltd.), Tokyo (1993) ISBN 4-7819-0669-9 C3355 P1854E. (COVER) Explains Kermit to the Japanese audience, focussing on the MS-DOS Kermit version for the NEC PC-9801.
9. Gianone, Christine M., Using MS-DOS Kermit, Digital Press, Bedford MA (1990), ISBN 1-55558-048-3. The first published Kermit software manual. Corresponds to MS-DOS Kermit 3.00.
10. Remote Access User's Guide: HP 9000 Computers, Hewlett Packard (1992). Part I, pp.2-2—2-59: Kermit.
11. Persson, Johan, Z-modem och Kermit — en jämförelse, ABC-Bladet No.4 (1996). Independent benchmark of Kermit and Zmodem file transfer (they come out almost exactly the same).
12. Gianone, Christine M., Using MS-DOS Kermit, Second Edition, Digital Press, Burlington MA (1992), ISBN 1-55558-082-3. MS-DOS Kermit 3.11 and later.
13. Gianone, Christine M., MS-DOS-Kermit, das universelle Kommunikationsprogramm, Verlag Heinz Heise, Hannover (1992), ISBN 3-88229-006-4. Hardcover. German translation by Gisbert W. Selke.
14. Gianone, Christine M., MS-DOS-Kermit, Mode d'Emploi, Heinz Schiefer & Cie., Versailles (1993), ISBN 2-901143-20-2. French translation by Jean Dutertre.
15. Gianone, Christine M., and Frank da Cruz, Kermit 95, Manning Publications, Greenwich CT (1996). The original Kermit 95 manual in printed form. Subsequent editions issued electronically.
16. Gofton, Peter W. Mastering Serial Communications, SYBEX, Berkeley CA (1986), ISBN 0-89588-180-2. Includes a chapter on Kermit protocol.
17. Huggins, James, "Kermit Protocol - Formal Specification and Verification", in Egon Börger, Ed., Specification and Validation Methods, Oxford University Press, Oxford (1995). In this paper, the Kermit protocol is formally specified and proven correct.
18. Kelly-Bootle, Stan, 680x0 Programming By Example, Howard W Sams & Co, Indianapolis IN (1988), ISBN 0-672-22544-1. Uses the Alpha Micro version of Kermit to illustrate Motorola 68000 assembly-language programming.
19. Kientzle, Tim, The Working Programmer's Guide to Serial Protocols, Coriolis Group Books, Scottsdale AZ (1995), ISBN 1-883577-20-9. Compares Kermit with other protocols such as Zmodem, and includes original source code for each protocol.
20. McNamara, John, Technical Aspects of Data Communication, Third Edition, Digital Press, Bedford MA (1988), ISBN 1-55558-007-6. The data communications "bible". Discusses Kermit as an example of a byte-count oriented protocol.
21. Quarterman, John, The Matrix: Computer Networks and Conferencing Systems Worldwide, Digital Press, Bedford MA (1990), ISBN 1-55558-033-5. Forewords by Tracey L. LaQuey, Vinton G. Cerf, and Frank da Cruz. Illustrates the role of Kermit in the worldwide "matrix" of interconnected computers circa 1990, before the Internet and the Web became ubiquitous.
22. Stoll, Clifford: The Cuckoo's Egg: Tracking a Spy Through the Maze of Computer Espionage, Doubleday, New York (1989), ISBN 0-385-24946-2. How German spies used Kermit to break into US computers and networks for the KGB.
23. Пакеты прикладных программ телеобработки данных на микроЭВМ, Библиотека МикроДОС, Выпуск 47, Международный Центр Научной и Технической Информации (МЦНТИ), Москва (Application Program Package for Data Teleprocessing on Microcomputers, MicroDOS Library, Issue 47, USSR International Centre for Scientific and Technical Information [ICSTI], Moscow) (1987). (COVER) Kermit software and protocol in the Soviet Union.
24. ПРОГРАММА ПЕРЕДАЧИ ФАЙЛОБ КЫРЬЕР-3/КАМА, Берция 2.2 (янбарь 1989): Руководцтво по эксплыатации. Международный Центр Научной и Технической Информации (МЦНТИ), Москва. File Transfer Program Courier-3/KAMA, Version 2.2 (January 1989), Operation manual. Prior to the International Kermit Conference in Moscow in May 1989, the Russians didn't believe they could use the name Kermit, so they called the protocol Courier. This is the user manual for the version of Kermit on the Soviet version of the IBM System/370, ЕС БЭСМ. (view as PDF.)

The following books (among many others) include brief presentations of technical aspects of Kermit protocol and/or its application in science.

• Coleridge-Smith, Philip D., et al., Microcomputers in Medicine, Springer-Verlag (1988).
• Libbey, Robert, Signal and Image Processing Soucebook, Van Nostrand Reinhold (1994).
• Ewing, Galen Wood, Analytical Instrumentation Handbook, 2nd ed., CRC Press (1997).
• Reed, Irving S., Error-Control Coding for Data Networks, Kluwer Academic (1999).
• Wirth, Niklaus, et al., The Art of Simplicity, Morgan Kaufmann (2000).
• Boerger, Egon, Abstract State Machines: A Method for High-Level System Design and Analysis, Springer-Verlag (2003).

Some articles accessible on the Internet

• da Cruz, Frank, Interchange of Non-English Computer Text (1994).
• Johnson, Mark B., "Effective Realization of Kermit's Microcomputer Potential", Proceedings ACM SIGUCCS, Montreal, 1986.
• Herrin, Golden E., "Kermit Protocol in Manufacturing", Modern Machine Shop, Nov.1989.
• Kermit News, 1986-1995.

Magazine and Newspaper Articles

Not including hundreds of Kermit software release announcements that appeared in the trade press from the early 1980s until about 1995 (when the trade press largely ceased to exist).

• Tzoar, Daphne, Kermit - The File Transfer Protocol Used at Columbia, SHARE 61 Proceedings (21-26 Aug 1983).
• da Cruz, Frank, Kermit for File Transfer, EDUNET News (Spring 1984), pp.5-6.
• da Cruz, Frank, The Kermit File Transfer Protocol, History and Update, Large Systems News, Digital Equipment Corporation, Vol.7, No.1 (Sep/Oct 1984).
• Hansen, Augie, Kermit, PC Tech Journal (Jan 1985), pp.110-123.
• Kermit mit K wie konkurrenzlos, Micro User Systems, Jahrgang 2 (May 1985).
• Nelson, Brian, Kermit Protocol and the PDP-11, DEC Professional (June 1986).
• Gianone, Christine M., Kermit File Transfer Protocol, EDU Magazine, Digital Equipment Corporation, No.44 (Spring 1987), pp.35-37.
• Kullmar, Bo, PC-Kermit, PC-Kermit, ABC-Bladet (No. 2, 1988)
• Kullmar, Bo, Kermit v 3.0, PC-Kermit, ABC-Bladet (No. 1, 1990)
• Gornostaev, Juri, and Konstantin Vinogradov, Kermit Wanders Around Eastern Europe, Moscow Computer Nuewletter Vol.1 No.1 (December 1990), pp.2-3.
• Rasmussen, Bob, Who is Kermit and why is he in my computer?, NCR Monthly (March 1990)
• Marcolanie, Kermit Toujours Juene, Decision (19 Feb 1990)
• Northrop, John, Kermit as a Connectivity Option, Digital News (26 Nov 1990).
• Gianone, Christine M., “Supplementing Your Network with Kermit Communications Software” International Journal of Network Management, Vol.1 No.2 (December 1991), pp.74-81.
• da Cruz, Frank, “Circumnavigating the Web with MS-DOS Kermit”, On The Internet, Internet Society, Vol.1 No.2 (May/June 1995), pp.48-52.
• Kientzle, Tim, Improving Kermit Performance, Dr. Dobb's Journal (Feb 1996), pp.28-38.
• Winston, Alan, “When You Say ‘Jump,’ Kermit Asks, ‘How High?’”, Micro Times, Issue No.222 (June 18, 2001).
• Gilsinan, Kathy, Kermit Hops on Space Station, Leaps to Bosnia, Columbia Daily Spectator (25 Nov 2003).
• Larkin, Michael, International Space Station Incorporates Columbia's Kermit Program, Columbia University Record (12 Nov 2003).
• da Cruz, Frank, Safe Network Computing: Windows Desktop, Computing News, University of Oregon (Winter 2003), also cited in Newsday, January 20, 2004.

Kermit Manual Translations

• da Cruz, Frank, Kermit: Un Protocole de Transfert de Fichiers entre Deux Ordinateurs par Telecommunication Asynchrone, Bulletin Technique No.86/05-6, CiSi Télématique (June 1985), translated from the English by Gerard Gaye.
• da Cruz, Frank, Manual do Protocolo Kermit, tradução de J. Ricardo B. Ghirlanda, Telecomunicações Brasileiras S.A. - TELEBRAS, Brasília (1986).
• Kermit-Ohjelmiston Käsikirjat, Kermit User Guide and Protocol Manual in Finnish, Tekniska Högskolan Helsingfors Räkencentralen, Espoo, Finland (early 1980s).
• Kermit User Guide in "Bangalini" (1985). Apparently a prank ("Bangalini, as you know, reads from left to right, but the binding is on the right").

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Kermit Bibliography / Columbia University / kermit@kermitproject.org / 2002-2017.