Online C-Kermit documentation...

Index to the "Using C-Kermit" PDF + supplements

Frank da Cruz, fdc@kermitproject.org
Most recent update: Tue Oct 25 11:54:52 2022

This is a first attempt at an index to all the documentation for C-Kermit: the book, the update notes for post-book releases, and various ad-hoc web pages, all organized by topic.

Using C-Kermit Second Edition (1997) is the last version of the C-Kermit manual that was printed as a book. It applies to C-Kermit 6.0. A PDF version of the 2nd editiion is available HERE; it is a fully functional searchable PDF with a live Table of Contents in the left panel that allows easy navigation, and with all figures and tables included.

A newer edition of the book from 2001, the "2.5th edition" has been available online as a PDF since 2016. This was to be the manual for C-Kermit 8.0 but our publisher (Digital Press) disappeared before it could be completed. Nevertheless, it is signifcantly more up-to-date than the 1997 edition. The PDF is searchable but it has some shortcomings (explained in greater detail in its Foreword):

• The table of contents is at the end instead of the beginning;
• The table of contents is not "live" (it's not clickable);
• The figures are missing.

This page provides a live table of contents for the PDF and and access to all the figures.  Furthermore, links are provided to supplements (on the Kermit website) that document features added in newer C-Kermit releases. Some of these are standalone pages (such as this one) and others are links to relevant sections in the update notes for C-Kermit 7.0, 8.0, or 9.0.

New resources

• C-Kermit 10.0 tutorial
• C-Kermit 10.0 command reference

Using C-Kermit: clickable table of contents

Click on a boldface chapter name to go that chapter. If a chapter has sections, clicking on "[sections]" shows them in a clickable list. If the chapter has figures, clicking on "[figures]" shows them. When you click on a chapter or section, you are taken to the top of the page where the chapter or section starts; there is no way to link to a specific spot within a PDF page, so you might need to scroll down a bit until you see the desired material.

Foreword    i

Preface    xvii

Acknowledgments    xviii

[sections]  Chapter 1: Introduction    1   [figures]

Why Kermit?    3
How Kermit Works    5

[sections]  Chapter 2: Running C-Kermit    11

Supplement: Command modifiers (switches) (new to Kermit 7.0)

Starting C-Kermit    12
Exiting from C-Kermit    13
Entering Interactive Commands    14
Command Files    24
Describing Kermit’s Commands    26
Pattern Syntax    33
Command Switches    35
Some Basic C-Kermit Commands    41
More C-Kermit Commands    44
The C-Kermit Initialization File    49
Commands for Controlling Commands    52
Summary Tables    55

[sections]  Chapter 3: Making Serial-Port and Modem Connections    57   [figures]

Supplement: Serial port and modem cables

Supplement: Additional serial port controls

Opening the Serial Port    59
Direct Serial Connections    68
Dialed Serial Connections    69
The Connection Log    78
Troubleshooting Dialed Connections    80
Command Summary    84

[sections]  Chapter 4: Configuring Modems    87

Supplement: More about dialing (C-Kermit 7.0)

Supplement: More about modems and dialing (C-Kermit 8.0)

Choosing a Specific Modem Type    88
Important Settings    93
Changing Things    94
Modifying Modem Commands    96
Adapting a New Modem to Kermit    99
Adapting Kermit to a New Modem    100
Modem Command List    109
Modem-Related Variables    110

[sections]  Chapter 5: The Dialing Directory    113

Dialing Directory Files    114
Dialing Directory Format    115
Looking up and Dialing Numbers    115
Literal Entries    117
Portable Entries    118
Using Portable Entries    122
Command Summary    135

[sections]  Chapter 6: Network Connections    137

Making Network Connections    138
TCP/IP Networks    140
Making LAT Connections    148
X.25 Networks    149
Named Pipes    153
NETBIOS    154
Using the Network Directory    155
Command-Line Options for Network Connections    158
Command Summary    159 (primarily Internet TCP/IP)

Supplement: C-Kermit's SSH client

Supplement: C-Kermit's Telnet client

Supplement: C-Kermit's FTP client (long; all of Section 3)

Supplement: FTP client frequently asked questions

Supplement: C-Kermit's HTTP client

Supplement: Internet Kermit Service Daemon

Supplement: Secure connections with SSH, SSL/TLS, Kerberos, etc.

Supplement: More about network connections

Supplement: More about X.25

[sections]  Chapter 7: The Services Directory    161

Login Macros    162
Connection Details    164
Sample Services Directory    165

[sections]  Chapter 8: Terminal Connection    169   [figures]

Supplement: New terminal mode options (C-Kermit 7.0)

Supplement: More about terminal mode

Supplement: Key mapping in C-Kermit

The CONNECT Command    170
Closing the Connection    173
CONNECT-Mode Keyboard Escape Commands    174
Setting Terminal Parameters    179
Coordinating Screen Dimensions    182
Key Mapping    183
C-Kermit in the Middle    184
Automatic Actions While in CONNECT Mode    186
Logging and Debugging Your Terminal Session    187
Command Summary    190

[sections]  Chapter 9: The Basics of File Transfer    193   [figures]

Supplement: File-transfer command switches

Supplement: Using wildcard characters to specify groups of files

Supplement: File scanning - automatic text/binary mode detection and switching

Supplement: Transferring directory trees recursively

Supplement: Transferring "large" (huge) files

Supplement: File-transfer pipes and filters

Getting Started    193
Basic File Transfer Commands    194
Easy File Transfer Examples    199
Local-Mode File Transfer    204
Interrupting a File Transfer   
Transferring Text Files    211
Transferring Binary Files    212
Building a Send List    213
File Names    215
Transferring Files between Similar Systems    216
Directory Names    216
Filename Collisions    218
Incomplete File Transfers    219
Recovering from Interrupted File Transfers    219
File Attributes    222
Odds and Ends    225
Keeping a Record of Your File Transfers    226
Summary    227

[sections]  Chapter 10: Solving File Transfer Problems    229   [figures]

Parity    230
Speed and Flow Control in the Full Duplex Environment    232
Half Duplex Communication    235
The Pause that Refreshes    236
Noise and Interference    236
Timeouts    238
Transparency Problems    239
IBM Mainframe Linemode Communication    241
IBM Mainframe Full-Screen Communication    243
For X.25 Users Only    245
If Files Are Corrupt after Transfer    246
Collecting the Evidence    247

[sections]  Chapter 11: Using a Kermit Server    249

Supplement: Additional client/server features

Configuring the Server    250
Starting the Server    253
Sending Commands to Kermit Servers    255
Transmission of Variables    264
Turning the Tables    264
Command Summary    265

[sections]  Chapter 12: High-Speed Kermit File Transfer    267   [figures]

Supplement: Streaming (new to C-Kermit 7.0)

Overview of the Kermit Protocol    268
A Word about Efficiency    270
Analyzing Kermit’s Performance    271
Data Compression    274
Long Packets    276
Sliding Windows    278
Single and Locking Shifts    282
Control Character (Un)Prefixing    285
Case Study: Achieving the Best Transfer Rate    288
Summary and Conclusion    292

[sections]  Chapter 13: Automatic File Transfer and Command Execution    295

Remote-Control File Transfer    295
Automatic Uploading    296
Automatic Uploading, Part Deux    297
Automatic Command Execution    300

[sections]  Chapter 14: External Protocols    303

Sending Files    305
Receiving Files    305
Things to Watch Out for    306
Command Summary    306

[sections]  Chapter 15: Transferring Files without a Protocol    307

Supplement: Additional options for the TRANSMIT command

Downloading to C-Kermit    308
Uploading from C-Kermit    310
Encoding 8-Bit Data Files for Transmission    315
Command Summary    316

[sections]  Chapter 16: International Character Sets    317   [figures]

Supplement: Additional character sets including Unicode/UTF-8

Supplement: List of character sets supported by C-Kermit

Supplement: Tables for many of the the character sets supported by C-Kermit

Proprietary Character Sets    318
Standard Character Sets    319
International Characters in Commands    322
International Characters in Terminal Emulation    323
Transferring International Text Files    328
Translating without Transferring    345
One-Sided Translation    346
Labor-Saving Devices    347
Command Summary    348

[sections]  Chapter 17: Command Files, Macros, and Variables    351

Supplement: Variable syntax and evaluation

Supplement: Dates and times in commands

Supplement: Taming the Wild Backslash Part Deux

Command Files Revisited    352
Macros    356
Macro Arguments    363
A Macro Sampler    367
Variables    371

[sections]  Chapter 18: Programming Commands    391   [figures]

Supplement: New script programming features in C-Kermit 7.0 (long)

Supplement: Generalized file input and output (new to C-Kermit 7.0)

Supplement: File management commands

Supplement: Super-powerful RENAME command

Supplement: The CHANGE command - automated editing of files

Supplement: Table of C-Kermit's backslash escapes

Supplement: Table of C-Kermit's built-in functions (new 2019)

Supplement: Table of C-Kermit's built-in variables (new 2019)

The IF Command    391
The STOP and END Commands    401
The GOTO Command    403
Structured Programming    406
Built-in Functions    412
Can We Talk?    427
Using Escape Sequences    430
Reading and Writing Files and Commands    434
Programming Considerations    437
Summary of Built-in Functions    439

[sections]  Chapter 19: Script Programming    441   [figures]

Supplement: C-Kermit scripting tutorial and script library

Supplement: Kermit script language portability reference

Supplement: Automating FTP sessions

Supplement: Using CSV and TSV files

Supplement: Scalar and associative arrays

Supplement: S-Expressions - C-Kermit's built-in LISP intepreter

Automated Connection Establishment    442
Synchronization Commands    445
Constructing a Login Script for VMS    454
A UNIX Login Script    463
An IBM Mainframe Linemode Login Script    464
An IBM Mainframe Fullscreen Login Script    465
Login Scripts for Commercial Data Services    467
A Directory of Services    470
Unattended File Transfer    474
Passwords and Security versus Automation    476
Automatic File Transfer Recovery    480
Calling an Alphanumeric Pager    481
Some Things We Didn’t Tell You    484
The SCRIPT Command    486

[sections]  Appendix I: Starting and Stopping C-Kermit    489

Program Termination    491
Command-Line Options    493
Command-Line Examples    504
Environment Variables    506

[sections]  Appendix II: A Condensed Guide to Serial Data Communications   509   [figures]

Character Format and Parity    509
Modems    512
Cables and Connectors    522
Summary    526

[sections]  Appendix III: UNIX C-Kermit    529

Installation    529
Using UNIX C-Kermit    537
Command Summary    553

[sections]  Appendix IV: VMS C-Kermit    555

Preparing Your VMS Session for C-Kermit    555
Using VMS C-Kermit    557
Command Summary    577

[sections]  Appendix V: AOS/VS C-Kermit    579

Using C-Kermit in AOS/VS    580

[sections]  Appendix VI: Other C-Kermit Versions    585

Amiga C-Kermit    585
OS-9 C-Kermit    588
Others    590

[sections]  Appendix VII: Character Set Tables    591   [figures]

Supplement: Table 5: East European Character Sets (corrected)

Supplement: Table 7: Hebrew Character Sets (corrected)

The ASCII and ISO 646 IRV Character Set    593
7-Bit Control Characters    594
7-Bit Roman Character Sets    595
West European Character Sets    596
East European Character Sets    600
Cyrillic Character Sets    602
Hebrew Character Sets    606

Appendix VIII: Country Codes    609

Appendix IX: Hexification Programs    613

Appendix X: Shift-Out/Shift-In Filter    615

Acronyms and Abbreviations    617

References    631

Trademarks and Copyrights    637

Update notes for C-Kermit 7.0, 8.0, 9.0, and 10.0

Page name	Topic
ckermit70.html	C-Kermit 7.0 update notes (2000)
ckermit80.html	C-Kermit 8.0 update notes (2003)
ckermit90.html	C-Kermit 9.0 update notes (2011)
ckupdates.html	C-Kermit 10.0 update notes (in progress, 2022)
ckvariables.html	C-Kermit 9.0 built-in variables (2019)
ckfunctions.html	C-Kermit 9.0 built-in functions (2019)

For sysadmins and developers

Page name	Topic
cu-bsd-license.html	Kermit software license
ckcplm.html	C-Kermit program logic manual (such as it is)
ckdaily.html	C-Kermit current development
ckuins.html	C-Kermit installation instructions for Unix
ckubwr.html	C-Kermit "beware" file - hints and tips for Unix
ckvins.html	C-Kermit installation instructions for VMS
ckvbwr.html	C-Kermit beware file for VMS
ckcbwr.html	C-Kermit beware file for all platforms
ckccfg.html	C-Kermit build-time configuration options
ckcbwr.html	C-Kermit hints and tips for all platforms
ckfaq.html	C-Kermit frequently asked questions
ck90specs.html	C-Kermit 9.0 specifications
ck90tables.html	C-Kermit 9.0 long file support on different platforms
kpackets.html	Kermit protocol packet reference (new 2022)
ck10devbuilds.html	C-Kermit 10.0 development builds