BKUMSKMT.RVW 930831 Digital Press PO Box 3027 One Burlington Woods Drive Burlington, MA 01803-9593 800-DIGITAL (800-344-4825) "Using MS-DOS Kermit", Gianone, 1992 cmg@columbia.edu KERMIT@CUVMA.BITNET On the one hand, I don't like this book. It is responsible for the fact that the full Kermit documentation isn't included with the standard MS-DOS Kermit distribution any more. On the other hand, I like this book. It is responsible for the wider acceptance Kermit is having these days, and Kermit is an excellent protocol, system and program. Frank da Cruz can't exactly be seen as a disinterested bystander regarding all things "Kermit", so his praise of the book and its author in the Foreword are a bit suspect. By the end of chapter one, however, I was willing to suspend disbelief. It is one of the best general descriptions of the terminal emulation and file transfer processes I have ever read, pitched at just the right level for the non-technical reader. Chapter two is a quick look at getting started with Kermit on MS-DOS, and three is a quick look at MS-DOS, itself. Again, chapter three is about all most people need to know to use DOS on a hard disk, presented in admirable form. Chapter four deals fully with connection of modems, serial cables and phone jacks. Five covers testing of the setup, and some troubleshooting tests. Unlike most commercial communications program manuals, who want you to call their own BBS (long distance), the author has found an 800 number service to try out. (And it even works from Canada.) The process of using the program starts with chapter six. In proper pedagogical style, the user is introduced to the invocation and termination of the program, and the help system, along with some examples of the command structure. Chapter seven, entitled, "Getting Online", discusses communications parameters, not simply in terms of the commands needed, but describes what each parameter is, and what might result from an error. There is a brief discussion of MNP (Microcom Networking Protocol), which provides error correction and data compression in modern modems), and, although I have no right to expect it, I wish there was a bit on modem commands and settings here. Chapters eight to twelve cover the basics of communications commands. Terminal emulation is discussed thoroughly, and leads to key reassignment. File transfer, in chapter nine, leads to Kermit server operations: on the host in chapter ten, and the PC as server in chapter eleven. Chapter twelve covers non-protocol ASCII transfers. Chapter thirteen revisits terminal emulation with character sets and translations. This, of course, also covers character translations in file transfer. Chapter fourteen is the longest except for the command reference: it deals with macros and scripts. Even here the book does not become too technical; the intelligent novice should be quite comfortable in writing some fairly advanced scripts. Chapter fifteen is cute: it covers features for the physically, auditorily or visually challenged--and jumps from the previous ten point type up to fourteen point in order to do it. Network connections are discussed in chapter sixteen and, as promised, the command reference is in seventeen. The command reference also covers non-standard environments and devices. The glossary that Gianone has put together is of the same quality. Quite complete in terms of both data communications and the MS-DOS platform, the entries are clear and accessible to the intelligent novice. Three appendices round out the book. One is a set of tables of information, ranging from RS-232 pin assignments through selected "Hayes compatible" AT commands to ASCII codes. The second is a set of terminal "escape" sequences, while the third is a description of the files on the Kermit distribution diskette. At first I was a bit taken aback at the technical level of these appendices. These are the type of tables that I have been collecting for years while doing communications disgnostics and consulting. On the other hand, all it proves is that this book is for techies, too. I'll certainly be using it for reference in place of some of my well thumbed old tattered pages. Buy this book. If you are thinking of using MS-Kermit, buy this book. It is excellent documentation, and you get a free copy of MS-Kermit with it. If you are thinking of using Kermit on various platforms, buy this book. It is excellent documentation on Kermit as a whole, since the various versions at least make an attempt to present a consistent interface. If you are happy with another communications package, won't consider using non-commercial software, use a Mac and would never be caught dead using a command line interface, buy this book. It is an excellent presentation of data communications, and explains the functions, and not merely which keys to press. The material is broadly based, and is applicable to many systems of terminal emulation and file transfer. And who knows, you may just end up using Kermit after all ... copyright Robert M. Slade, 1993 BKUMSKMT.RVW 930831 ====================== DECUS Canada Communications, Desktop, Education and Security group newsletters Editor and/or reviewer ROBERTS@decus.ca, RSlade@sfu.ca, Rob Slade at 1:153/733 Author "Robert Slade's Guide to Computer Viruses" (Oct. '94) Springer-Verlag