Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!hellgate.utah.edu!helios.ee.lbl.gov!nosc!crash!simpact!dsmith
From: dsmith@simpact.com
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Kermit with FIXED FILE TYPE
Message-ID: <744.25742772@simpact.com>
Date: 30 Nov 89 02:01:06 GMT
References: <11748@cc.usu.edu>
Organization: Simpact Associates, San Diego CA
Lines: 24

In article <11748@cc.usu.edu>, JRD@cc.usu.edu (Joe Doupnik) writes:
> Andy,
>         Perhaps someone has responded already to your problem with tranferring
> VMS executables to MS-DOS machines and back to VMS, using Kermit. The intrinsic
> problem is that VMS executables are not simple flat files, yet MS DOS supports
> only a flat file system. Thus the gotcha will exist with any of the comms
> programs. Solution: put the VMS executables in a DEC Saveset, on Kermit-32
> (the VMS side) say SET FILE TYPE BINARY, get them to the PC with MS Kermit,
> and later reverse this process, and finally use VMS BACKUP to unpack the
> Saveset. Kermit-32 needs the SET FILE TYPE BINARY command whereas MS Kermit
> does not (and does not even have it in all the current releases). As you
> gather, Savesets are flat archive files and can hold just about anything
> at all.
>         Joe D.

This is not totally true. I have been transfering VAX/VMS executables for
several years now using MS-DOS kermit.  The VAX/VMS system knows the format
for the executable when it was created, so that it can be directly down-
loaded to the PC with kermit.  The only tricky part is in creating the
proper file type on the target VAX/VMS system.  This is done using the
SET FILE TYPE FIXED on the kermit-32 system just before the file is
uploaded to the target VAX.

    Dave Smith