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From: daemon@ucbvax.UUCP
Newsgroups: fa.info-vax
Subject: Re: UNIX Kermit vs IBM PC Kermit
Message-ID: <828@ucbvax.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 15-Sep-83 06:10:22 EDT
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.828
Posted: Thu Sep 15 06:10:22 1983
Date-Received: Sat, 17-Sep-83 05:36:55 EDT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.UUCP
Organization: U. C. Berkeley Computer Science
Lines: 28

>From GEOFF5@SRI-CSL  Thu Sep 15 03:10:09 1983
KERMIT is a lot like MODEM, but it has variable length packets rather than
fixed blocks, encodes nonprintable data printably to let it get past various
kinds of unfriendly front ends and into hosts that swallow control characters
or strip parity (notably IBM mainframes), runs (I believe) on a wider variety
of systems, has more thorough documentation, etc.  Where MODEM is designed more
for micro-to-micro communication, KERMIT is most at home in micro-to-mainframe
environments, although it will also work micro-to-micro and mainframe-to-
mainframe; it was initially designed & written by people with mainframe rather
than microcomputer backgrounds, and (unfortunately) in total ignorance of
MODEM.  We were fortunate, however, in starting with the requirement for a
protocol that worked among DEC-20s, IBM mainframes (VM/CMS), and CP/M micros.
Among those three very different types of systems, all the bases were
covered, and any system that has come along since then has fit easily into the
scheme.

KERMIT is not really 'souped up' with respect to MODEM; in some cases it may be
less efficient, but on the other hand it will work on systems that MODEM
couldn't work on, namely systems that can't accept blocks of 128 arbitrary
8-bit bytes, or over networks (like TELENET) or through front ends (like IBM
3705s) that will not transmit them unmolested.

For further information, take a look at the file KER:00README.TXT at host
COLUMBIA-20 via anonymous FTP, which will point you at thorough documentation,
source files for various implementations, etc.

- Frank
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