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From: ABN.ISCAMS%usc-isid@sri-unix.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.micro
Subject: Buffered Downloads
Message-ID: <12456@sri-arpa.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 8-Oct-83 14:03:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: sri-arpa.12456
Posted: Sat Oct  8 14:03:00 1983
Date-Received: Sat, 22-Oct-83 03:44:18 EDT
Lines: 40

Problem:  When hanging a micro off a network or mainframe via a modem
and telephone line, I often want to download text or data (mostly text)
to a disk.  Unfortunately some networks and mainframes do NOT have a
compatible file transferral program, or I don't want to write my end of
one that'll work with what the mainframe does have.

I know about PIPMODEM and have successfully used it to download files,
breaking up large files in an editor as necessary to download a chunk
at a time (so as not to overload PIPMODEM's buffer and lose data as PIPMODEM
pauses to write its buffer to disk).  (Yeah, that happens big time when
there's a delay between PIPMODEM's ^S and the network's halting the
text output -- quite routine off my TAC here at Bragg.)

I know about the Christensen MODEM protocols, but haven't found the
equivalent on the ARPAnet that'll control my TAC/IMP and allow for that
doggoned delay.

Sure, I could kludge up something that would write to buffer; when full,
send a ^S; keep accepting and storing data until it someday stops; write
buffer to disk; clear buffer; move overflow to bottom of buffer; ^Q to
get text flowing again; etc., etc., but I ain't so very good in Assembler
yet that such an exercise is a cause for rejoicing.

Anybody know of a nice little program out there (CP/M, 8080) that does
such fancy bufferizing?

My TAC's terminal protocols permit flagging "TERMINAL PAUSE ON END-OF-PAGE",
and it dependably and immediately halts after a screenful of data; and
then dependably and immediately commences scrolling new data on transmittal
of a ^Q; so I can work with that just fine.  I just need that fancy buffer
overflow bit.

This might be useful to others that just want a down and dirty, no error
trapping, download full speed, program that'll trap scrolling text and
write to a disk.  I'll summarize if I get any answers from you all out in
NetLand, or if I break down and do it myself.

Thanks in advance.

David Kirschbaum