Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!mailrus!ames!ncar!noao!grandi
From: grandi@noao.arizona.edu (Steve Grandi)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: ZCOMM is very buggy
Message-ID: <683@noao.UUCP>
Date: 22 Apr 88 01:26:20 GMT
References: <2598@pasteur.Berkeley.Edu>
Reply-To: grandi@noao.arizona.edu (Steve Grandi)
Distribution: na
Organization: National Optical Astronomy Observatories, Tucson AZ
Lines: 37

In article <2598@pasteur.Berkeley.Edu> iverson@cory.Berkeley.EDU.UUCP 
(Tim Iverson) writes:
>
>After reading the docs on ZCOMM, I thought that it looked liked a very
>promising program - not so. 

I have a different opinion.  I find ZCOMM (and its little brother DSZ) a
very useful program.  I use it regularly on an XT clone and I occasionally
use it on a laptop.  The VT100 emulation is excellent, but this portion of
the program is definitely not very "pleasant."  However, the file transfer
capabilities are (in my opinion) unsurpassed by any other program.  ZCOMM
makes very good use of the available hardware (I've tested my Unix
Xmodem/Ymodem program against some emulators that are absolute DOGS in file
transfer performance).  Finally, the program is actively supported and I
regularly download a new version from simtel-20 every month or so. 

The learning curve is STEEP (but I prefer a useful command driven program
to an unwieldly menu system any day).  I agree that the manual is quite
opaque and not very useful; the big advantage of registration is not a
typeset manual but the quick reference card!  There are huge portions of
the program (the script language and "Turbolearn") that I have completely
ignored due to a lack of need and their seeming complexity.  The quick
update cycle leads to feeping creatureism (if you wait too long to update,
the "recent changes"  document doesn't go back enough versions!). 
Furthermore, my prejudice towards small, quick loading, executables is
mightly offended by the program's size. 

In any event, when I take our communal laptop on a trip, my floppy features
zcomm.  In other environments, I might recommend using a more "pleasant" 
terminal emulator and DSZ for file transfer (DSZ contains the superb file
transfer portions of ZCOMM).  For example, we have a site license for the
DCS EM4010 program and rather than use the wimpy file transfer module
embedded in EM4010, I hot-key back to DOS and fire up DSZ.
-- 
Steve Grandi, National Optical Astronomy Observatories, Tucson AZ, 602-325-9228
UUCP: {arizona,decvax,ncar,ihnp4}!noao!grandi or uunet!noao.arizona.edu!grandi 
Internet: grandi@noao.arizona.edu    SPAN/HEPNET: 5356::GRANDI or DRACO::GRANDI