Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!steinmetz!glacier!elliott From: elliott@glacier.steinmetz Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple Subject: Re: the perfect telecommunications program Summary: It ain't "perfect", but keep an eye on ATP too. Message-ID: <11767@steinmetz.ge.com> Date: 7 Aug 88 19:18:48 GMT References: <8808042349.aa28340@SMOKE.BRL.MIL> <367@unocss.UUCP> Sender: news@steinmetz.ge.com Reply-To: elliott@crd.ge.com (Jim Elliott) Organization: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY Lines: 92 [In reading this, be aware that I am biased; I wrote ATP] In article <367@unocss.UUCP> tucker@unocss.UUCP (Gregory A. Tucker) writes: >From article <8808042349.aa28340@SMOKE.BRL.MIL>, by A1T@ECL.PSU.EDU (Andy): >> I'm looking for a really good communications program. Right now, I use >> 3 or 4 different ones, depending on what i'm doing, because each has >> its specific strengths and weaknesses. Here are the features I'm looking >> for: >> >> -Really good VT100 emulation (Kermit is good enough for me on this) > >ATP by has the best VT100 emulation that I am aware of. According to >the author, ATP will support all vt100 functions that the hardware will >allow. Thanks! :) From what I have heard, Z-Link does emulate all the VT100 commands that you are likely to need. I can't imagine being satisfied with Kermit as a terminal emulator, though, Andy. The systems you call must not take advantage of many VT100 features. >> -Easy-to-enter commands (here, i think z-link is the best) >ATP gets my vote! It's so nice to have user support! >> -macros (i guess TIC or z-link are good on this one, but i haven't done >> a lot with them) >Macros? ATP's specialty, besides its excellent terminal emulation. Well, I'll be the first to admit my macros are rather cryptic. But they are powerful. >> Does such a program exist!?!?!? Actually I'm watching the Z-link development >> very closely since it seems to be getting there... >> >> Andy Tefft You might want to watch ATP as well. Both programs seem to be growing towards very similar ends, though starting from rather different directions. I don't know if any program that fully matches your (rather demanding, if I may humbly say so as a developer) list of features will ever be written. I for one am not planning to ever support DOS 3.3, since I never use it, and do not consider it useful. Most of the other things you mentioned either already exist in ATP or are targeted for inclusion. When you mention that a terminal program should "quit to DOS" then say that Kermit does this, you're actually being a little misleading; Kermit runs under BASIC.SYSTEM, and simply quits to that. Some of us do not use BASIC.SYSTEM; there are much better command shells out there (like Davex). If you are running one of these, when you quit from a ProDOS application (like a terminal program) you automatically get sent back to the command shell. It's very nice; you might want to investigate them. >Too bad Z-link runs only on enhanced //es, since it sound like I am >missing out on a good thing. Oh well. I am using Kermit for file >transfers and ATP for everything else. At this point ATP is incomplete >and the printer options don't work on my machine, but it seems to have the >most promise for my needs. Andy, I think you are looking for ProComm. >Unfortunately, it runs on PC compatibles... > > Gregory A. Tucker- Consultant | Internet: conslt05%zeus.dnet@fergvax.unl.edu > Campus Computing | Bitnet: CONSLT05@UNOMA1 > Univ. of Nebraska at Omaha | UUCP: uunet!btni!unocss!tucker Yes, I may enhance my system soon myself. Z-Link does sound like a good program, and I should try it out sometime (to see what other things are missing from ATP... :^) I, too, use Kermit for transfers and ATP for everything else. I'm looking for a good pseudo-code description of Kermit so I can include it as a segment. Gregory, when you said ATP was incomplete, did you mean that you had not yet received your registered copy? Or do you just mean that it is incomplete in the sense of being a program in which the author still has interest and plans for extension? If, having received your registered copy, you still have problems with your printer, please send me e-mail about it so I can look into fixing them... Right now I think it's time to write initial versions of a capture buffer, a file viewer, maybe a simple editor, and XMODEM transfer. I'll probably write a simple version of a ProDOS command shell soon too, since it looks like the link to Davex is on hold indefinitely. "how can they hear me say those words and still they don't believe me and if they don't believe me now will they ever believe me?" -The Smiths, "The Boy With the Thorn in his Side" . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . ... . . Jim Elliott / ...!seismo!uunet!steinmetz!crd!elliott / userE2U7@rpitsmts.BITNET "Don't look, son, it's / Jim_Elliott%mts@itsgw.rpi.edu [school] a secular humanist!" / (or) elliott@ge-crd.arpa [work] . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . . . ... . .