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This page displays the COHERENT manpage for ckermit [Interactive inter-system communication and file transfer].
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ckermit -- Command Interactive inter-system communication and file transfer ckermit [-abcdefghiklpqrstwx] [ file ... ] ckermit implements the kermit communications protocol. It lets you communicate with other systems via modem or network, and to exchange files with other systems that have also implemented the kermit protocol. Unlike the kermit command also included with the COHERENT system, ckermit uses an interactive shell to remove some of the pain from the process of exchanging files. The name ckermit relects the fact that this command is written in the C language, and so has been ported to many different machines and operating systems. You can run ckermit in either interactive mode or command mode. Simply typing the command ckermit invokes ckermit in interactive mode: ckermit displays a prompt, waits for your command, executes, then prompts you for its next command. Typing the command line plus one or more arguments invokes ckermit in command mode: ckermit then reads the arguments from the command line and executes them. After execution of the commands, ckermit returns to interactive mode. ckermit's command-line options name either actions or settings. An action option tells ckermit to send a file, receive a file, or connect to a remote system. The command line may contain no more than one action option. A settings option changes one or more of the internal values that control how ckermit operates; for example, one setting option lets you set the baud rate of the serial port that ckermit will be using. A command line can contain any number of settings options. Command-Line Options ckermit recognizes the following command-line options: -a filename Give an alternate name to a file being transferred. For example, the command ckermit -s foo -a bar transmits the file foo to a remote system, but tells the remote system that the file is named bar. Likewise, the command ckermit -ra baz stores the first incoming file under the name baz. If more than one file arrives or is sent, only the first file is affected by the -a option. -b baudrate Set the baud rate of the device to baudrate. -c Connect to serial port, and pass all subsequent typing to that port To resume talking to your local system, type the escape character followed by the letter `c'. The escape character is set by default to <ctrl-\>, although you can change it if you wish. -d Debug mode -- record debugging information in the file debug.log in the current directory. -e n Set the length of the packet to n where n is a number between ten and about 1,000. Lengths of 95 or greater require that the implementation of kermit on the remote system support the long- packet extension to the kermit protocol. -f Send a ``finish'' command to a remote server. -g file Ask a remote system to send file or files. The file name must use the remote system's own syntax; you must quote all characters normally expanded by the COHERENT shell, e.g.: ckermit -g x\*.\? -h Help -- display a brief synopsis of the command-line options. -i The ``image'' option: specify that the file being transmitted or received is an eight-bit binary file, and therefore no conversion should be performed upon the data being received. -k Passively receive file or files, copying them to standard output. -l device Name the serial device to be used. For example ckermit -l /dev/com2l tells ckermit to use device /dev/com2l. -n Like -c, but used after a protocol transaction has occurred. You can use both -c and -n in the same command. -p x Set parity, where x is one of e, o, m, s, or n (respectively, even, odd, mark, space, or none). If parity is other than none, then ckermit uses the eighth-bit prefixing mechanism to transfer binary data, provided the impementation of kermit on the remote system agrees. The default parity is none. -q Quiet -- suppress screen update during file transfer; for example, this lets you transfer a file in the background. -r Receive a file or files. Wait passively for files to arrive. -s file Send the specified file or files. If fn is `-' then ckermit sends from standard input, which may come from a file: ckermit -s - < foo.bar or come from a parallel process: ls -l | ckermit -s - You cannot use this mechanism to send text typed from the keyboard. To send a file named `-', precede it with a path name, e.g.: ckermit -s ./- -t Specify half duplex, line turnaround with XON as the handshake character. -w Write-Protect -- avoid file-name collisions for incoming files. -x Begin server operation. This option can be used in either local or remote mode. If ckermit is in local mode, shows the progress of the file transfer. A dot is printed for every four data packets; other packets are shown by type (e.g., `S' for Send-Init); `T' is printed when there's a timeout; and `%' is printed for each retransmission. During file transfer, you can type the following ``interrupt'' commands: <ctrl-F> Interrupt the current file and go on to the next, if any. <ctrl-B> Interrupt the entire batch of files and terminate the transaction. <ctrl-R> Resend the current packet. <ctrl-A> Display a status report for the current transaction. These interrupt characters differ from the ones used in other implementations of ckermit to avoid conflict with the COHERENT shell's interrupt characters. Interactive Operation When you invoke ckermit in interactive mode, it displays the following prompt. C-Kermit> Type any valid ckermit command; the set of valid commands is described below. ckermit executes the command and then prompts you for another. The process continues until you tell it to quit. Commands begin with a keyword, normally an English verb, such as send. You can abbreviate any keyword, as long as you type enough characters to distinguish it from all other keywords. Certain commonly used keywords (e.g., send, receive, connect) have special non-unique abbreviations (respectively, `s', `r', and `c'). Certain characters have special functions in interactive commands: ? Print a message that explains what is possible or expected at the current point within a command. Depending upon the context, the message may be a brief phrase, a menu of keywords, or a list of files. <esc> Request completion of the current keyword or file name, or insertion of a default value. ckermit will beep if the requested operation fails. <tab> does the same thing. <del> Delete the previous character from the command. <backspace> does the same thing. <ctrl-W> Erase the rightmost word from the command line. <ctrl-U> Erase the entire command. <ctrl-R> Redisplay the current command. <space> Delimit fields (keywords, filenames, numbers) within a command. <return> Execute the command. \ Insert any of the above characters into the command, literally. To enter a literal backslash, type two backslashes in a row (\\). Typing one backslash immediately <return> lets you continue the command on the next line. ckermit recognizes the following interactive commands: ! command Execute a shell command. A space must follow the !. % A comment. ckermit ignores everything that follows the %. bye Terminate and log out a remote kermit server. close Close a log file. connect Connect to the remote system. cwd directory Change the working directory to directory. dial Dial a telephone number. directory Display a directory listing. echo Display arguments literally. Useful in take-command files. exit Exit from the program, closing any open logs. finish Instruct a remote kermit server to exit, but not log out. get Get files from a remote kermit server. hangup Hang up the telephone. help Display a help message for a given command. log Open a log file -- debugging, packet, session, transaction. quit Same as exit. receive Passively wait for files to arrive. remote Issue file-management commands to a remote kermit server. script Execute a login script with a remote system. send file Send file to the remote kermit server. server Begin server operation. set Set various internal parameters. show Display values of parameters, program version, etc. space Display current disk space usage. statistics Display statistics about most recent transaction. take Execute commands from a file. Interactive ckermit accepts commands from files as well as from the keyboard. Upon startup, ckermit looks for the file .kermrc first in directory $HOME and then in the current directory; if it finds the file, it executes all commands it finds therein. These commands must be in interactive format. Command files may be nested to any reasonable depth. The set Command As noted above, the set command lets you set the internal parameters by which ckermit operates. The set command recognizes the following arguments: block-check Level of packet error detection. delay Time to wait before sending first packet. duplex Specify which side echoes during connect mode. escape-character Character to prefix escape commands during connect mode. file Set various file parameters. flow-control Communication line full-duplex flow control. handshake Communication line half-duplex turnaround character. line Communication-line device name. modem-dialer Type of modem-dialer on communication line. parity Communication line character parity. prompt Change the ckermit program's prompt. receive Set various parameters for inbound packets. retry Set the packet retransmission limit. send Set various parameters for outbound packets. speed Communication line speed. Remote Commands ckermit also has a suite of commands that are sent to the remote system for execution. They are as follows: cwd Change remote working directory (also, remote cd). delete Delete remote files. directory Display a listing of remote file names. help Request help from a remote server. host Issue a command to the remote host in its own command language. space Display current disk space usage on remote system. type Display a remote file on your screen. who Display the users logged in to the remote system, or get information about a user. Files .kermrc -- ckermit initialization commands See Also commands, kermit, uucp Notes The kermit protocol was developed at the Columbia University Center for Computing Activities. ckermit is copyright © by the Trustees of Columbia University. On some remote systems, the command hangup does not hang up the telephone properly. If this occurs, add the following macro to file $HOME/.kermrc: define myhangup sleep 2,output +++,sleep 2,output ATH0\13 This create a macro named myhangup, which you can invoke to hang up the remote telephone. To test the proper load of the macro, type the following at the ckermit prompt: show macro myhangup It should show the command sequence. If it is intact, you can execute the new hangup command by typing myhangup. Please note that ckermit is provided in binary form per the licensing terms set forth by its copyright holders. It is distributed as a service to COHERENT customers, as is. It is not supported by Mark Williams Company. Caveat utilitor.