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modified scan code This is normally the value returned by the ROM BIOS
indicating the key's physical location on the keyboard. If the
raw scancode equals 224 (extended keyboard only), the modified
scancode consists of the scancode added to the ZCOMM internal
code. It is shown by the second number printed by the _
(underscore) command.
shift state The arithmetic sum of the following conditions:
1 Right hand shift key
2 Left hand shift key
4 Ctrl Key
8 Alt key
16 Provided the Shift, Crrl, and Alt key states match, select
this mapping regardless of whether the Application Keypad Mode
or the Decoded Function Key conditions (below) are true.
32 Alternate Keypad Mode (not numeric)
64 Decoded Function Key (Character value greater than 0400 as
displayed by the _ (underscore) command.
128 Select this mapping unconditionally.
Note that a separate entry must be made for each shift key
(left/right). A separate entry may be made for BOTH left and
right shif keys provided your computer's BIOS recognizes
characters entered with both shift keys down.
class
0 Cursor Code (LRUD). In VT52 mode, ESC is prepended to the
string. In VT100 Application mode, "ESC [" is prepended. In
VT100 Cursor mode, "ESC O" is prepended.
1 PFK Key. In VT52 mode, ESC is prepended, otherwise "ESC O".
2 Numeric Keypad. Not mapped in Numeric Keypad mode. In
Alternate Keypad mode, the string is prepended with with
"ESC ?" for VT52, "ESC O" for VT100.
3 An ESC is prepended.
4 No characters are added to the string.
string A string of 1 to 7 characters taken from the third column
above. Control characters must be represented with ZCOMM
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character escapes.
96 keyboard mapping entries are allowed.
EXAMPLE: We wish to map the Up key to send the VT100 cursor up code.
First, we see _ (underscore) command dislays 72 72 0 510 for the Up
key, indicating a scan code of 72, modified scan code of 72, 0 shift
state, and a ZCOMM internal code of 0510 (Function Key). (Exit the _
command by typing Ctrl-Enter).
To make this key always active in "display mapkb" mode, assign it a
shift state of 16. Since VT100 cursor keys have class 0, the command
is: mk 72 16 0 A
EXAMPLE: mk 72 1 0 A maps "right shift keypad 8" to send the VT100
cursor up code (assumes right shift key).
The set command may also be used to define suitable key mappings.
SEE ALSO: dA and dM test conditions, std.mk and 101.mk key mapping
script files.
28.4 Display Operation
When ZCOMM starts up, or regains control after a DOS Gateway, the
video mode and number of columns and rows are interrogated with a BIOS
interrupt call. If the columns are less than 80, or if the BIOS video
mode is between 4 and 6, the video mode is changed to 3 (color,
80x25). If other BIOS video modes cause problems, give a DOS "mode
co80" or "mode mono" command before starting ZCOMM. Display boards
with more than 80 columns or more than 25 lines are supported by the #
and $ numeric parameters (q.v.). If a monochrome or EGA board is
detected during initialization, warpdrive is selected for best
performance.
ZCOMM supports extended EGA displays with ANSI 132 column escape codes
and the V numeric parameter. Special text video modes can be accessed
with the videobios command.
If ZCOMM is started with a Topview or DESQview virtual screen, the
video memory pointers are adjusted.
For special applications, the display may be completely inhibited with
a "display inhibit" command. Updating of the display is reenabled by
a display NOinhibit command or a fatal error disgnostic.
In addition, ZCOMM can emulate hard copy terminals by displaying
identical overstruck characters in bold (high intensity) and by
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underlining characters when the overstrike involves the ASCII
underline character. This is enabled with a "display overstrike"
command. (With the Color/Graphics board, underlining is represented
by reverse video.) (A character position on the screen is overstruck
if the character position being written already contains a character.)
If the applications used involve backspacing and overstriking for
character editing, overstrike will produce random bold characters and
may be shut off with a "display NOoverstrike" command. Alternatively,
the term function subcommand ALT-O will toggle overstrike.
Normally, a received linefeed causes vertical movement only. If
nlmode is set with a "display nlmode" command, a received linefeed
also performs a carriage return. Nlmode is useful for Unix(TM) and
similar systems. ZCOMM's Nlmode setting must agree with Unix's nlmode
setting for screen oriented programs such as Berkeley Editor to
function properly.
Normally ZCOMM autowraps if there are too many characters on a line.
This can be turned off with a "display noautowrap" command.
Normally a received bell character will jangle the speaker with a
beep. The command "display bell=visual" silently displays BEL as a
flashing musical note without spacing to the next character position.
The monochrome display adapter and some Color/Graphics boards allow
DMA access to the video RAM without snow (sometimes called
Chromablizzard). Warpdrive can be used with the Paradise Systems
Multidisplay Card, The IBM Enhanced Graphics Adapter, and on the
Compaq without daggers flying about the screen. Many of the
aftermarket graphics display boards also work properly with warpdrive.
Warpdrive doubles the raw display update speed.
When operating with some color/graphics display controllers (including
the IBM CGA board), updating the display will cause snow to appear on
the screen unless warpdrive is disabled.
28.5 Non Standard Displays
ZCOMM defaults to a 80 by 25 display, with the bottom line used for
status information. Some displays support more than 25 lines and/or
more than 80 characters per line. In other cases, ZCOMM might be run
in a small window in multitasking environments such as TopView,
DESQview, or Windows.
The $ and # numeric parameters may be set to accomodate these
situations. A cls command should be given after changing the $ or #
numeric parameter. When ZCOMM starts up, the $ numeric parameter
(number of columns) is set according to the value returned by the
BIOS. ANSI 132 column escape codes are not recognized in windowed
operation. Chapter 23 describes these parameters.
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29. LOGGING ENTRIES
ZCOMM can be set to keep various logs with the callers, calllog,
rcmdlog, rxlog, and txlog string parameters. Entries in the log files
include a code in the first column to indicate the conditions of the
operation associated with the entry. They are encoded as follows:
* An open file was implicitly closed when another file was opened or
as a result of a port or call command, or dialing a number.
C Successful completion of a Compuserve B protocol file transfer.
C Call terminated by loss of carrier detect, bye or off command, or
dialing another phone number. Connect time is displayed in tenths
of minutes.
c An open file was closed with a close or ALT-C command.
E Operation terminated by error.
F A transmit file was closed as a result of an end of file
encountered as it was transmitted by the term function.
g A transmit file was closed as a result of an end of file
encountered by the grab command, file received with the fget
command.
K Successful Kermit file transfer.
L Log entry of a host state login, connect time in tenths of minutes.
m Message received with the message or private command.
n The file name shown is illegal for the local operationg system, and
has been changed to "rename.###". The numeric value of ### is
shown in the count field.
R Successful file received with XMODEM family protocol.
Q Questionable filtransfer sent with XMODEM family protocol. On
receive: an EOT character was received but could not be verified;
the file may be truncated. On Send: All data blocks were
acknowledgd, but the EOT was not.
q Partially transmitted file skipped by request.
S Successful file sent with XMODEM or XMODEM BATCH protocol.
t File received with TWX convention (terminated by EOT, ETX, or ^Z).
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U An incomplete received file was Unlinked (removed).
X Call terminated by off or x command or by software termination
signal.
x A file was closed implicitly when ZCOMM exited to the operating
system.
Z Successful file received with ZMODEM protocol.
z Successful file sent with ZMODEM protocol.
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29.1 Performance Log
The plog string parameter enables file transfer performance logging.
The default empty value disables this function. Performance log
keeping does not affect the nolog command.
A sample entry is shown below. The fields are: effective speed[1],
log code, "L" for loss of carrier detect (otherwise blank), file name,
length, average transfer rate (characters per second), transfer time
in seconds (file open to file close), number of seconds required to
start the transfer, number of errors (retransmissions), flow control
transistions, block length/subpacket length (at end of file), measured
round trip delay time in hundredths of seconds, the command (or
facsimilie thereof), the other program's serial number (-1 if not
available), the directory entry or caller's name, and the hardware
handshake option.
2400 Z FOO.ARC 153760 186 826 1 20 260 256 234 sz 1171 guess who off
The above example shows 1 second to start the transfer, 20
retransmissions, and 260 times that YAM had to wait for flow control
release. This unusual set of figures is the result of a "networked"
transfer through the "cu" program on a Unix system to a PC, not a
normal connection or PC-Pursuit access.
The count of flow control transitions gives an indication of flow
control restraint applied by the modem, network, or receiver. Since
it counts the times YAM has entered a wait because of flow control
restraint and not the total amount of time spent in that state, it is
not an accurate quantitative measure.
The file transfer time and throughput calculation excludes the time
required to start the transfer, since that time is often not under the
protocol's control.
__________
1. The transmission speed unless set by the estimate command.
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30. ERROR (and other) MESSAGES
In the following messages, a %s refers to a filename or some other
name or string. %d or %ld refers to a decimal number. %x refers to
hexadecimal number, usually a character received from the modem.
Error messages referring to the XMODEM protocol and/or XMODEM/CRC
protocol also apply to the the YMODEM Batch protocol, which is an
extension of the XMODEM protocol. Most of the XMODEM error messages
are preceded by the sector and error number.
; not allowed with while The while command does not allow any
semicolons to exist on the rest of the line.
Aborting with error from remote: The remote Kermit program has aborted
the file transfer with the following message.
Access Password When ZCOMM is in host operation, callers must enter an
access password to gain access to the system, unless the string
parameter Password is empty.
Awaiting initial NAK When sending a file with the XMODEM protocol,
ZCOMM is waiting for the receiver to start the transfer with an
initial NAK character.
Awaiting pathname NAK When sending a file in the the YMODEM Batch
protocol, ZCOMM is waiting for the receiver to request transmission of
the file name, and length.
Bad CIS ESC request %x ZCOMM has detected an undefined Compuserve
Protocol escape request. Usually due to a line hit or an aborted
transfer.
Bad CIS request %x ZCOMM has detected an undefined Compuserve Protocol
request. Usually due to a line hit or an aborted transfer.
Bad Command Please refer to Chapter 18 for legal commands.
Bad Condition Please refer to Chapter 26 for legal conditions which
may be tested by the if or while commands.
Bad CRC=%x An error was detected on the last block received with the
XMODEM or the YMODEM Batch protocol. ZCOMM will request
retransmission of the block.
Bad Directory The directory given in a cd command does not exist or is
unreadable.
Bad Disk A command of the form D: attempted to change the default disk
to one that is not in the string parameter disks.
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Bad Mode Please refer to Chapter 20 for a list of legal Modes.
Bad Option Please refer to Chapter 19 for legal Options to the k, r
and s commands.
Bad Parameter The p command was given with an unknown parameter
letter. The parameters that can be set may be displayed with the p
command given without any parameter.
Bad parity Setting The 7{eoms} mode must be be one of e o m s (even,
odd, marking, spacing).
Bad SNP A valid and legal serial number-password must be entered with
the putsnp program.
Call Terminated An attempt at connecting to a remote system has been
abandoned.
Can't allocate buffer ZCOMM was unable to allocate memory for the
circular buffer, forcing an immediate exit.
Can't find Directory entry for %s A call or gosub command for name
failed because name was not found in the directory.
Can't open %s errno = %d The named file cannot be opened for reading
or writing (depending on the application). The common reasons are
listed below:
1 No such file or directory.
4 Bad file number.
5 Not enough core.
6 Permission denied.
7 File exists.
8 Cross-device link.
10 Too many open files. (If this error appears when the specified
file is accessible, increase the number of available files with a
"FILES=20" statement in CONFIG.SYS.)
11 No space left on device.
14 Resource deadlock would occur.
Can't send pathname %s The receiver did not accept the named pathname
in a batch transfer.
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Cannot unsqueeze %s An error attempting to unsqueeze a SQueezed file.
A required key file is missing, or the decoding information stored in
the beginning of the SQueezed file is corrupted.
No Carrier Detect The Carrier Detect signal from the modem (pin 8 of
the RS232 connector) is OFF. This is often caused by a bad modem
cable, or improper modem strapping options. Setting d mode prevents
ZCOMM from issuing this message.
Changing pathname An illegal pathname has been received. ZCOMM is
changing the pathname to one the local operating system will accept.
Checksum Bad rx=%x cx=%x The last block was received with a bad
checksum. The received checksum and the calculated checksum are
displayed. A retransmission request will be made.
Checksum error in %s A SQueezed file did not UnSQueeze with the
expected checksum. Most likely a data error in the SQueezed file, or
the Key file (if the file was encrypted). Another possibly is a
software error in the program that SQueezed the file.
Closing %s Reception of data for the named file has finished and ZCOMM
is closing out the file.
Command not allowed remotely Certain commands may only be given from
the local keyboard as they would sever communications with a remote
user in host operation.
Connected to Console Keyboard This message is sent to a caller when
the chat command is given in host operation.
*** DISK FULL *** If this message appears, your problems may have just
started; DOS has been known to trash the disk file system when the
disk is filled up. If the disk has been filled up as a result of
receiving data with the term function, use the t, b, w review
subcommands to store the unwritten data on disk. The browse command
may be used to free up disk space. The integrity of the disk file
system should be checked with chkdsk/f as soon as possible.
Enter message up to 64 lines, type blank line when finished The
message or private command allows the user (local, or remote when is
host operation) to enter a message which will be appended to the
Messages or Private file.
Error Checksum=%x Got %x An error was detected in a record received
from Compuserve. ZCOMM will request retransmission.
Error Recovery ZCOMM has detected a protocol error and is waiting for
the line to settle before proceeding.
Exists. Replace/Append/Quit (r/a/q)?? The named file already exists
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on the local system. You have three options: Replace the old file
with the new data, Append the new data to the end of the old file, or
Quit the transfer.
Exit chat with ^Z The remote should type Ctrl-Z to exit from chat back
to the ZCOMM prompt.
Falling back to XMODEM/CRC An attempted XMODEM-CRC file receive has
failed because the sender has not responded to CRC Send requests, so
Zcomm will now try checksum XMODEM.
FILES OPEN A transmit and/or receive file is open. Files should be
closed before executing any commands that would modify data on disk
and/or any directories.
Fetching pathname ZCOMM has requested the remote sender to transmit
the name and length of the next file in a the YMODEM Batch protocol
transfer.
File is Not SQueezed The USQ command has detected a file which does
not have the standard header for SQueezed files. The file is ignored.
found %d %s This informational message is generated when the term
function matches a pattern and the v parameter is non zero.
Got %x for record ACK The Compuserve computer rejected the last record
sent.
Got %x for sector ACK In the XMODEM protocol, a transmitted sector
elicited a response other than the expected ACK, or a NAK. Perhaps
the receiving program has terminated and ZCOMM is trying to send the
record to the remote's operating system command prompt.
Got %x for ACK to EOT The XMODEM protocol sends an EOT to terminate
each file transfer. The proper response to the EOT is an ACK;
anything else is an error. ZCOMM resends the EOT up to ten times if
an ACK is not received.
Got %x sector header In the XMODEM protocol, A sector should start
with 01 or 02. (02 signifies a 1024 byte block.) An EOT followed by
extraneous characters appears as a sector header of 04 (EOT).
Got burst for sector ACK In the XMODEM protocol, sectors are
acknowledged with a single ACK (006) character. ZCOMM detects an
invalid ACK response by waiting two character times to make sure no
noise burst accompanied the ACK. It's far better to retransmit a
block which has been received correctly than it is to incorrectly
proceed to the next block, causing a synchronization error.
Got record %x expecting %x A synchronization error has been detected
in the Compuserve protocol. The file should be deleted as it will
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have been truncated.
Got ZRPOS indicates the receiving program has detected a transmission
error and has requested retransmission. In other words, ZMODEM is
doing its job of detecting and correcting missing and garbled data.
Please refer to Chapter 13 for more information.
Goto not in script context The goto command is valid only in a script.
Hit F1 to End When receiving data with the fget command, hit F1 to end
data collection. Any regular character is passed to the remote.
Hit any Key to stop When sending a file with the fput command, ZCOMM
samples the keyboard every so often to allow the operator to abort the
transfer. The keyboard is not scanned continuously because the
resulting overhead would impair the throughput available with the fput
command.
Incorrect The password entered is not the correct password.
Insufficient DOS FILES=# Add a FILES=20 line to the active CONFIG.SYS
file and reboot DOS to get a sufficient number of file handles to
support the level of script nesting required for your application.
Internal Stack Failure The number and/or size of DOS 3.2 internal
stacks should be increased, or a better operating system should be
substituted.
ioctl(m n) returned N: reason A Unix ioctl operation returned an
error. The first ioctl argument refers to the file descriptor; 0, 1
or 2 indicate a problem with the controlling terminal. Higher file
descriptor numbers (typically 6 or 7) refer to the dial-out serial
line.
The second ioctl argument is the command, shown in hex. This
corresponds to definitions in /usr/include/sys/ioctl.h and termio.h.
%s Is Illegal Device Device is not one of the legal devices in the
string parameter Disks.
Is Restricted Path When ZCOMM is Restricted, only the Home directory
and its subdirectories may be accessed.
Key file read error An input error was detected while reading a key
file used to decrypt SQueezed files.
Label %s not found A goto label command was given, but label could not
be found in the same file as the goto command.
Loc 0 Corrupted An internal error (data stored into location 0 in the
data segment) has been detected. If not caused by a hardware problem,
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please report to Omen.
Local Kermit Timed Out ZCOMM did not receive a Kermit packet from the
remote within the timeout specified by the Kermit t parameter.
Modem SR=%x While receiving a file with the XMODEM protocol, a
framing, break, overrun, or other such error was detected by the UART.
The UART's Line Status Register is displayed in octal. The possible
error conditions, 02=Overrun, 04=Parity Error, 08=Framing Error, and
10=Break, may occur singly or or'ed together. A typical value is 63,
signifying data ready, overrun, break, and transmitter holding
register empty.
Must set top with t command first When using the w subcommand from
review, the top of the buffer segment to be written must be set with
the t subcommand.
NAK on sector In the XMODEM protocol, the receiver detected a
transmission error and has requested retransmission.
No ACK on EOT In the XMODEM protocol, and EOT is sent and acknowledged
after the data blocks have been sent. This message indicates that the
EOT has not been acknowledged after 10 attempts.
No ACK on sector The XMODEM transmit protocol has retransmitted the
sector 10 times without receiving an acknowledgement from the
receiver. This is usually caused by a loss of connection, or by a
software or hardware problem that does not allow all characters to
pass without error. For example, if the modem cannot pass a character
with the 8th bit set, the sector number cannot be sent. Kermit should
be used under such conditions.
No Carrier Detect The Carrier Detect signal from the modem (pin 8 of
the RS232 connector) is OFF. This is often caused by a bad modem
cable, improper modem strapping options, bad port number selection, or
a defective or incorrectly configured serial interface. Setting d
mode prevents ZCOMM from issuing this message.
No such command The DOS Gateway handler was unable to load the proper
command and/or command.com.
Not allowed to overwrite %s When ZCOMM is restricted, existing files
may not be overwritten.
Nothing to read A read command was given and no file is open for
reading.
Null Pathname An attempt was made to reference a file with an empty
file name. This error sometimes results from a software bug in
Compuserve software attempting to download a file with a filename it
can't handle correctly, so it just leaves the filename empty.
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Obey Recursion = %d The main command parser has been called
recursively with too many script levels and/or invocations of the obey
command.
Other end no longer in Kermit Other side timed out. The Kermit on the
other computer has terminated the file transfer.
Out of Memory ZCOMM has exhausted the memory available to it.
Output Flow Control Restraint RELEASED The network or modem did not
release flow control within the time limit set by the S numeric
parameter. This message is usually caused by a spurious XOFF
character generated by line noise. It may also be caused by missing
CTS (Clear To Send) signal on the data port.
OVERRUN: DATA May Be Lost Data has been received from the Remote
faster than ZCOMM could process it. Some of it has been rerouted to
the proverbial bit bucket.
Pause (grab) Sending of data has been stopped by execution of the grab
command.
Pause (handshake)
Pause (XOFF) Sending of data has been suspended by flow control.
Pattern Flags Reset This message is a reminder that any "pattern
found" flags are being reset. If this message appears after a phrase
has been "found", but before the phrase is expected, or before the
wait statement that should have "seen" the phrase, the script needs to
be modified.
Port %d (%X) defective The indicated communications port (8250
integrated circuit) failed a simple diagnostic test. Errors in the
option board switch or strap settings may prevent the port from being
accessible at the expected address.
PRINTER SPOOLER BUSY The print spooler has been enabled with the l
mode, and had not finished outputting from the circular buffer to the
printer when you exited the term function. To print the rest of the
data, return to the term function with F2. You may exit ZCOMM at this
time, but the rest of the data you wanted to print will be lost.
Receive:'%s' FILE OPEN The named file has been opened for protocol
transfer.
Received dup Sector The last sector was apparently received twice. In
the XMODEM protocol, a retransmission is requested in case the sector
number was garbled by an otherwise undetected error. The duplicate
sector is accepted, discarded, and file transfer proceeds.
Receiving in Batch Mode Files will be received using the error
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correcting YMODEM Batch protocol.
%s removed A file received in error is removed to allow another
attempt at uploading it correctly.
Restricted Command This command is not allowed when ZCOMM is
Restricted to protect the system from inadvertent and/or willful
tampering.
Resynchronizing When ZCOMM is sending a file to another copy of ZCOMM
using CRC-16, recovery from sync errors is possible.
Scripts nested too deep Too many levels of call, gosub, and source
commands are active.
Sector number garbled An error has been detected in the sector number
of the last received packet. A retransmission will be requested.
If this error persists for all 9 retries, the transmission medium or
the remote software may be messing with the 8th bit and/or characters
with certain bit patterns. Modems and networks often "eat" control
characters, especially XON and XOFF. Switching to ZMODEM or Kermit
may solve the problem.
Sender CANcelled The Remote has aborted file transfers by sending a
sequence of CAN characters.
Sending in Batch Mode One or more files are being sent in the YMODEM
Batch Error correcting protocol.
Serial Input Error: Line Status Register HH indicates a hardware
problem, slow device driver, TSR program, or other software is
disabling interrupts too long for the program to accept incoming data,
and some characters are lost. A slow response to folow control also
triggers this message.
The value of the line status register is displayed in HEX. The
following error conditions are OR'ed into the Line Status Register.
01 The Interrupt level circular buffer has been overrun. The remote
did not respond to ZCOMM's XOFF or hardware flow control, and
continued to send characters after being told not to. This
problem is alleviated by correct modem flow control
configuration.
02 An 02 value for the LSR indicates Data Overrun. "Data Overrun"
means the computer was not able to respond to an incoming
character from the UART (modem) in time to make room for the next
incoming character. Data Overruns are caused by poorly designed
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software (or ROM BIOS "firmware") locking out interrupts for
excessive periods. These lockouts prevent the communications
program from responding to the incoming characters quickly
enough.
To correct Data Overruns, you must correct the offending
condition(s) to allow the communications program to operate
properly.
Common causes of excessively long interrupt lockouts ("critical
code regions") are disk drivers (BIOS), window managers, disk
caches, TSR programs, and EGA/VGA board auto-select.
Slowing the CPU to allow games and other time dependent programs
to be used can generate excessive interrupt latency.
Some BIOS programs are written without regard to their effect on
high speed communications. Better versions of the offending BIOS
programs may be made available if enough users complain about
poor performance.
Interrupt latency caused by EGA/VGA board auto-select can be
often corrected by disabling the board's Auto-Select.
Poorly written disk caches and disk drivers cause interrupt
latency that affects streaming protocols (ZMODEM) but not start-
stop protocols such as XMODEM, YMODEM, JMODEM, Lynx, etc. The
handshake slow command can be used to stop reception during disk
transfers.
Other chapters in this document give suggestions for working
around excessive interrupt latency by using the NS16550AN UART
chip. Please refer to the "Brain Damaged UARTS" subchapter.
Please try all the suggestions mentioned here before contacting
Omen Technology about data overruns.
08 Framing Error generally caused by line noise or an incorrect
transmission speed ("baud rate") or format (number of bits).
Also caused by some cheap internal modems. Most protocols
require 8 bits no parity (-8n) for proper operation. This is set
automatically by Omen Technology programs, but other programs may
not be so smart.
10 Break Interrupt generally caused by line noise or an incorrect
transmission speed ("baud rate") or format (number of bits).
Also caused by some cheap internal modems.
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18 Framing Error and Break Interrupt (see above) in combination.
This error may also be caused by defective 8250 UART chips.
Certain internal modem cards have slow 8250 chips that do not
operate properly with computers faster than 4.77 mHz. Replacing
the 8250 with a NS16550AN is recommended.
Setab: %d %s The displayed string of length %d has been queued to be
sent to the remote as a result of a put, or putw command, or an
answerback request. Setab is also used in sending entstr in response
to typing ENTER.
*** STACK OVERFLOW *** Indicates ZCOMM has run out of memory for the
program stack. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. Reboot the
system with Ctrl-Alt-Del. If you are using a large number of string
variables, or if you have a large DOS enviornment, decreasing the size
of ZCOMM's circular buffer with a DOS "set CBSIZE=" command may help.
If this appears to be a ZCOMM software problem, please report it to
Omen Technology Inc.
String too long The string would have been longer than the storage
space allocated for it.
Sync Error: got %d In the XMODEM protocol, a sector was received whose
sector number does not match the expected sector number modulo 256, or
the last sector number received modulo 256. This usually happens when
a transmission error causes the sender to receive a false ACK.
Unless the o (OverThruster) or g option was used,[1] ZCOMM will
request retransmission in case the invalid sector number was a result
of a line hit. If the file is being sent with CRC-16 by another copy
of ZCOMM, resynchronization will be attempted after ten retries.
Term Function Recursion = %d The term function has been forced to call
itself recursively by f or t commands. Use open or create commands
instead.
Timeout The Compuserve computer has not sent any data for a long time.
When things get this slow, it is best to disconnect and ask Compurerve
to credit you for wasted connect charges.
Timeout on sector ACK In XMODEM protocol, ZCOMM times out waiting for
an acknowledgement to a transmitted sector.
__________
1. These options prevent error recovery.
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Too Few arguments The command needs more operands than were given it.
Transaction ABORTED BY ERROR / successful The message indicates the
ending status of the last file transfer or command download. If a
file transfer ended in error, the last file may be truncated.
Transfer Aborted: %ld Characters Received The Compuserve protocol has
aborted file transfer due to an error.
Transmit Data. When data has been sent, close it by typing ^Z When a
remote caller has created a file with the t filename command, ZCOMM
indicated readiness to receive data with this message. When the file
has been transmitted to ZCOMM, a Ctrl-Z will close the file.
Unknown Machine Type ZCOMM looks at the ROM BIOS location F000:FFFE to
determine whether it is running on a PC, XT, PC-jr, or PC-AT. If the
byte fetched in not a standard IBM value, ZCOMM complains and assumes
the machine is equivalent to a PC or XT with respect to clock speed
and i/o overlap. SEE ALSO: o numeric parameter
Unterminated Quoted Token A string token was quoted with a leading "
(doublequote) character, but no matching " (doublequote) could be
found on the same line.
Waiting for call %d ZCOMM is in host operation and is awaiting call N.
If n is greater than 1, then n-1 calls have been received since ZCOMM
was invoked.
Warning: Old dport=%x ier=%x out2=%x mask=%x isr=%08lX When selecting
a port, ZCOMM has discovered that the port's interrupt enable bit was
already set. Some programs use modem interrupts for their operation
but then fail to reset the interrupt enables when they exit. When
another program overlays the old program's interrupt service routine,
an interrupt from the modem will transfer control to the overwritten
memory locations, with unpredicatable results. If the interrupt was
set up by a memory resident program or device driver, this message may
be ignored. This information might be useful in the event of
difficulties caused by such programs. This message may be suppressed
by defining the DOS environment variable HOTPORT.
EXAMPLE: C>set HOTPORT=1
SEE ALSO: port, portx commands
Wrong number of arguments The set command accepts 0 arguments (display
current values) or two arguments, the parameter name and the new value
for it.
XON Timeout The Kermit protocol (with the x option set) has timed out
waiting for an XON character.
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ZMODEM Garbage count exceeded The reciever has detected a CRC or other
error and signalled the sender, but the sender apparently has not
received and responded to the retransmission request in a timely
manner. Usually caused by transmission line noise corrupting the
retransmission request as well as the file data, or by an excessive
number of characters stored in the modems and networks.
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31. HINTS AND KINKS
31.1 Recursive Function Key Definitions
When defining function keys for use within the term function, do not
use the t or f commands. Instead use the create or open commands to
prevent excessive recursion (term function chasing its tail).
31.2 Noisy Data Lines
Users have reported line noise caused by some types of telephones
attached to the same line used by the modem. When reporting line
noise troubles to the phone company, remember you pay for the service
call if the trouble is traced to your equipment.
31.3 UUUUUUU from 212 modems
Sometimes a 212 modem will send UUUUUU ad nauseam because it has
received (or thinks it received) a command to enter remote digital
loopback. Disabling the modems' remote digital loopback feature (when
possible) prevents this form of "lock-up".
31.4 Funny Business with the Phones File
When trying out new ideas in the Phones file, make sure that ZCOMM is
actually reading the file you think it is by inspecting the value of
the phones string parameter with the "set" command. You might find
that you were editing one file and ZCOMM was reading a different one.
31.5 Losing Keyboard Characters
Generally, ZCOMM does not throw away keyboarded characters that are
typed before ZCOMM prompts for them. However, many commands,
especially wait, invoke the term function which sends any characters
in the keyboard queue to the remote before returning to ZCOMM's
command prompt. In general, any time you see the term function's real
time status line, keyboarded characters will be acted upon immediately
(usually by being sent to the the remote).
31.6 Browsing Through Messages
The vast amount of information on bulletin boards requires some heroic
measures on the part of a user desiring to keep current without
spending all his time wading through the mass of mostly unintersting
messages.
ZCOMM addresses this problem with its script facility which can
download messages from a number of bulletin boards on one or more
systems with human intervention.
The read command and "/" and "n" review subcommands can be used to
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skip from one article to the next by searching for the subject line of
each message. Since the subject line of each message always appears
at the top of the screen, you can keyboard the "n" key quite rapidly
without waiting for the display to completely fill. If you overshoot
a message or two, the "N" command can be used to back up. You'll be
pleasantly surprised at how rapidly you can review message subjects
this way.
31.7 Splitting Up Files
Sometimes it becomes necessary to split up a large file into smaller
files, or to extract small pieces from such a file. For example,
Daisy Wheel printers sometimes jam the paper halfway through printing
a file. Rather than reprint the entire file, use ZCOMM's open and
seek commands to locate the beginning of the desired segment, then
read it into the circular buffer with the read command. Then hit F2
for review, place the top line on the first line desired, and type
"t". If the desired segment fits within the circular buffer, use the
"b" subcommand followed by a "w" subcommand to write the segment to
disk.
If the segment is too large, use the "w" subcommand without a "b"
subcommand to write the entire buffer beginning at the location of the
"t" command. Then kill the buffer with the "k" subcommand, returning
to ZCOMM's command prompt. Another read command can be given to get
the next segment of the file into the buffer. At this point, you can
enter review as before to store another segment. Alternatively, you
can use the create command to open a receive capture file, then write
the buffer contents to it with a w command. Then use kill to clear
the buffer, and repeat this cycle until the end of the file is
reached.
31.8 Refresher Courses
After you've read the manual and used ZCOMM for a while, go back and
skim the manual again. You will grok new concepts that were so
obscure the first time you didn't know you missed them.
31.9 PC <--> Macintosh File Transfers
I do transfers between IBM PC type machines to a Fat Mac and Mac Plus
(one upgraded to the other) all the time. I discovered the
Macintosh's RS-422 port does not have enough signals coming out of it
to properly drive the IBM PC RS-232 serial port without an adapter.
So, get two female DB-25 connectors. On the PC side, tie pins 4-5
together, and tie 6-8-20 together. This insures that the PC sees CTS,
DSR and RLSD/DCD so your IBM comm program will see them.
I prefer using the comm port on the Mac because you can go up to 56
kilobits/sec on it (I use ProYAM on the PC and Microphone on the Mac,
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which offers 38400 bit per second transfer capability with no errors).
Between the two connectors, connect 7 to 7, 3 to 2, and 2 to 3. If you
prefer to use the printer cable, connect 7 to 7, 2 to 2, and 3 to 3.
Edited from a message by Stephen Satchell, Satchell Evaluations (used
with permission)
31.10 Acoustic Coupler for Portables
Having a portable computer with a direct-connect internal modem is
really great - until you try to use it at a pay phone in the airport.
The modular jack does not connect to public telephones.
I found one device that overcomes this problem (and it needs to be
advertized more). It is the acoustic adapter that 3M sells with their
WhisperWriter portable terminals. Model 1490 acoustic coupler
connects the 3M teleprinter to public phone lines through a telephone
handset. It is recommended for applications where direct connection
to phone lines is either not practical or not desirable. The device
consists of a pair of rubber cups, a modular jack, and a battery
powered audio amplifier set. You simply run a 3-foot modular line
from it to your PC, and put the pay telephone's handset in it. Price
is less than $80, it works with 300 and 1200 baud internal modems, and
should work at 2400.
In the Silcon Valley, the distributer is 3M Data Systems (408)866-
8811.
This information comes via Usenet from Joe Smith at SU-SCORE.
(C) 1990 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 31 Bugs
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32. BUGS
Repeating Subpatterns in String Searches In the pattern n string
command, if string contains a repeating sequence such as foo in
foofoobar, the search may be unsuccessful if part of the phrase is
received immediately prior to the desired string (foofoofoobar).
Line Printer Operation PC-DOS does not supply a function to poll the
line printer status. Such a function is necessary for ZCOMM to
buffer the printer without losing data. ZCOMM gets around this
problem by using the IBM BIOS int 17h printer call, which does
support a printer status check. This limits printer operation to
those that are supported by the BIOS interrupt 17 call.
Term Function Status Line When in the term function, a status line is
displayed with certain information. Sustained high data rates (much
higher than 1200 bps), will prevent this line from being updated in
real time.
DOS Keys The Ctrl-NumLock key should not be used on-line as data could
be lost. The Shift-PrtSc key (screen print) may cause loss of data
at high speeds.
Ctrl-Break If this key is used in ZCOMM, DOS may, for some random
reason, print ^C when ZCOMM exits. This isn't the worst bug in DOS
by a long shot, but knowledge is power ...
BREAK ON This DOS command causes ^C to be intercepted by DOS at
various, sometimes awkward, times. BREAK ON must be used with
extreme caution as interrupting most programs with ^C compromises
the integrity of the file system. If a program is interrupted by ^C
or Ctrl-Break, the file system should be immediately checked with
CHKDSK. In some cases it may be necessary to reboot DOS with Ctrl-
Alt-Del if DOS runs out of file descriptors. A synonym for BREAK ON
might be NUKE FILESYSTEM ON.
Someday MicroSoft may discover what to do with ^C (DEC figured it
out about two decades ago). In the meantime, we recommend you not
use it. When ZCOMM starts up, it stores the status of the BREAK ON
flag, then clears it. On Exit, or when calling a DOS program, ZCOMM
restores the BREAK ON flag to its previous state.
ALT-2 From Term Function The 7 option should not be used as part of a
r or s command given from the term function via the ALT-2 key.
Chromablizzard If you get "daggers" or other noise on the CRT screen
while ZCOMM is in operation, check the video display modes. Try
changing them with the display command.
A moderate amount of Chromablizzard may still appear under some
conditions with unsophisticated color graphics boards.
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Decrypting SQueezed files When ZCOMM unsqueezes an encrypted SQueezed
file, the contents of the key file are stored in the circular
buffer. Any wanted information in the circular buffer should be
saved to disk before encrypted SQueezed files are decrypted and
unsqueezed.
Timing Parameters The values associated with the a and t (when < 0)
numeric parameters vary according to the processing speed of the
computer. ZCOMM initializes these parameters to suitable defaults
for the IBM PC, PC-jr, and PC-AT computers. Scripts that set these
values will need to be adjusted when run on computer types other
than the type the script was developed for. Transition to a
different type of operating system (e.g., Xenix) also requires
adjustment in these values.
Zenith Computers Some Zenith computers may need a ROM update to work
properly with interrupt driven programs such as ZCOMM.
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33. HARDWARE/SOFTWARE COMPATABILITY
33.1 Hardware Compatibility Notes
IBM PS/2 Model 50Z Early samples of this machine have a design error
on the motherboard that causes comms programs to lock up the
machine. Replacing the motherboard with a correctly functioning
unit from current production corrects the problem. The part number
of the replacement PS2/50 Z motherboard is 35F5928. (Information
provided by John M. Choma 73047,3566) In the U.S. IBM has
stonewalled on this issue, but in December 1988 agreed to replace
the defective motherboards under warranty.
NEC Multispeed The NEC Multispeed computer locks up unless STACKS is
set in CONFIG.SYS. In addition, one should disable floppy disk
power save mode, and set popup program memory allocation to 0. For
best results, use the latest NEC software patches to the NEC MSDOS,
and/or use an IBM PC-DOS instead of the DOS supplied by NEC.
EGA/VGA Multimode Boards Some multimode EGA and VGA boards include an
"auto select" feature designed to configure the board to various
display standards using software trickery. In the case of Paradise
VGA and others, this feature causes excessive interrupt latency and
loss of data at high speeds. Disabling the auto select on the
display board corrects this problem.
EGA Wonder The BIOS in the ATI EGA Wonder has been observed to
increase interrupt latency to the dismay of 9600 bps operation on an
8 mHz no wait state AT clone. There has also been a report
(unexplained) that an EGA board has induced line noise in one
instance.
Tecmar Graphics Master To use ZCOMM with this display board, give a
mode mono command before running ZCOMM.
Leading Edge MODEMS and I/O BOARDS Some Leading Edge modems and
interface boards use 8250 UART devices that do not respond correctly
when the software turns the transmitter interrupts on and off. High
performance communications programs such as ZCOMM require properly
functioning UART chips, such as the National Semiconductor 16450 or
16550A.
33.2 Brain Damaged UARTS
Omen Technology has received reports of problems with buggy 8250 type
UART integrated circuits in Leading Edge modem boards, serial port
interfaces, and computers. The defective chip logic affects high
performance software. Replacing the buggy chip with a newer chip
(16450 or NS16550AN) corrects the problem.
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The UM82450 chip in the Zoom 2400HC also appears to cause problems.
Zoom Telephonics advises that this problem is limited to their old
model. The old model is inentifiable by an external volume control.
The NS16550AN is a pin compatible plug in replacement for 8250 and
16450 serial chips. Omen Technology software enables the FIFO buffer
in the NS16550AN to prevents loss of data from poorly written device
drivers, TSR programs, etc.
The NS16550AN has better electrical characteristics than the older
UART chips. 386 and fast 286 machines should use the NS16550AN for
best results. Omen Technology software has been written to allow time
for the older UART chips to operate. However, there is a limit to how
much the software can rearrange chip accesses without resorting to
performance robbing wait loops. Some other software is not as
forgiving of slow chips.
Jameco Electronics at 415-592-8097 sells National NS16550AN chips mail
order (credit card) in small quantities. N.B.: Current WD16C550 chips
may not function properly at low speeds.
Another source is Arrow Electronics at 800-932-7769 (516-467-1000).
Be sure to ask for the NS16550AN. It's important to get the "AFN" or
"AN" part, other versions won't do.
We have received reports of problems with a Western Digital 16550 type
chip.
33.3 Software Compatibility
Some programs and device drivers affecting the operation of PC-DOS
may interfere with ZCOMM, especially when ZCOMM is operating at high
baud rates. Historically, loss and corruption of data have been
caused by memory resident programs. Some of these programs increase
interrupt latency preventing ZCOMM from reading a character from the
UART holding register before the next character comes in on top of
it. In other cases, programs do not properly restore the state of
the machine when they exit from interrupts.
If such a problem is suspected, run ZCOMM without any memory
resident programs or special drivers to locate the source of the
problem. Once the offending program is identified, a call to the
program's vendor may obtain a corrected version.
The design of memory resident programs is a little known black art.
Subtle bugs, non reproducible interactions, and magic combinations
are commonplace results of attempts to impose various aspects of
multitasking on top of an operating system that was not properly
designed to permit such extensions. Omen Technology Inc may be able
to help identify these interactions if provided with the source code
of the offending programs.
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Some of the known troublemakers are mentioned below.
TOPDOS TOPDOS, ver 2.00i by Frontrunner Development Corp., has caused
ZCOMM and other programs to lock up. Disabling TOPDOS restores
normal operation.
DOS 3.2 DOS 3.2 introduces the concept of a fixed number of interrupt
stacks. The default value chosen is not always sufficient, and DOS
3.2 sometimes prints the infamous Internal Stack Failure message and
cheerfully halts the computer. Adding the line STACKS=20,128 to the
CONFIG.SYS file should correct the problem. Lacking any useful
documentation from Microsoft, you may wish to experiment with
different values.
Extended Memory RAMDISKS Extended Memory electronic disks (ramdisks)
require the 80286 chip to switch in and out of protected mode during
block transfers. A hardware reset pulse is used to switch back to
the "real mode" required for DOS. This causes loss of modem data at
high speeds.
It may be possible to reduce excessive interrupt latency by reducing
the length of protected mode block transfers to 128 or less. In one
instance, replacing the ROM BIOS with a newer version increased the
maximum transmission speed without losing characters to 9600 bps.
This problem has not been observed with expanded memory
(Intel/Lotus/AST/etc.) ramdisks.
The new generation NS16550AN or 82510 serial interface circuits
should be used instead of 8250's for best results at high speed.
The NS16550AN allows extended memory operation at a communications
speed of 115200 bps compared to 9600 bps for the 8250 and 16450.
Disk Drivers Disk drivers, especially hard disk drivers for 80286
machines, lock out interrupts for varying periods of time. The
actual interrupt latency depends on the speed of the computer and
the particular BIOS code used. In one case, upgrading to a newer
BIOS allowed operation at 38400 bps, compared to 4800 bps
previously. Such an improvement is well worth the small ($25
typical) cost of a new set of ROM BIOS chips.
DOS 3.x Each new version of PC-DOS adds new features and eats up more
of the 8088's meager resources. DOS 3.2 increases interrupt latency
enough to interfere with ZCOMM's operation at 19200 bps on an IBM
PC. If this is a problem, switching to DOS 2.1 will reduce the
interrupt latency. Replacing 8250 and 16450 serial interface chips
with the new NS16550AN chip allows ZCOMM to operate smoothly at high
speeds.
PKARC 3.6 It has been reported that PK36 grabs some interrupts and
doesn't restore them on exit in an attempt to prevent hacks of the
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program. Since eliminating that newer version and cleaning up
memory, high speed xfers even with 8250 UARTS work properly again.
The problem with PK 3.6 appears to be most severe if a BBS operator
has doorware, etc that accesses the PK programs from a shell of some
sort. This info may be helpful to users who are having otherwise
inexplicable file xfer problems.
ProKey Some versions of ProKey disable interrupts for excessive
periods of time, causing incoming modem characters to be lost.
FANSI-Console Versions of this program before 1.07 did not maintain
the pointer to the active display board in the IBM documented memory
location. A DOS mode command may cause ZCOMM to reference the wrong
display adapter address. This caused incorrect sync signals and
possible damage to certain monitors.
Current versions (2.X) increase interrupt latency enough that the
serial line drops characters when the keyboard is touched.
Seaware Batch Versions of this program has been known to cause loss of
data.
Spotlight/Lotus Metro This TSR program has been reported to cause
ZCOMM to lock up.
Pathname Modifiers Programs such as FILEPATH and GLOBALS allow files
to be visible in more than one directory at a time. Such programs
may interfere with security when ZCOMM is restricted, since that
security is based on restricting access to directories. In general,
sensitive files should not be made global when ZCOMM is made
accessible to outside callers.
ZCOMM may not recognize file names generated by such programs unless
the program traps the DOS FINDFIRST calls as well as the file open
calls.
We have received various reports of strange behavior which have been
traced to filesystem modifications caused by such programs,
including damaged file systems. We recommend such programs be
phased out as soon as possible, as they may not operate at all with
future versions of DOS or distributed file systems.
BRKBOX This program locks out interrupts up to 17 milliseconds while
waiting for the vertical retrace. For a communications program, 17
milliseconds is a very long time, and data will be lost at speeds
above 300 bps.
CGCLOCK Programs such as CGCLOCK.COM use clock interrupts to update a
time display on the screen. Some increase interrupt latency so much
that ZCOMM cannot respond in time to accept characters from the
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remote, even at 1200 baud.
Concurrent PC-DOS ZCOMM runs under Version 4.1 of Digital Research
Concurrent PC-DOS (CPCDOS). The - numeric parameter must be set to
0. The CPCDOS "addmem" command should be used to allocate extra
memory if DOS Gateway are to be used.
ANSI.SYS ZCOMM uses direct keyboard input from the ROM BIOS because
the DOS keyboard input calls do not handle Ctrl-BREAK properly. As
a side effect, keyboard keys redefined by ANSI.SYS have no effect on
ZCOMM's operation. It is possible to program some of the keys to
call ZCOMM with arguments. The following file, reassigns ALT-C,
ALT-H, and ALT-V to execute the commands shown below. The $
character represents ESCAPE.
$[0;46;"cd \tmp";13;"ZCOMM call -200 cbbs-r";13p
$[0;35;"ZCOMM call host";13p
$[0;47;"cd \tmp";13;"ZCOMM call cissig";13p
ZCOMM uses the ROM BIOS CRT functions and direct output to the
display, bypassing any processing provided by ANSI.SYS. Perhaps
someday Microsoft will enhance ANSI.SYS to make it useful for
programs like ZCOMM ...
PRINT.COM Once the DOS PRINT program is memory resident, file
downloads at high speeds (38kb on a PC) suffer from interference,
even if a file is not currently being printed.
With certain printers, the DOS PRINT command will preempt the
running program for several seconds at a time. These "swapouts" can
be confusing when you are accessing an interactive application.
They may interfere with file transfers, especially if the remote
program uses "tight" timing. If this happens, PRINT should be
suspended during file transfers. Operation of the PRINT command
does not appear to cause loss of data downloaded from timesharing
services at 1200 bps, as long as the interruptions last less than
ten seconds. Perhaps IBM or Microsoft will someday fix this bug in
the DOS PRINT command. PRINT should not be invoked from ZCOMM for
the first time as DOS memory allocation will become fragmented.
If PRINT or some other spooler is outputting to a serial port using
the BIOS INT 14h serial port driver, ZCOMM's "!~subprogram" command
will redirect the printer output to the remote and thus should be
avoided.
SWITCHAR = - ZCOMM will work properly when the switch character is
set to "-", allowing Unix style pathnames. The - numeric parameter
must be set non zero to allow ZCOMM DOS Gateway to use / to delimit
directories.
It may be necessary to remove this line from CONFIG.SYS and reboot
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DOS before using the IBM dump and restore commands.
N.B.: DOS 3.0 does not support SWITCHAR in the config.sys file.
C'est la vie. A short program, DASH, will set switchar to -. It
prevents many oaths.
For demanding applications requiring sophistication, power and support
not provided by any user supported communications program, Omen
Technology provides Professional-YAM Integrated Communications Tools.
(C) 1990 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 33 Background Operation
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34. BACKGROUND OPERATION
ZCOMM and the help processor YHP run under TopView, DESQview,
Carousel, and Windows, PC-DOS based multiprogramming systems that
support virtual video memory access.[1]
These operating environments allow multiple programs to run
concurrently on the same computer. Vertical applications can use the
high level menus to simplify the customer interface.
The default "performance settings" allow nearly full speed file
download and scripted data capture from dial-up services when other
processes are not accessing the floppy disks.
NOTE: Do not run multiple windows with programs accessing the same
COMM port. If you wish to run more than one program accessing a
specific serial port, close (terminate) the window running each
program before opening a window for another program addressing that
port.[2] It is not sufficient to merely suspend a comms program, it
bust be terminated before another program can access that port without
interference.
Tell DESQview to use the SPECIFIC port number you are using, and not
"Y" to the question: "Uses serial Ports (Y, N, 1, 2)"
Older versions of DOS provide only 20 file slots which must be shared
by all programs, running or suspended. This can cause unexpected,
irreproducible problems with script processing.
DOS's file system semantics can cause unexpected results when one
program is writing to a file while another program is reading the
file. Unlike Unix, data written by a program does not become visible
until the file is closed.
Program Information parameters: 256k is suggested for ZCOMM. If
memory is scarce, ZCOMM can run in about 196k with no DOS Gateway
allowed and the circular buffer made smaller with a "set CBSIZE=4000"
command given to DOS before starting HK. ZCOMM* and YHP do not write
directly to screen, do not access system keyboard buffer, run in the
background, use their own colors (optional), accept keyboard
typeahead, and the window may close on exit to DOS. ZCOMM cannot be
__________
1. BIOS interrupt 10h, ah=0FF and ah=0FE
2. Some programs, such as ProComm, lock two ports at the same time
even when using only one port. Such programs will interfere with
comms programs running in other windows.
(C) 1990 Omen Tech Inc Chapter 34 Background Operation
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