C - K e r m i t 8 . 0
Network and Serial Communication for Unix, VMS, and other
platforms.
The Broadway Local. Next stop: Columbia University.
Photo courtesy David
Pirmann,
http://www.nycsubway.org/.
Now included with Red Hat Linux.
KERMIT PROTOCOL : SECURE : SCRIPTABLE : TELNET : FTP : UNIX :
VMS : LINUX : BSD : MAC OS X : SOLARIS : AIX : HP-UX : TRU64 : SCO : QNX :
IRIX : UNICODE : KERBEROS : SSL : TLS : SRP : FTP SCRIPT :
FILE TRANSFER : MODEM : DIAL : PAGER
This page last updated:
Wed Jan 21 11:49:51 2004
[ ANNOUNCE ]
[ TUTORIAL ]
[ SPECS ]
[ FAQ ]
[ REVIEWS ]
[ SCRIPTS ]
[ DAILY BUILDS ]
C-Kermit is a combined network and serial
communication software package offering a consistent, transport-independent,
cross-platform approach to connection establishment, terminal sessions, file
transfer, file management, character-set translation, numeric and alphanumeric
paging, and automation of communication tasks through its built-in scripting
language. C-Kermit includes:
And lots more --
CLICK HERE for
specifications.
C-Kermit is:
C-Kermit 8.0 is available for practically every known
variation and version of
Unix, past and present, on every architecture, and for DEC / Compaq / HP
VMS / OpenVMS on VAX and Alpha. Earlier releases of C-Kermit remain available
for other platforms and operating systems:
- Data General AOS/VS
- Stratus VOS
- Microware OS-9
- Plan 9 from Bell Labs
- The Commodore Amiga
- The Atari ST
In Unix, C-Kermit can be thought of as a user-friendly and powerful
alternative to cu, tip, minicom, uucp, ftp, ftpd, telnet, ktelnet, rlogin,
ssh, find, grep, iconv, recode, expect, wget, sendpage, bc, and to some extent
even Lisp, your shell, and/or Perl; a single package for both network and
serial communications, offering automation, helpfulness, and language features
not found in most of the other packages, and with most of the same features
available on all its non-Unix platforms (such as VMS), as well as in
Kermit 95 on Windows
9x/ME/NT/2000/XP.
C-Kermit is included in the following operating systems:
Also see:
[ Top ]
[ Documentation ]
[ New Features ]
[ Case Studies ]
[ Download ]
As of version 7.0, C-Kermit has a new license,
CLICK HERE to
read it. Summary:
- Personal or Internal Use:
C-Kermit is freely downloadable by individuals for their own
use and by organizations (companies, universities, government agencies,
hospitals, etc) for internal use. In this case,
we ask (but do not require) you to
also purchase the
user manual to
(a) let
you get the most out of the software; (b) reduce the load on our help
desk; and (c) contribute some revenue to the nonprofit and entirely
self-supporting Kermit Project.
- Support Contract: A support contract
is available to companies and other organization that use C-Kermit internally
but require a formal support arrangement and/or wish to help support the
Kermit Project.
- Free Unix Distributions:
C-Kermit may be included in "free Unix" distributions such as GNU/Linux,
FreeBSD, NetBSD, and OpenBSD. See
the license
for details.
- Redistribution: Redistribution of C-Kermit except as in (3)
must be licensed.
CLICK HERE for
NEW, EASIER, LOWER-COST terms and conditions.
CLICK HERE
for a discussion of C-Kermit licensing issues,
[ Top ]
[ Download ]
[ Binaries ]
[ Kermit Home ]
[ Top ]
[ License ]
[ New Features ]
[ Case Studies ]
[ Download ]
The user manual for C-Kermit 8.0 is (still) the book
Using
C-Kermit, Second Edition
[ ORDER ],
which is current with C-Kermit 6.0. Features new to version 7.0 are
documented in the online Supplement to Using C-Kermit, Second
Edition, for C-Kermit 7.0, and those new to 8.0 in C-Kermit 8.0 Supplement
(see links just below), which should serve until the Third Edition is ready.
If you don't have the manual, please
order it. It
explains how to use C-Kermit, how to make connections, how to troubleshoot
connection and file-transfer problems, how to handle character-set
translation, how to write script programs, and lots more. It lets you get the
most out of your software, it reduces the load on our help desk, and sales of
the manual are the primary source of funding for continued C-Kermit
development and support.
Online Information Resources:
[ Top ]
[ Download ]
[ Binaries ]
[ Kermit Home ]
[ Top ]
[ License ]
[ Documentation ]
[ Case Studies ]
[ Download ]
- New Terms and Conditions for Commercial Redistribution
- CLICK HERE for details.
- Built-In FTP Client (Unix only)
- Wouldn't it be nice if all the power, flexibility, and ease of use of
the Kermit command and scripting language were available in an FTP client, not
to mention features like security, character-set translation, recovery,
update, directory tree transfer, atomic file movement, automatic text/binary
mode switching, and almost everything else C-Kermit can do? Now they are.
CLICK HERE for an
overview. The built-in FTP client is available only in the Unix version of
C-Kermit 8.0, and is also included in
Kermit 95 2.x;
anybody who is interested in adapting it to VMS or other operating systems,
please contact us.
- Built-In HTTP 1.1 Client (Unix only)
- HTTP connections can be open at the same time as other connections.
- Both persistent and "one-shot" connections are supported.
- Fully scriptable.
- SSL/TLS security is configurable.
- CLICK HERE for documentation.
- Security
- SSH: Unix C-Kermit now includes an interface to the external SSH
program, so you can use all of C-Kermit's features (command language,
scripting, file transfer, character-set translation) on SSH connections.
- Due to
relaxations in USA export law, secure versions of C-Kermit are available
in source-code form, supporting Kerberos IV,
Kerberos V, SSL/TLS, and SRP.
- ZLIB compression has been added to SSL/TLS for improved peformance.
- Kermit's SSL/TLS security method can now use not only X.509 certificates
but also Kerberos 5 credentials.
- CLICK HERE for
the new Kermit Security Reference.
- Dialing
- Fast generic AT dialing is now the default.
- Many new modem types added.
- C-Kermit now supports
RFC 2217: Telnet Com
Port Control. When dialing out from an access (reverse terminal) server
that supports this option (such as a Cisco 2509 or a Linux-based
sredird server),
and that was contacted using Telnet protocol, C-Kermit can now set and examine
the port's serial communications parameters: speed, flow control, modem
signals, etc, and can send BREAK signals from the server's serial port.
- Terminal Sessions
- Timestamped session log now available.
- Now 8-bit clean by default rather than by request.
- The pseudo-keepalive feature previously found only in K95 is now
available also in most Unix versions of C-Kermit. This lets you have Kermit
automatically time out when the terminal session has been inactive for a
specified amount of time and take any of several desired action upon an
idle timeout: return to command mode, hangup, exit, or send the character,
string, or Telnet negotiation of your choice.
- CLICK HERE
for details.
- Automatic Text/Binary Mode Switching
- C-Kermit did this in version 7.0 by matching filenames against lists of
well-known filetypes (like .exe, .zip, .txt, etc),
which is not foolproof; for example, is foo.doc a text file or a
(binary) Microsoft Word document?. Now the contents of each file is
quickly prescanned to determine its type. This occurs when sending files
with Kermit, Zmodem, or FTP.
CLICK HERE for
details.
- Proxy support
- Kermit can now make terminal or FTP connections through Proxy Servers
supporting the
HTTP CONNECT
command.
- Scripting Improvements
-
- Command Parsing Improvements
-
- New or Improved Commands
- SET TERMINAL IDLE-TIMEOUT and IDLE-ACTION
- SET FILE STRINGSPACE and LISTSIZE
- CHMOD (Unix only)
- CLEAR KEYBOARD-BUFFER
- IF KBHIT and other new IF conditions
- COPY, RENAME, and TRANSLATE now operate on file groups
- New DELETE switches: /DIRECTORIES, /RECURSIVE, /TREE, /SUMMARY
- GREP, HEAD, TAIL
- SET ROOT (similar to Unix chroot)
- Improved character-set handling in the TYPE command
- Bugs Fixed
- Memory leaks and buffer attack vulnerabilities plugged.
- Expect-like scripting of local programs via SET HOST /PTY was broken on
some platforms.
- Solaris hardware flow control was broken.
- FreeBSD 4.0 + ncurses 5.0 problem.
- NetBSD modem signal sensing and control.
- SCO OSR5 and Unixware modem signal sensing and control.
- Transparent printing in Unix didn't always work.
- ANSWER 0 (wait forever for incoming call) broken.
- Problems with RETURN from right-recursive functions.
- SEND /COMMAND didn't work.
- Streaming file transfers couldn't be canceled.
- Improper interaction of SEND-LIST with GET.
- The MAIL command was broken.
- "kermit -s *"
might have skipped some files.
- CP1251 erroneously treated like Latin-1.
- UTF-8 conversion didn't handle C1 control area properly.
- Lots of other smaller problems.
- New to 8.0.201
-
- New to 8.0.206
-
- New to 8.0.208
- SSL/TLS support upgraded to OpenSSL 0.9.7.
- SSL/TLS support added to (Open)VMS.
- Bug fixes.
- For details CLICK HERE.
- New to 8.0.209
- Bug fixes.
- Corresponds to Kermit 95 2.1.4.
- For details CLICK HERE.
CLICK HERE to
see the list of features that were new to C-Kermit 7.0.
[ Top ]
[ Download ]
[ Binaries ]
[ Kermit Home ]
[ Top ]
[ License ]
[ Documentation ]
[ New Features ]
[ Download ]
CLICK HERE
to view the C-Kermit Tutorial.
Case studies and tutorials are posted from time to time to the newsgroup news:comp.protocols.kermit.misc to
showcase some of the new features of C-Kermit 7.0 and 8.0, with each posting
also available on the website. Here's the index:
- Cleaning Out
Beta-Test Binaries (file management)
- Kerbang Scripts
(script construction and argument passing)
- Autodownload
(file transfer)
- Automatic Text/Binary
Mode Switching (file transfer)
- Directory
Recursion (file transfer and management)
- Streaming (file
transfer)
- Internet Kermit
Service (file transfer and management)
- Unicode
(character sets)
- Printing (file
transfer and management)
- Atomic File
Movement (file transfer and management)
- C-Kermit Meets
SSH (networking and security)
- C-Kermit's Telnet
Client (networking)
- PPP Dialing
(networking)
- Character Sets
(file transfer)
- File Selection
(file transfer and management)
- Bootstrapping
(installation)
- Fun with Dates and
Times (script programming)
- File Timestamps and
Permissions (file transfer)
- An Easy Way to Get
Files from IKSD (file transfer)
- Lynx/Kermit
Coordination (Part I)
- Secure Telnet Using
C-Kermit 7.1 With Stunnel
- More Fun with
Dates
- Modem Pool
Statistics
- Lynx/Kermit
Coordination (Part II)
- Remote Access
- EMACS Kermit Mode
- (Check back later for more as we add new ones)
[ Top ]
[ Kermit Home ]
[ Top ]
[ License ]
[ Documentation ]
[ New Features ]
[ Case Studies ]
You have many choices for downloading:
- Source Code in tar, zip, or other archive
formats or as separate files: CLICK HERE.
- Individual Text Files: CLICK HERE.
- Individual Binaries: CLICK HERE.
- Install Packages, described just below.
You can also order the
C-Kermit 8.0 CDROM,
described HERE.
Install packages are contributed by Linux distributors, OS vendors,
user groups, or users (we don't make them ourselves). The following install
packages are presently available (NOTE: Red Hat packages updated 21 April
2003):
- http://rawhide.redhat.com/pub/redhat/linux/rawhide/i386/RedHat/RPMS/ckermit-8.0.209-1.i386.rpm
- C-Kermit 8.0.209 Red Hat Linux RPM (i386 = 32-bit PC).
- http://rawhide.redhat.com/pub/redhat/linux/rawhide/x86_64/RedHat/RPMS/ckermit-8.0.209-1.x86_64.rpm
- C-Kermit 8.0.209 Red Hat Linux RPM (Hammer = 64-bit PC).
- http://rawhide.redhat.com/pub/redhat/linux/rawhide/alpha/RedHat/RPMS/ckermit-8.0.208-0.20030226.alpha.rpm
- C-Kermit 8.0.208 Red Hat Linux RPM (64-bit Alpha).
- http://rawhide.redhat.com/pub/redhat/linux/rawhide/ia64/RedHat/RPMS/ckermit-8.0.209-1.ia64.rpm
- C-Kermit 8.0.209 Red Hat Linux RPM (64-bit Itanium).
- http://rawhide.redhat.com/pub/redhat/linux/rawhide/ppc/RedHat/RPMS/ckermit-8.0.209-1.ppc.rpm
- C-Kermit 8.0.209 Red Hat Linux RPM (PowerPC).
- http://rawhide.redhat.com/pub/redhat/linux/rawhide/s390/RedHat/RPMS/ckermit-8.0.209-1.s390.rpm
- C-Kermit 8.0.209 Red Hat Linux RPM (IBM 31-bit S/390).
- http://rawhide.redhat.com/pub/redhat/linux/rawhide/s390x/RedHat/RPMS/ckermit-8.0.209-1.s390x.rpm
- C-Kermit 8.0.209 Red Hat Linux RPM (IBM 64-bit S/390).
- ftp://kermit.columbia.edu/kermit/archives/kermit-8.0.206-arm.ipk
- C-Kermit 8.0.206 ipkg installer for the Sharp Zaurus.
- ftp://ftp.suse.com/pub/suse/i386/8.0/suse/n2/ckermit-8.0.200-55.i386.rpm
- C-Kermit 8.0.200 SuSE Linux RPM (i386).
- http://www.freebsd.org/ports/index.html
- FreeBSD Ports Collection:
Search for "kermit" in the search box.
- ftp://ftp.netbsd.org/pub/NetBSD/packages/pkgsrc/comms/kermit/README.html
- NetBSD Package Collection:
C-Kermit (many versions) for NetBSD (many versions) on many platforms.
- http://www.openbsd.org/3.2_packages/i386/kermit-8.0.201.tgz-long.html
- OpenBSD Ports Collection:
Different C-Kermit ports for each OpenBSD version.
CLICK HERE for
a general discussion of C-Kermit package making. NOTE HOWEVER that the Unix
version of C-Kermit 8.0 includes its own new installation procedure, built
into the makefile. See Section 5 of the Unix
C-Kermit installation guide.
[ Top ]
[ Kermit Home ]
[ Top ]
[ Unix Build ]
[ VMS Build ]
You can download C-Kermit 8.0 source and text
files directly from the Kermit Project in any of several archive formats
by clicking on the following FTP links. The complete archives contain
source code, build procedure, license, initialization files, CA certificates,
manual page or help topic, initialization files, and plain-text information
files extracted from the Web pages listed in the Documentation
section: a complete distribution. The text archives contain
everything but the source code; these can used when you download a prebuilt binary.
The size of each archive file in megabytes is shown in each cell.
(Zip archives contain only text files, unzip them with "-a" or "-aa".)
Besides those, we also have C-Kermit 7.0 archives for the following
platforms that have not yet been updated to C-Kermit 8.0:
- ckl197.zip
- Source code and text files for Stratus VOS, ZIP archive (text files
in DOS format) (Version 7.0).
- ck9197.zip
- Source code and text files for Microware OS-9/68k, ZIP archive
(text files in DOS format). (Version 7.0).
If you want to monitor the day-to-day progress of C-Kermit development,
you can find the current working source code HERE.
Source code and text files are also available separately in the kermit/f/ directory.
These include files for platforms other than Unix and VMS, such as Stratus
VOS, Data General AOS/VS, OS-9, the Amiga, etc. All files in this directory
are text files; transfer them in text mode. See the ckaaaa.txt
file for details.
NOTE: The Unix and VMS source files are
at 8.0 level. The VOS, Amiga, OS-9, and AOS/VS versions remain at 7.0 level.
Others (Macintosh, Atari ST) have not yet been updated in a
long while due to lack or programmers and/or platforms;
volunteers welcome. And of course anybody interested in porting
C-Kermit to new platforms is more than welcome to contact us about it; we'll be happy to
get you started.
- Trouble with FTP?
- o CLICK HERE for FTP hints and tips; or:
- o Forget FTP --
Use Kermit!
[ Top ]
[ Hints & Tips ]
[ Kermit Home ]
[ Top ]
[ Unix Hints & Tips ]
[ Unix Installation Instructions ]
- Make a fresh directory and 'cd' to it. Example:
$ mkdir kermit
$ cd kermit
- Download the
appropriate source code archive.
- If you downloaded a compressed tar file, uncompress it. Examples:
$ gunzip cku209.tar.gz
$ uncompress cku209.tar.Z
- If you downloaded a tar archive, "un-tar" it. Example:
$ tar xvf cku209.tar
If you downloaded a Zip archive, unzip it. Example:
$ unzip -a cku209.zip
- Now you can delete the tar archive (or zip archive) if you wish:
$ rm cku209.tar (or rm cku209.zip)
- Read the comments at
the top of the makefile to find out which target
is appropriate for your computer and operating system, and then give the
appropriate "make" command. Examples:
$ make linux (Linux, almost any version)
$ make freebsd44 (FreeBSD 4.4)
$ make solaris8 (Solaris 8 with cc)
$ make solaris8g (Solaris 8 with gcc)
$ make irix62 (IRIX 6.2)
- Quick install: move the resulting 'wermit' binary to
/usr/local/bin/kermit and give it the same owner, group, and
permissions as minicom or cu. For more detailed instructions, read the C-Kermit installation
instructions, especially if you had trouble with any of these steps, or if
you will be using C-Kermit to dial out. The most
convenient way to install is to the use makefile's install target
("make install"); read about it HERE. See the configuration options
guide for information about compile-time options for customizing the
feature set.
You can also download individual Unix binaries from the C-Kermit binaries table, but to avoid library or other version
mismatches, it is better to build from source code if you can.
[ Top ]
[ Hints & Tips ]
[ Kermit Home ]
[ Top ]
[ VMS Hints & Tips ]
[ VMS Installation Instructions ]
If you want to install a prebuilt VMS binary, then fetch the most
appropriate VMS binary from the C-Kermit binaries
table. Pick a VAX binary for a VAX or an Alpha binary for an Alpha. The
VMS version number for the binary must be less than or equal to your VMS
version. If you want to make TCP/IP connections, pick the binary for the
appropriate TCP/IP product (TGV Multinet, DEC UCX, Process Software TCPware,
etc), again with a version number less than or equal to yours; if none can be
found, then try a UCX version (since most non-DEC TCP products include
built-in UCX emulation). If you downloaded a prebuilt binary, also download
the VMS C-Kermit text-file archive. Then read the installation
instructions for VMS.
If you want to build from source code, fetch the VMS complete archive
above if you have VMS-based unpacking tools,
otherwise get the source files and text individually as described just below.
NOTE: Unzip the Zip file with "unzip -a".
- Make a fresh directory and SET DEFAULT to it. Example:
$ create/directory kermit
$ set default [.kermit]
- Download the VMS source code Zip
archive.
- Unpack the Zip archive. Example:
$ unzip -a ckv209.zip
- Run the build procedure:
$ @ckvker
If you have a pre-5.0 VMS release, use the "old" build procedure:
$ @ckvold
If you experience any trouble, read the
comments at the
top of the build procedure.
- This makes a WERMIT.EXE file in your current directory.
Start it with:
$ r wermit
- To install the version of Kermit you have just built,
read the installation
instructions.
[ Top ]
[ Hints & Tips ]
[ Kermit Home ]
[ Top ]
[ Binaries Table ]
[ C-Kermit Installation Instructions ]
The C-Kermit binaries table is
HERE.
Before visiting the table, you should read this section.
When you download a prebuilt-Kermit binary, you should also download the
C-Kermit text files, unpack them if necessary, and
install them as desired. NOTE: In Unix, you can still use
"make install",
even if if you did not use the makefile to build your Kermit binary (the
makefile as well as all the text files you need are in the text archive).
In the binaries table,
filenames start with "ck" for C-Kermit, then one letter or digit to indicate
the platform ("u" for Unix, "d" for Data General AOS/VS, "v" for VMS,
"i" for Amiga, "9" OS-9, "p" for Plan 9, etc). After that comes a
three-digit edit number:
188: Version 5A(188), November 1992 through September 1993.
189: Version 5A(189), September 1993 through October 1994.
190: Version 5A(190), October 1994 through September 1996.
192: Version 6.0.192, September 1996 through December 1999.
193: Version 6.1.193, November 1996 through June 1998.
194: Version 6.1.194, June 1998 through December 1998.
195: Version 7.0.195, January 1999 through August 1999.
196: Version 7.0.196, September 1999 through final release 1 Jan 2000.
197: Version 7.0.197, January-February 2000.
200: Version 8.0.200, December 2001.
201: Version 8.0.201, February 2002.
206: Version 8.0.206, October 2002.
208: Version 8.0.208, 14 March 2003.
209: Version 8.0.209, 17 March 2003.
Then a possible test-version designator:
"a" for Alpha or "b" for Beta, followed by the 2-digit test number. Examples:
cku209.xxx C-Kermit 8.0.209 final release
cku200b04.xxx C-Kermit 8.0.200 Beta.04
cku197.xxx C-Kermit 7.0.197 final release
Test versions are included here only for platforms that do not have a final
build available (usually because the machine disappeared or had an OS upgrade
before the final C-Kermit release).
Note that edits 193, 194, 195, 198, 199, and 202-05 were never formally
released (191 was only for OS/2).
The rest of the name is platform-dependent; in Unix it's the name of
the makefile target, optionally followed by specific hardware platform and/or
OS version, when it makes a difference. In VMS it's the platform ("axp"
(i.e. Alpha) or "vax"), then the VMS version number (e.g. "vms73"), and then
TCP/IP product and version number (or "nonet" if TCP/IP support is not built
in). And so on. VMS TCP/IP product codes are as follows:
ucx DEC / Compaq / HP TCP/IP
tgv TGV MultiNet
pst Process Software TCPware
twg The Wollongong Group WIN/TCP or PathWay
cmu Carnegie-Mellon University CMU/IP
REMEMBER: It's often better to build your own binary
than to run a prebuilt one, due to the ever-increasing likelihood of OS
and/or library version mismatch.
After downloading, rename to "kermit" or "kermit.exe" (etc),
as appropriate for your operating system and, if necessary,
give execute permission, e.g. (in Unix):
$ mv cku209.linux-i386-rh7.2 kermit
$ chmod +x kermit
Also remember that before C-Kermit can be used to dial out from Unix, it will
probably also be necessary to give the Kermit executable a certain owner and
group, and to set it suid and/or sgid bits, to allow it access to the dialout
device and/or lockfile directory (the same as any other dialout software,
such as cu or minicom). Read
Sections 10
and 11 of the
Unix C-Kermit installation guide.
Notes on the Binaries:
- "curses" refers to the fullscreen file-transfer display, used when
transferring files over dialout or network connections. It's nice but it
adds size and sometimes causes problems so if a "curses" version gives you
trouble, try a no-curses (NC) version. On platforms that have a choice between
"traditional curses" and "new curses" (ncurses), you might also have a choice
of binaries -- if one doesn't work, try the other.
- Likewise, some binaries come in TCP/IP and non-TCP/IP versions. If you
don't need to make TCP/IP connections with C-Kermit, choose the non-TCP/IP
version (if available). A TCP/IP-enabled binary might not run on
platforms that don't have TCP/IP installed.
- And some binaries come in optimized and non-optimized versions; this
refers to compile-time optimization. Choose the optimized version, but if it
gives you trouble, try the corresponding non-optimized one, if available (some
optimizers have bugs). When optimization is marked in the table, O means
normal optimization, O- means no optimization, O+ means extra optimization.
- Some binaries are available in gcc and non-gcc versions; that is, versions
built using two different compilers. If one gives you trouble, try the other
if available. Some compilers have bugs; some compilers support features that
other ones don't.
- Some HP-UX binaries (notably, the HP-UX 7.00 ones) are built for long
filename (255 chars) file systems, others for short-filename (14 chars)
systems; these are marked with SF and LF. Choose one that is appropriate
for your file system.
- Some Linux binaries are linked with libc, some with glibc. Pick the one
that is appropriate for your Linux system. Better yet, just build from source
("make linux" should work on any Linux system).
If you are able to make a binary not listed table
(or that is listed, but is not current"), please
contribute it to
the archive.
CLICK
HERE to visit the C-Kermit binaries table.
Questions? Comments? -- Send e-mail.
[ Top ]
[ Kermit Home ]
C-Kermit 8.0 / Columbia University /
kermit@columbia.edu /
21 Jan 2004
