From: "Pat Farrell" <pfarrell@cs.gmu.edu>
Date: Sun, 27 Jun 93 10:37:01 PDT
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: RE: term for ibm
Message-ID: <49011.pfarrell@cs.gmu.edu>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


In Message Fri, 25 Jun 1993 16:07:03 -1000 (HST),
  Timothy Newsham <newsham@wiliki.eng.hawaii.edu> writes:

>The problem is that the package is (c) and shareware.  Furthermore
>none of the documents say anything about the status of the
>demo programs.  I estimate it would take 30 minutes to an
>hour to get encryption up and running with that term program.
>
>Does anyone know of a small terminal program that has
>a few essential features,  with good modularity?  One that
>is publically available or we could use with the authors
>blessings?

The Microsoft C/C++ compilers come with the source code for a simple windows
based terminal program. While it is copyrighted, it is all over the planet.

In Timmothy Mann's book: Windows Programmer's Guide to Serial
Communications, isbn 0-672-30030-3, are sample code for a mid-level terminal
program (complete with xmodem). The source is in the book and on
a diskette. There are _no_ copyright messages in the sources. The book
itself, is of course, copyrighted.

In Mark Nelson's book: Serial Communications: a C++ Developer's Guide
isbn 1-55851-281-0, are sample code (and diskette)in C++ for DOS, Windows,
FOSSIL, and pure UART drivers and a terminal program (complete with
ZModem).  The code _does not work_ for Windows, but works fine with DOS.
Again, no copyright messages in the source code.

Kermit (anon-ftp from watsun.cc.columbia.edu) is a free, source available
terminal program. Copyrighted Columbia, but enhancements encouraged.

Kermit's modularity is at best marginal. Nelson's code is very good. Mann's
is acceptable. The Windows TTY is acceptable, but being a Windows program,
hardly counts as "small"

The Microsoft Visual Control Pack for Visual Basic and Visual C++ includes
a "serial control" that should handle most of the hard work in building a
terminal program. I can't get it to work from MSVC, and can find no one else
on the planet that can either. But if you wanted to start in Visual Basic,
I expect that a simple terminal program is no more than a day's work.

Pat

p.s. I'm using a hacked version of MS TTY as the starting point for my
WinPOP mail client. If you think I've spend several hundred dollars looking
for working code to build upon, you're right.

Pat Farrell      Grad Student                 pfarrell@cs.gmu.edu
Department of Computer Science    George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
Public key availble via finger          #include <standard.disclaimer>