C-Kermit 8.0 Update Notes

Second Supplement to Using C-Kermit, 2nd Edition

For C-Kermit 8.0

• IF YOU ARE READING A PLAIN-TEXT version of this document, note that it is a plain-text dump of a Web page. You can visit the original (and possibly more up-to-date) Web page here:

    http://www.columbia.edu/kermit/ckermit80.html
  

• If you are reading the HTML version of this file with a GUI Web browser, the features added since C-Kermit 8.0.201 are shown in red if your browser and monitor permit. Features that were new to versions 8.0.200 and 201 are in black.

Authors: Frank da Cruz and Christine M. Gianone
Address: The Kermit Project
         Columbia University
         612 West 115th Street
         New York NY 10025-7799
         USA
Fax:     +1 (212) 662-6442
E-Mail:  kermit-support@columbia.edu
Web:     http://www.columbia.edu/kermit/
Or:      http://www.kermit-project.org/
Or:      http://www.columbia.nyc.ny.us/kermit/

NOTICES

This document:

Copyright © 1997, 2002, Frank da Cruz and Christine M. Gianone. All rights reserved.

Kermit 95:

Copyright © 1995, 2002, Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York. All rights reserved.

C-Kermit:

Copyright © 1985, 2002,
Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York. All rights reserved. See the C-Kermit COPYING.TXT file or the copyright text in the ckcmai.c module for disclaimer and permissions.

When Kerberos(TM) and/or SRP(TM) (Secure Remote Password) and/or SSL/TLS protocol are included:

Portions Copyright © 1990, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Portions Copyright © 1991, 1993 Regents of the University of California.
Portions Copyright © 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995 by AT&T.
Portions Copyright © 1997, Stanford University.
Portions Copyright © 1995-1997, Eric Young <eay@cryptosoft.com>.

For the full text of the third-party copyright notices, see Appendix V.

WHAT IS IN THIS FILE

• The second edition of Using C-Kermit; and:
• The C-Kermit 7.0 Update Notes. Also available in plain-text form as ckermit70.txt.

until the third edition of Using C-Kermit is published. We apologize for the scattered documentation and will consolidate it when we are able.

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ADDITIONAL FILES

ckututor.html

C-Kermit Tutorial (for Unix). Also distributed in Nroff form as ckuker.nr, the Unix C-Kermit manual page.

security.htm

Discussion of Kermit's new authentication and encryption features, updated for C-Kermit 8.0.

telnet.htm

Detailed documentation of Kermit's Telnet client, updated for C-Kermit 8.0.

ftpscripts.html

Tutorial: Writing FTP automation scripts

ckcbwr.html

Platform-independent C-Kermit hints and tips. Also distributed in plain text form as ckcbwr.txt

ckubwr.html

Unix-specific C-Kermit hints and tips. Also distributed in plain text form as ckubwr.txt.

ckvbwr.html

VMS-specific C-Kermit hints and tips. Also distributed in plain text form as ckvbwr.txt.

ckuins.html

Unix C-Kermit installation instructions. Also distributed in plain text form as ckuins.txt.

ckvins.html

VMS C-Kermit installation instructions. Also distributed in plain text form as ckvins.txt.

ckccfg.html

Compile-time configuration options. Also distributed in plain text form as ckccfg.txt.

ckcplm.html

C-Kermit Program Logic Manual. Also distributed in plain text form as ckcplm.txt.

iksd.html

Internet Kermit Service Aministrators Guide for Unix.

skermit.html

C-Kermit as an SSH Subsystem (SFTP server replacement).

[ Top ] [ C-Kermit ] [ Kermit Home ]

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CONTENTS

[ Top ] [ C-Kermit ] [ Kermit Home ]

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0. WHAT'S NEW

The Initialization and Customization Files

C-Kermit 8.0 now supports specification of the initialization file name (path) in an environment variable, CKERMIT_INI. It also relies far less than before on the initialization for functioning. See Section 5 of the Unix C-Kermit installation instructions for details. As of version 8.0.201, C-Kermit also executes your customization file (if you have one) even if the initialization file was not found. Previously, the customization file was executed by a TAKE command in the initialization file (and it still is, if an initialization is found).

Incompatible Changes

As always, we do our best to avoid changes that break existing scripts. However, C-Kermit 8.0 does include a rather pervasive syntax change that might alter the behavior of scripts that depend on the previous behavior. As described in Section 5, C-Kermit now accepts doublequotes in most contexts where you previously had to use braces to group multiple words into a single field, or to force inclusion of leading or trailing blanks. Most noticeably, in C-Kermit 7.0 and earlier:

  echo {this is a string}

would print:

  this is a string

whereas:

  echo "this is a string"

printed:

  "this is a string"

In C-Kermit 8.0, both print:

  this is a string

To force the doublequotes to be treated as part of the string, use either of the following forms:

  echo {"this is a string"}
  echo ""this is a string""

Similarly, to force braces to be treated as part of the string:

  echo "{this is a string}"
  echo {{this is a string}}

Other incompatibilities:

1. Using the SET HOST command to make HTTP connections is no longer supported. Instead, use the new HTTP OPEN command, described in Section 2.2.

C-Kermit 7.1 Alpha.01 (8 December 2000)

Its major new features are those listed in the Table of Contents: the FTP client, file scanning, command parsing and scripting improvements, S-Expressions, and support for the Telnet Com Port Option, plus wider availability of the Kerberos, SSL/TLS, and SRP security options for secure Internet connections.

C-Kermit 7.1.199 Alpha.02 (4 January 2001)

• C-Kermit now accepts FTP, TELNET, and IKSD URLs as its first command-line argument.
• Character-set translation added to the FTP client for filenames.
• Optional setting of date of incoming files by FTP [M]GET from the server date.
• FTP CHECK filename added to let FTP client check the existence of a file on the server.
• FTP GET /NAMELIST:filename added to get list of server filenames into a local file.
• FTP [M]PUT /SERVER-RENAME:template added to make server rename a file as indicated by the template after it has arrived completely.
• FTP [M]GET /SERVER-RENAME:template added to make server rename a file as indicated by the template after it has been sent completely.
• FTP VDIRECTORY added for getting verbose directory listings from TOPS-20.
• FTP TYPE TENEX added for transferring 8-bit binary files with PDP-10s.
• Added automatic text/binary mode switching for FTP [M]GET, based on filename patterns (e.g. *.zip, *.gz, *.exe are binary; *.txt, *.c are text).
• SET SEND I-PACKETS OFF added for coping with Kermit servers that do not support I packets.
• A new option was added to \fword() and \fsplit() for parsing comma-separated lists that might contain empty elements.
• Bug fixes including:
  • {} or "" could not be used as expected to represent the empty string.
  • ,- on a line by itself in a macro definition caused subsequent statements to be skipped.
  • FTP [M]GET didn't work right if path segments were included in the filespec.
  • FTP MGET, if interrupted, did not clear its file list.
  • Various problems with FTP PUT /AS-NAME that nobody noticed.
  • Some FTP messages and displays interfered with each other.
  • Parsing of YESTERDAY, TODAY, and TOMORROW in date-time fields was broken.
  • Automatic old-to-new dialing directory format conversion was broken on VMS.
  • Various source-code portability problems fixed.
• Improvement of various HELP and SHOW messages.

C-Kermit 7.1.199 Alpha.04 (1 April 2001)

• Big changes:
  • Changed default modem type from NONE to GENERIC.
  • Generic dialing now sends no init string at all.
  • Changed default terminal bytesize from 7 to 8.
• New features:
  • SET SESSION-LOG TIMESTAMPED-TEXT for timestamped session log.
• New modem types:
  • Conexant modem family
  • Lucent VENUS chipset
  • PCTel V.90 chipset
  • Zoom V.90
  • Zoom V.92
• FTP client:
  • FTP OPEN /PASSIVE and /ACTIVE switches added.
  • Now works with servers that that don't include path in NLST response.
  • Fixed SEND /RECURSIVE not to follow symlinks (UNIX).
  • SET FTP VERBOSE-MODE default is now OFF instead of ON.
• Kermit protocol:
  • Fixed what I hope is the last "Receive window full" error.
  • SET PREFIXING or SET CONTROL PREFIX now automatically sets CLEARCHANNEL OFF.
  • Fixed incorrect report of number of files transferred at end of transfer.
  • Fixed SEND /RECURSIVE not to follow symlinks (UNIX).
• UNIX:
  • HTTP and shadow passwords enabled for SCO 5.0.6.
  • Even with SET FILENAMES CONVERTED, spaces were still accepted in incoming filenames; now they are converted to underscores.
  • Added support for compile-time mktemp()/mkstemp() selection.
• VMS:
  • Session-log format for scripted sessions fixed.
• Scripting:
  • Fixed \frdir() not to follow symlinks (UNIX).
  • Fixed \fday() not to dump core for dates prior to 17 Mar 1858.
• General:
  • "Closing blah..." message upon exit could not be surpressed.
  • Added /PAGE and /NOPAGE to DELETE switches.
  • Added GO response for DELETE /ASK (delete all the rest without asking).
  • Added GO response to "more?" prompt (for multi-page screen output).
  • Updated HELP texts.

C-Kermit 7.1.199 Beta.01 (10 May 2001)

• FTP client verbosity adjustments.
• Bug with generic modem dialing pausing several secs fixed.
• SET HOST /USER:, SET LOGIN USERID, etc, fixed when given no user ID.
• A couple \v(dm_blah) dial modifier variables added.
• "--version" command-line switch added.
• Fixed NetBSD serial-port DTR handling.
• Lots of syntax cleanups for Flexelint and gcc -Wall.
• Fixed modem-type aliases to not take precedence over real names.
• Fixed funny treatment of doublequotes by ECHO command.
• Enabled SET SESSION-LOG for VMS and other non-UNIX platorms.
• Fixed changing direction in command history buffer.
• Fixed handling of IKSD URLs.
• Made sure DELETE prints a message if it got any errors.

C-Kermit 8.0.200 Beta.02 (28 June 2001)

• Major version number increased from 7 to 8.
• SSH command.
• More-consistent Kermit protocol defaults.
• CONNECT idle timeout and action selection.
• CONNECT status variable.
• A way to allocate more space for filename lists.
• Pseudoterminal handler fixed for late-model Linuxes.
• Command-line option -dd for timestamped debug log.
• Download directory now works for external protocols too.
• GREP /COUNT:variable.
• SET ATTRIBUTE RECORD-FORMAT { OFF, ON }.
• Bug fixes.

C-Kermit 8.0.200 Beta.03 (9 Sep 2001)

• HTTP 1.1 connections and scripting
• ON_CTRLC macro for trapping Ctrl-C in scripts
• Date-time parsing improvements, timezones, comparison, arithmetic
• Pattern-matching improvements
• FTP improvements
• SET EXIT HANGUP { ON, OFF }
• SET FILE EOF { CTRL-Z, LENGTH }
• ASK[Q] /TIMEOUT
• Bug fixes
• New platforms

C-Kermit 8.0.200 Beta.04 (16 Nov 2001)

• New Unix man page
• New Unix installation instructions
• SET TELOPT policies are now enforced on non-Telnet ports if the server begins Telnet negotiations.
• SET TERMINAL IDLE-ACTION { TELNET-NOP, TELNET-AYT }.
• UUCP lockfile creation race condition fixed.
• Dialout, modem signals, hangup, hardware flow control, etc, tested extensively on many platforms, numerous problems fixed.
• Improved hints when dialing fails.
• SET STOP-BITS 2 can now be given without SET FLOW HARDWARE.
• Major improvements in RFC 2217 Telnet Com-Port Control.
• Improved ability to REDIAL a modem server port.
• kermit -h now shows the command name in the usage usage string.
• kermit -h now shows ALL command-line options.
• kermit -s blah, where blah is a symlink, now works.
• --noperms command-line option = SET ATTRIBUTE PERMISSIONS OFF.
• HTTP and HTTPS URLs now supported on the command line.
• An http command-line personality is now available.
• Initialization file streamlined to load faster, anachronisms removed.
• Updated NEWS, INTRO, HELP text, SHOW commands. In particular, see SHOW COMM, HELP SET LINE, HELP WAIT.
• Date/time arithmetic routines converted from floating-point to integer arithmetic (internally) for greater accuracy and portability.
• Quoted strings containing commas no longer break macro execution.
• Dynamic Kermit file-transfer timeouts are now much more aggressive.
• New "hot keys" to turn debug.log on/off during file transfer.
• Improved hints when file transfer fails.
• FTP CD orientation messages are now printed.
• -R now accepted on the FTP command line to request Recursion.
• -m allows Active or Passive mode to be chosen on the FTP command line.
• -dd on the FTP command line creates a timestamped debug.log.
• FTP command-line security options filled in.
• Improved automatic text/binary mode switching for MGET.
• Removed spurious error messages that sometimes occur during MGET.
• DIRECTORY, GREP, TYPE, HEAD, and TAIL now have a /OUTPUT:file option.
• TYPE /NUMBER adds line numbers.
• CAT = TYPE /NOPAGE; MORE = TYPE /PAGE.
• GETOK ?-help fixed.
• \v(timestamp) (= "\v(ndate) \v(time)")
• \v(hour) (hour of the day, 0-23)
• \funix2dospath() converts a UNIX path (/) to a DOS one (\).
• \fdos2unixpath() converts a DOS (Windows, OS/2) path to a UNIX one.
• \fkeywordval() parses name=value pair, allows macro keyword parameters.
• We now make every attempt to not write passwords to the debug.log.
• New Certficate Authority certificates file, includes the Kermit Project at Columbia University so you can access our IKSD securely.
• Secure targets improved and better documented in Unix makefile.
• All Linux (libc and glibc) builds consolidated under "make linux".
• HP-UX makefile targets now have consistent names.
• New aix50 and aix51 targets added.

C-Kermit 8.0.200 Final (12 Dec 2001)

• Remote/local-mode confusion on some platforms introduced in Beta.04, fixed.
• Many of the makefile targets adjusted, new ones added.
• New "make install" target should please most people.
• New command: SHOW IKSD.
• FTP over TLS.
• Last-minute touchups to text messages, HELP text, etc.
• Enable modem-signal reading for SCO OSR5 and Unixware 7.
• Special superfast TRANSMIT /BINARY /NOECHO /NOWAIT mode added.
• Fixed PBX dialing in unmarked-area-code case.
• Improved SHOW COMMUNICATIONS tells lockfile directory, typical dialout device name.
• Some FTP OPEN command parsing problems fixed.
• Some errors in date arithmetic fixed.
• New command: SET TERMINAL AUTODOWNLOAD { ..., ERROR { STOP, CONTINUE } }
• New command: HELP FIREWALL.
• SET MODEM HANGUP-METHOD DTR added as synomym for RS232-SIGNAL
• Support for secure URL protocols added: telnets:, ftps:, https:.

C-Kermit 8.0.201 (8 Feb 2002)

• Installability as an SSH v2 Subsystem.
• SET LOCUS command.
• L-versions of CD, DIR, DELETE, MKDIR, etc, to force local execution.
• USER and ACCOUNT added as synonyms for FTP USER and FTP ACCOUNT.
• SHOW VARIABLES now accepts a list of variables.
• Rudimentary support for Caller ID when receiving phone calls.
• Up/Down Arrow-key navigation of command history buffer.
• Automatic execution of customization file if init file is missing.

C-Kermit 8.0.206 Beta.01 (11 Oct 2002)

New commands:

• ORIENTATION lists location-related variables and their values.
• KCD changes to special directories by their symbolic names ("kcd ?" for a list).
• SET CD HOME path to specify home directory for CD and KCD commands.
• CONTINUE given at top level is equivalent to END -- handy when PROMPT'ed out of a script, to continue the script.

New switches or operands for existing commands:

• GETOK /TIMEOUT
• ASK, ASKQ, GETOK /QUIET (suppresses error message on timeout)
• COPY /APPEND now allows concatenating multiple source files into one dest file.
• SET TCP { HTTP-PROXY, SOCKS-SERVER } /USER, /PASSWORD.
• DIRECTORY command now accepts multiple filespecs, e.g. "dir a b c".

SET QUIET ON now also applies to:

• SET HOST connection progress messages.
• "Press the X or E key to cancel" file-transfer message.
• REMOTE CD response.
• REMOTE LOGIN response.

Improvements and new features:

• Numerous FTP client fixes and new features, listed below.
• C-Kermit, when in remote mode at the end of a file transfer, now prints a one-line "where" message. Control with SET TRANSFER REPORT.
• Unix makefile "install" target now creates an UNINSTALL script.
• Improved operation and performance on RFC 2217 Telnet connections.
• Improved CONNECT (interactive terminal connection) performance.
• HELP text updated for many commands.

New or fixed makefile targets:

• Solaris 9 (several variations)
• Concurrent PowerMAX
• Mac OS X 10.2
• FreeBSD 1.0
• FreeBSD 4.6, 5.0
• AIX 5.2, 5.3

Bugs fixed (general):

• Failure to run in VMS Batch fixed.
• LDIRECTORY fixed to run Kermit's built-in DIRECTORY command rather than an external one.
• Fixed Solaris and other SVORPOSIX builds to find out their full hostnames rather than just the "uname -n" name.
• Fixed some problems matching strings that start with ".".
• Fixed some problems matching pattern that contain {a,b,c} lists.
• Fixed erroneous reporting of text-mode reception as binary when sender did not report the file size (cosmetic only).
• Many problems with SWITCH statements fixed.
• Fixed SET OPTIONS DIRECTORY /DOTFILES to work for server too.
• Fixed DELETE to print an error message if the file was not found.
• Fixed SET CONTROL UNPREFIX ALL and SET PREFIXING NONE to do the same thing.
• Fixed bugs executing macros from within the ON_EXIT macro.
• \fday() and \fnday() fixed for dates prior to 17 Nov 1858.
• Serial speed-changing bug in Linux fixed.
• "Unbalanced braces" script parsing errors when using \{number} fixed.
• "if defined \v(name)" fixed to behave as described in the book.
• Fixed Problems caused by LOCAL variables whose names are left substrings of macro names.
• The INPUT command was fixed to honor the PARITY setting.
• Fixed bug with COPY to existing file that is longer than source file.
• REINPUT command failed to strip braces/quotes around its target string.
• Network directory lookups didn't work for SSH connections.
• REMOTE SET { FILE, TRANSFER } CHARACTER-SET fixed.
• Closed some holes whereby an incompletely received file was not deleted when SET FILE INCOMPLETE is DISCARD, e.g. when the Kermit is hung up upon.
• SET XFER CHARACTER-SET TRANSPARENT fixed to do the same as SET XFER TRANSLATION OFF.
• SET HOST PTY (e.g. SSH) connection fixed to pass along window-size changes.
• C-Kermit search path for TAKE files was accidentally disabled.

FTP client bugs fixed:

• Character set translation was broken on little-endian (e.g. PC) architectures.
• FTP PUT /SERVER-RENAME:, /RENAME-TO:, /MOVE-TO: switches were sticky.
• Make SET TRANSFER MODE MANUAL apply to FTP.
• Make SET FILE INCOMPLETE { KEEP, DISCARD } apply to FTP.
• FTP MGET /UPDATE handled equal times incorrectly.
• FTP MGET /RECOVER fixed to ignore file dates, use only size.
• FTP MGET /RECOVER sometimes downloaded files it didn't need to.
• FTP downloads with TRANSFER DISPLAY BRIEF could give misleading error messages.
• FTP MGET temp file not deleted if FTP DEBUG set to OFF after it was ON.
• LOCUS not switched back when FTP connection is lost.
• Set incoming file date even if it was not completely received.
• FTP MGET sent SIZE and MDTM commands even when it didn't have to.
• FTP MGET sent SIZE and MDTM commands even when it knew they wouldn't work.
• FTP MGET failed if no files were selected for download.
• FTP MGET a* b* c* would fail to get any c*'s if no b*'s existed.
• Big problems canceling MGET with Ctrl-C.
• Some extraneous LOCUS dialogs squelched.
• Some inconsistencies in SET FTP FILENAMES AUTO fixed.
• Fixed file-descriptor pileup after multiple MGETs when using mkstemp().
• Fixed "mget foo", where foo is a directory name.

FTP improvements:

• New FTP protocol features added (FEAT, MLSD).
• FTP MGET /RECURSIVE now works as expected if server supports MLSD.
• FTP MGET /DATES-DIFFER to download if local and remote file dates differ.
• FTP DATES default changed to ON.
• FTP MPUT, MGET /EXCEPT now allows up to 64 patterns (up from 8).
• Top-level SITE and PASSIVE commands added for convenience.
• MGET /COLLISION:APPEND /AS-NAME:newfile *.* puts all remote files into one local file.
• SET FTP SERVER-TIME-OFFSET for when server has wrong timezone set.
• Allow for alternative server interpretations of [M]MPUT /UNIQUE.
• SET FTP ANONOMOUS-PASSWORD lets you specify the default anonymous password.
• Allow "GET /RECURSIVE path/file" to force local subdirectory creation.
• SET FTP DISPLAY is like SET TRANSFER DISPLAY but applies only to FTP.
• FTP { ENABLE, DISABLE } new-protocol-feature-name.
• FTP MGET /NODOTFILES.
• Debug log now records FTP commands and responses in grep-able format.

[ Top ] [ Contents ] [ C-Kermit ] [ Kermit Home ]

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1. FIXES SINCE VERSION 7.0.196

The following bugs in C-Kermit 8.0.200 were fixed in 8.0.201:

• An obscure path through the code could cause the Unix version of C-Kermit to dump core during its startup sequence. This happened to only one person, but now it's fixed.

• When C-Kermit 8.0 is in Kermit server mode and the client says "get blah", where blah (on the server) is a symlink rather than a real file, the server unreasonably refused to send the linked-to file.

• When C-Kermit is an FTP client and says "get foo/bar" (i.e. a filename that includes one or more path segments), it failed to accept the incoming file (this happened only with GET, not MGET).

• Array references should be case insensitive but only lowercase array letters were accepted.

• SHOW VARIABLES dumped core on \v(sexpression) and \v(svalue).

• Spurious refusals of remote directory listings if the remote server's date was set in the past.

• In AIX, and maybe elsewhere too, Kermit's COPY command always failed with "Source and destination are the same file" when the destination file didn't exist.

• The VMS version of C-Kermit did not work in Batch or when SPAWN'd. To compound the problem, it also pretty much ignored the -B and -z command-line options, whose purpose is to work around such problems.

• C-Kermit 8.0 could not be built on IRIX 5.x.

• The C-Kermit 8.0 build for QNX6 said it was an "(unknown version)".

Other fixes are listed in the previous section.

[ Top ] [ Contents ] [ C-Kermit ] [ Kermit Home ]

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2. SSH AND HTTP

2.1. SSH Connections

This section does not apply to Kermit 95 2.0, which has its own built-in SSH client, which is documented SEPARATELY.

SSH text

Tells Kermit to start the external SSH client, passing the given text to it on the command line. Normally the text is just the hostname, but it can be anything else that is acceptable to the ssh client. If the command succeeds, the connection is made and Kermit automatically enters CONNECT (terminal) mode. You can use the SSH command to make a connection to any host that has an SSH server.

Kermit's SSH command gives you all the features of Kermit on an SSH connection: command language, file transfer, character-set translation, scripting, and all the rest. By default, C-Kermit invokes SSH with "-e none", which disables the ssh escape character and makes the connection transparent for purposes of file transfer. You can, however, change the SSH invocation to whatever else you might need (an explicit path, additional command-line arguments, etc) with:

SET SSH COMMAND text

Specifies the system command that Kermit's SSH command should use to invoke the external SSH client. Use this command to supply a specific path or alternative name, or to include different or more command-line options.

In most cases, these connections work quite well. They can be scripted like any other connection, and file transfer goes as fast as, or faster than, on a regular Telnet connection. In some cases, however, the underlying pseudoterminal driver is a limiting factor, resulting in slow or failed file transfers. Sometimes you can work around such problems by reducing the Kermit packet length. Note that Kermit does not consider SSH connections to be reliable, so it does not offer to use streaming in Kermit protocol transfers (but you can force it with SET RELIABLE or SET STREAMING if you wish).

The SSH command is like the TELNET command: it enters CONNECT mode automatically when the connection is made. Therefore, to script an SSH connection, use:

  set host /pty ssh -e none [ other-options ] host
  if fail ...

Here's a sequence that can be used to make a connection to a given host using Telnet if the host accepts it, otherwise SSH:

  if not defined \%1 exit 1 Usage: \%0 host
  set quiet on
  set host \%1 23 /telnet
  if fail {
      set host /pty ssh -l \m(user) -e none \%1
      if fail exit 1 \%1: Telnet and SSH both fail
      echo SSH connection to \%1 successful  
  } else {
      echo Telnet connection to \%1 successful  
  }

In SSH v2, it is possible to make an SSH connection direct to a Kermit server system if the host administrator has configured the SSH server to allow this; CLICK HERE for details.

Since Kermit uses external ssh client software, and since there are different ssh clients (and different releases of each one), the exact command to be used to make an SSH/Kermit connection can vary. Here is the command for the OpenSSH 3.0.2p1 client:

set host /pipe ssh -e none [ -l username ] -T -s hostname kermit

Example:

set host /pipe ssh -e none -l olga -T -s hq.xyzcorp.com kermit

The SSH client might or might not prompt you for a password or other information before it makes the connection; this depends on your SSH configuration (your public and private keys, your authorized hosts file, etc). Here's a brief synopsis of the OpenSSH client command syntax ("man ssh" for details):

-e none

This tells the SSH client to use no escape character. Since we will be transferring files across the connection, we don't want the connection to suddenly block because some character in the data.

-l username

This is the username on the remote host. You can omit the -l option and its argument if your local and remote usernames are the same. If they are different, you must supply the remote username.

-T

This tells the SSH client to tell the SSH server not to allocate a pseudoterminal. We are not making a terminal connection, we don't need a terminal, and in fact if a terminal were allocated on the remote end, the connection would not work.

-s ... kermit

This tells the SSH client to tell the SSH server to start the specified subsystem ("kermit") once the connection is made. The subsystem name comes after the hostname.

hostname

The IP host name or address of the desired host.

You might want to include other or additional ssh command-line options; "man ssh" explains what they are. Here are some examples for the OpenSSH 3.0.2p1 client:

-oClearAllForwardings yes

-oForwardAgent no

-oForwardX11 no

-oFallbackToRsh no

These ensure that a secure connection is used and that the connection used for file transfer is not also used for forwarding other things that might be specified in the ssh_config file.

-oProtocol 2

(i.e. SSH v2) Ensures that the negotiated protocol supports subsystems.

Once you have an SSH connection to a Kermit server, it's just like any other connection to a Kermit server (and very similar to a connection to an FTP server). You give the client file transfer and management commands for the server, and the server executes them. Of course you can also give the client any other commands you wish.

[ SSH Kermit Server Subsystem ] [ Kermit 95 Built-in SSH Client ]

2.2. HTTP Connections

Although C-Kermit 7.0 could make HTTP connections to Web servers, it could do so only when no other connection was open, and the procedure was somewhat awkward. C-Kermit 8.0 improves matters by:

• Allowing an HTTP connection to be open at the same time as a regular SET LINE or SET HOST connection, and also at the same time as an FTP connection (Section 3);
• Upgrading the HTTP protocol level from 1.0 to 1.1, thus allowing for persistent connections, in which a series of commands can be sent on the same connection, rather than only one as in HTTP 1.0 (and C-Kermit 7.0);
• Providing for "one-shot" URL-driven HTTP operations such as GET or PUT.
• Providing a distinct HTTP command-line personality.

Persistent HTTP connections are managed with the following commands:

HTTP [ switches ] OPEN [ security-options ] host-or-url [ port ]

Opens a persistent connection to the specified host (IP host name or address) on the specified port. If any switches (options, listed in the next section) are included, their values are saved and used for all subsequent HTTP action commands on the same connection. If no port is specified, HTTP (80) is used. A Uniform Resource Locator (URL, RFC 1738) can be given instead of a hostname (or address) and port (but the URL can not include a directory/file path). The security options are explained below. The HTTP OPEN command replaces the C-Kermit 7.0 SET HOST hostname HTTP command, which no longer works with HTTP GET and related commands.

HTTP CLOSE

Closes any open HTTP connection and clears any saved switch values.

A URL starts with a protocol name, which must be http or https in this case; optionally includes a username and password; and must contain a host name or address:

  protocol://[user[.password]]@host[:port][URI]

HTTP is Hypertext Transfer Protocol. HTTPS is the secure (SSL/TLS) version of HTTP. The TCP service port is derived from the protocol prefix (so normally the ":port" field is omitted). Thus the URL protocol name specifies a default TCP service port and the URL user and password fields can take the place of the /USER and /PASSWORD switches (Section 2.2.1). The optional URI is a "compact string of characters for identifying an abstract or physical resource" (RFC 2396), such as a file. It must begin with a slash (/); if the URI is omitted, "/" is supplied. Examples:

http open http://www.columbia.edu/

Equivalent to http open www.columbia.edu or http open www.columbia.edu http.

http open https://olga.secret@www1.xyzcorp.com/

Equivalent to http /user:olga /pass:secret open www1.xyzcorp.com https.

Persistence is accomplished unilaterally by C-Kermit 8.0. An HTTP 1.0 server closes the connection after each action. Although HTTP 1.1 allows multiple actions on the same connection, an HTTP 1.1 server tends to close the connection if it is idle for more than a few seconds, to defend itself against denial-of-service attacks. But when you use Kermit's HTTP OPEN command to create a connection, Kermit reopens it automatically (if necessary) for each HTTP action until you close it with HTTP CLOSE, regardless of the server's HTTP protocol version, or how many times it closes the connection.

Firewalls can be negotiated through proxies with the following commands:

SET TCP HTTP-PROXY [ host[:port] ]

If a host (by hostname or IP address) is specified, Kermit uses it as a proxy server when attempting outgoing TCP connections -- not only HTTP connections, but all TCP/IP connections, Telnet and FTP included. This allows Kermit to adapt to the HTTP firewall penetration method (as opposed to other methods such as SOCKS4). If no hostname or ip-address is specified, any previously specified Proxy server is removed. If no port number is specified, the "http" service is used. This command must be given before the HTTP OPEN command if a proxy is to be used or canceled.

HTTP [ switches ] CONNECT host[:port]

Instructs the HTTP server to act as a proxy, establishing a connection to the specified host (IP hostname or address) on the given port (80 = HTTP by default) and to redirect all data transmitted between Kermit and itself to the given host for the life of the connection. This command is to be used only for debugging HTTP proxy connections. If a proxy connection is required, instruct Kermit to use the proxy with the SET TCP HTTP-PROXY command.

2.2.1. HTTP Command Switches

If you include switches with an HTTP action command (such as GET or PUT), they apply only to that command.

/USER:name

To be used in case a page requires a username for access. The username is sent with page requests. If it is given with the OPEN command it is saved until needed. If a username is included in a URL, it overrides the username given in the switch. CAUTION: Username and password (and all other information, including credit card numbers and other material that you might prefer to protect from public view) are sent across the network in clear text on regular HTTP connections, but authentication is performed securely on HTTPS connections.

/PASSWORD:text

To be used in case a web page requires a password for access. The password is sent with page requests. If it is given with the OPEN command it is saved until needed. If a password is given in a URL, it overrides the one given here. CAUTION: (same as for /USER:).

/AGENT:user-agent

Identifies the client to the server. Overrides the default agent string, which is "C-Kermit" (for C-Kermit) or "Kermit-95" (for Kermit 95).

/ARRAY:array-designator

Tells Kermit to store the response headers in the given array, one line per element. The array need not be declared in advance. Example: /array:&a.

/TOSCREEN

Tells Kermit to display any response text on the screen. It applies independently of the output file specification; thus it is possible to have the server response go to the screen, a file, both, or neither.

/HEADER:header-item(s)

Used for specifying any optional headers to be sent with HTTP requests.

  /HEADER:tag:value

To send more than one header, use braces for grouping:

  /HEADER:{{tag:value}{tag:value}...}

For a list of valid tags and value formats see RFC 2616, "Hypertext Transfer Protocol -- HTTP/1.1". A maximum of eight headers may be specified.

2.2.2. HTTP Action Commands

  http open www.columbia.edu
  if failure stop 1 HTTP OPEN failed: \v(http_message)
  http get kermit/index.html
  if failure stop 1 HTTP GET failed: \v(http_message)
  (more actions possible here...)
  http close

A self-contained HTTP action occurs when a URL is given instead of a remote file name to an HTTP action command. In this case, Kermit makes the HTTP connection, takes the action, and then closes the connection. If an HTTP connection was already open, it is closed silently and automatically.

  http get http://www.columbia.edu/kermit/index.html

Kermit's HTTP action commands are as follows. Switches may be included with any of these to override switch (or default) values given in the HTTP OPEN command.

HTTP [ switches ] GET remote-filename [ local-filename ]

Retrieves the named file from the server specified in the most recent HTTP OPEN command for which a corresponding HTTP CLOSE command has not been given. The filename may not include wildcards (HTTP protocol does not support them). If no HTTP OPEN command is in effect, this form of the HTTP GET command fails. The default local filename is the same as the remote name, but with any pathname stripped. For example, the command http get kermit/index.html stores the file in the current local directory as index.html. If the /HEADERS: switch is included, information about the file is also stored in the specified array (explained in Section 2.2.3). All files are transferred in binary mode. HTTP does not provide for record-format or character-set conversion.

HTTP [ switches ] GET url [ local-filename ]

When HTTP GET is given a URL rather than a filename, Kermit opens a connection to the designated server (closing any previously open HTTP connection), gets the file, and then closes the connection. If the URL does not include a filename, index.html is supplied. This is the self-contained one-step "connectionless" method for getting a file from a Web server. The data is not interpreted; HTTP GET is like "lynx -source" rather than "lynx -dump".

In the remaining HTTP action commands, the distinction between a remote filename and a URL are the same as in the HTTP GET command.

HTTP [ switches ] HEAD remote-filename-or-url [ local-filename ]

Like GET except without actually getting the file; instead it retrieves only the headers. If the /ARRAY: or /TOSCREEN switch is included, there is no default local output filename but you can still specify one. If neither of these switches is included, the default local filename is the same as the remote filename, but with any path stripped and with ".head" appended. The HEAD command can be used in a script with the /ARRAY: switch to retrieve information about the requested resource to determine whether the resource should actually be retrieved with a subsequent GET request.

HTTP [ switches ] INDEX remote-directory-or-url [ local-filename ]

Asks the server to send a listing of the files in the given server directory. This command is not supported by most Web servers. Even when it is supported, there is no standard format for the listing.

HTTP [ switches ] POST [ /MIME-TYPE:type ] source-file remote-path-or-url [ result-file ]

Sends data to a process running on the remote host; the result is usually an HTML file but could be anything. The data to be posted must be read from a local file (the source-file). If a result file is specified, Kermit stores the server's response in it.

HTTP [ switches ] PUT [ MIME-TYPE:type ] local-file [ remote-file-or-url [ result-file ] ]

Uploads a local file to the server. Only the name of a single file can be given; wildcards (and group transfers) are not supported by HTTP protocol. If no remote filename is given, the file is sent with the same name as the local file, but with any pathname stripped.

HTTP [ switches ] DELETE remote-file-or-url [ local-result-file ]

Asks the server to delete the specified single file. If a result file is specified, it will contain any response data returned by the server.

Note the limitations of HTTP protocol compared to (say) FTP or Kermit. There is no command for changing directories, no standard way to get file or directory lists, no way to transfer file groups by using wildcard notation, etc, and therefore no good way to (say) fetch all pages, descend through subdirectories, perform automatic updates, etc. There is no assurrance a connection will stay open and, as noted, there is no provision for data conversion between unlike platforms. The data's MIME headers can be used for postprocessing.

2.2.3. HTTP Headers

  GET /index.html HTTP/1.1
  Host: www.columbia.edu:80
  User-agent: C-Kermit 8.0
  Authorization: Basic base64-encoded-username-password

These might be followed by any others specified with a /HEADERS: switch:

  Accept: image/gif, image/x-xbitmap, image/jpeg, *.*
  Accept-Encoding: gzip
  Accept-Language: en
  Accept-Charset: iso-8859-1,utf-8
  Cookie: cookie-data

The server sends back a short report about the file prior to sending the file contents. Example:

  HTTP/1.1 200 OK
  Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2001 21:09:39 GMT
  Server: Apache/1.3.4 (Unix)
  Last-Modified: Mon, 06 Aug 2001 21:16:13 GMT
  ETag: "1fa137-10d7-3b6f091d"
  Accept-Ranges: bytes
  Content-Length: 4311
  Content-Type: text/html

If you want to have this information available to a Kermit script you can use the /ARRAY switch to have Kermit put it in array, one line per array element. Example:

  set exit warning off
  http open www.columbia.edu
  if fail exit 1 Can't reach server
  http /array:&a get /index.html
  if fail exit 1 Can't get file
  echo Header lines: \fdim(&a)
  for \%i 1 \fdim(&a) 1 {
      echo \%i. \&a[\%i]
  }

Note that the "Date:" item is the current date and time; the "Last-Modifed:" item is the file's modification date and time. An example showing how to use this information is presented in Section 8.13.7.

2.2.4. Secure HTTP Connections

1. A secure client (a version of C-Kermit or Kermit 95 with SSL/TLS security built in). Type "check ssl" at the Kermit prompt to make sure you have it.
2. A secure server to connect to.
3. The CA Root Certificate used to authenticate the server to the client. (see Section 15 of the security reference for an introduction to certificates).

And you must make a connection to the secure HTTP port: service name HTTPS, port number 443 (as opposed to service HTTP, port 80). You can also make secure connections to other ports by including the /TLS or /SSL switch with the HTTP OPEN command, if the host supports SSL/TLS on the given port:

The quality of the SSL/TLS connection depends on the cipher suite. There are several possibilities:

Anonymous cipher suite:

If an anonymous cipher suite is negotiated, the connection is encrypted but there is no authentication. This connection is subject to a Man-In-The-Middle (MITM) attack.

X.509 certificate on the server:

When you connect to certain secure servers, an X.509 certificate is returned. This certificate is issued to a special hostname, something like www1.xyzcorp.com or wwws.xyzcorp.com (rather than the normal www.xyzcorp.com). It is signed by the host's Certificate Authority (CA). If the host certificate is configured on the client, it can be used to verify the certificate received from the server. If the certificate it verified as authentic, a check is made to ensure it has not expired and it was issued to the host you were attempting to connect to. If you had asked to connect to (say) www.xyzcorp.com but were given a certificate for www1.xyzcorp.com, you would be prompted for permission to continue.

If the verification succeeded, the connection would be encrypted with one-way (server-to-client) authentication. This connection is not subject to a MITM attack.

If a username and password are transmitted over this connection, they are not subject to interception. However, the standard risks associated with passing the password to the host for verification apply; for example, if the host has been compromised, the password will be compromised.

X.509 client certificate:

If a connection has been established with an X.509 server certificate, the server can ask the client to send a certificate of its own. This certificate must be verified against a CA Root certificate. The certificate itself (or subject info from the certificate) is used to determine the authorization for the client, and if successful, the username and password need not be sent to the server.

Kerberos 5:

Instead of using X.509 certifcates, Kerberos 5 can be used to perform the authentication and key exchange. In this situation, there is mutual authentication between the client and server. The Kerberos 5 principal is used by the server to look up the appropriate authorization data. There is no need to send username and password.

An HTTP connection is made with the HTTP OPEN command:

HTTP [ switches ] OPEN [ { /SSL, /TLS } ] host [ port ]

If /SSL or /TLS switches are included (these are synonyms), or if the service is HTTPS or the port is 443, a secure connection is attempted using the current authentication settings; see HELP SET AUTHENTICATION for details (Section 6.2 of the security reference). If the no /SSL or /TLS switch is included but the port is 443 or the service is HTTPS, a secure connection is attempted. If an /SSL or /TLS switch is included but a port is not specified, an SSL/TLS connection is attempted on the default port (80).

Certificates are covered in the separate Kermit Security Reference for C-Kermit 8.0. You should let Kermit know to verify certificates with the SET AUTHENTICATION TLS command. For example:

SET AUTHENTICATION TLS CRL-DIR directory

Specifies a directory that contains certificate revocation files where each file is named by the hash of the certificate that has been revoked.

SET AUTHENTICATION TLS CRL-FILE filename

Specifies a file that contains a list of certificate revocations.

SET AUTHENTICATION TLS VERIFY-DIR directory

Specifies a directory that contains root CA certificate files used to verify the certificate chains presented by the peer. Each file is named by a hash of the certificate.

SET AUTHENTICATION TLS VERIFY-FILE filename

Specifies a file that contains root CA certificates to be used for verifying certificate chains.

SET AUTHENTICATION TLS VERIFY OFF

Tells Kermit not to require a certificate and accept any certificate that is presented regardless of whether it is valid.

There are many other options; see the security document for details.

Now suppose you need need to fetch the file denoted by the following URL:

  https://myuserid:mypassword@wwws.xyzcorp.com/clients/info/secret.html

Once you have set up the handling of certificates as desired, you can use the following Kermit commands:

  http /user:myuserid /password:mypassword open www1.xyzcorp.com https
  if success {
      http get /clients/info/secret.html
      http close
  }

  <FORM ACTION="http://www.xyzcorp.com/cgi-bin/form.cgi" METHOD="POST">
  <INPUT NAME="Red">
  <INPUT NAME="White">
  <INPUT NAME="Blue">
  </FORM>

You can handle this with the HTTP POST command. The data to be posted is stored in the local file data.txt.

  Red=seven stripes&White=six stripes&Blue=fifty stars

and the response from the server will be stored into response.txt.

  http open www.xyzcorp.com http
  if success {
    http /array:c post data.txt /cgi-bin/form.cgi response.txt
    http close
  }

2.2.5. HTTP Variables

\v(http_code)

The HTTP protocol code number of the most recent server reply, e.g. 404 for "not found".

\v(http_connected)

1 when an HTTP connection is open, 0 when there is no HTTP connection.

\v(http_host)

If an HTTP connection is open, the hostname:port, e.g. www.columbia.edu:80; otherwise, empty.

\v(http_message)

Server error message, if any, from most recent HTTP command.

\v(http_security)

A list of the security parameters and values for the current connection, if any. Empty if the connection is not to a secure server, or there is no connection.

To display all the HTTP variables at once, type SHOW VAR HTTP:

  C-Kermit> http open www.columbia.edu
  C-Kermit> http get lkjlkjlkjlkj 
  C-Kermit> sho var http
   \v(http_code) = 404
   \v(http_connected) = 1
   \v(http_host) = www.columbia.edu:80
   \v(http_message) = Not Found
   \v(http_security) = NULL
  C-Kermit>

2.2.6. The HTTP Command-Line Personality

  Usage: ./http host [ options... ]
   -h             This message.
   -d             Debug to debug.log.
   -S             Stay (issue command prompt when done).
   -Y             Do not execute Kermit initialization file.
   -q             Quiet (suppress most messages).
   -u name        Username.
   -P password    Password.
   -g pathname    Get remote pathname.
   -p pathname    Put remote pathname.
   -H pathname    Head remote pathname.
   -l pathname    Local path for -g, -p, and -H.
   -z opt[=value] Security options...
      cert=file   Client certificate file
      certsok     Accept all certificates
      key=file    Client private key file
      secure      Use SSL
      verify=n    0 = none, 1 = peer , 2 = certificate required

The "host" argument is the name of a Web host, e.g. www.columbia.edu. The action options are -p, -g, and -H. If you give an action option, Kermit does the action and then exits. If you give a host without an action option, Kermit makes an HTTP connection to the host and then gives you the C-Kermit prompt. Here's a simple example that fetches a publicly readable Web page:

  http www.columbia.edu -g kermit/index.html

If you need to access a website for which a username and password are required, you can supply them on the command line with -u and -P. If you include a username but omit the password, Kermit prompts you for it:

  http www.columbia.edu -u olga -p kermit/index.html -l index.html
  Password:

Note that when PUT'ing files to websites, you have to supply both the -p (remote pathname) and -l (local path) options.

If your version of Kermit is built with SSL/TLS security, you can also use the -z option to make secure HTTP (https) connections.

Finally, as noted in Section 16, you can also give a URL instead of a host name and options.

[ Top ] [ Contents ] [ C-Kermit Home ] [ Kermit Home ]

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3. KERMIT'S BUILT-IN FTP CLIENT

3.1.  Making and Managing FTP Connections
3.2.  Making Secure FTP Connections
3.3.  Setting FTP Preferences
3.4.  Managing Directories and Files
3.5.  Uploading Files With FTP
3.6.  Downloading Files With FTP
3.7.  Translating Character Sets
3.8.  FTP Command Shortcuts
3.9.  Dual Sessions
3.10. Automating FTP Sessions
3.11. Advanced FTP Protocol Features

Earlier versions of C-Kermit and K95 included an FTP command, but it simply invoked an external FTP client. Now, by popular demand, Kermit includes its own built-in FTP client that offers the following advantages over traditional FTP clients (and its previous interface to them):

• Any of Kermit's built-in security methods can be used to establish and conduct secure FTP sessions with FTP servers that support these methods. (Security modules can be subject to export restrictions.)

• Kermit's FTP client uses "passive mode" by default to avoid blockage by firewalls and network address translators. Of course active mode can be chosen too when needed.

• Character sets can be translated as part of the transfer process even when the FTP server does not support character-set translation, including to/from the new Internet standard international character set, Unicode UTF-8. This includes both the file's name and (for text files only) its contents.

• All of C-Kermit's file-selection mechanisms are available: size, date, name patterns and lists, exception lists, etc.

• Atomic file movement capabilities are provided (delete, move, or rename files automatically after successful transfer).

• The correct file type, "ascii" (i.e. text) or binary, is chosen automatically for each file (explained in Section 4), and any mixture of text and binary files can be sent in a single operation, even across platforms.

• Update mode ("don't bother transferring files that didn't change since last time") and recovery (resumption of an interrupted transfer from the point of failure) are available in both directions.

• When uploading files from UNIX to UNIX, the file's permissions can be preserved if desired.

• Recursive directory-tree PUTs are supported between any two platforms that have tree-structured file systems. Recursive GETs are supported between like platforms if the server cooperates and between like or unlike platforms if the server supports MLSD (Section 3.11).

• When receiving files, all of Kermit's file collision actions are available: backup, update, refuse, rename, etc.

• Multi-file transfers can be interrupted on a per-file basis, automatically skipping to the next file.

• FTP sessions are fully scriptable.

• An entire FTP session (connect, login, CD, upload or download, logout) can be specified on the command line without using a script.

• All of Kermit's logging options and formats are available to keep an accurate and complete record of each connection and file transfer, and to aid in troubleshooting.

• All of Kermit's file-transfer display options are available (fullscreen, brief, CRT, serial, none).

And best of all:

• Kermit doesn't give you those annoying per-file prompts every time you start a multi-file transfer without remembering to give a "prompt" command first :-).

[ Top ] [ FTP Top ] [ FTP Client Overview ] [ FTP Script Tutorial ] [ C-Kermit Home ] [ Kermit Home ]

3.1. Making and Managing FTP Connections

A Kermit FTP session can be established by command-line options, by URL, or by interactive commands.

3.1.1. Kermit Command-Line Options for FTP

  kermit -9 hostname

or if a non-default FTP port is needed:

  kermit -9 hostname:port

You can also specify the username on the command line with the -M ("My User ID") option that was already there for other connection types:

  kermit -9 hostname -M olga

If you specify the username on the command line, Kermit uses it when making the connection and does not prompt you for it (but it does prompt you for the password if one is required).

Once the connection is made, you get the regular Kermit prompt, and can give interactive commands such as the ones described below. When you give a BYE command, Kermit closes the session and exits, just as a regular FTP client would do. If you don't want Kermit to exit when you give a BYE command, include the -S ("Stay") option on the command line.

Other Kermit command-line options that are not specific to non-FTP connections should affect the FTP session in the expected ways; for example, -i and -T force binary and text mode transfers, respectively.

File transfers can not be initiated on the "kermit -9" command line; for that you need to use Kermit's FTP personality (next section) or you can use URLs (Section 3.1.3).

3.1.2. The FTP Command-Line Personality

  ftp [ options ] hostname [ port ]

In this case the options are like those of a regular FTP client:

  -d  Debug: enables debug messages and creates a debug.log file.
  -n  No autologin: Kermit should not send your user ID automatically.
  -t  Packet trace: accepted but is treated the same as -d.
  -v  Verbose: accepted but ignored (operation is verbose by default).
  -i  Not interactive: accepted but ignored.

and the hostname can also be a URL (explained in Section 3.1.3). To specify a non-default TCP port for the FTP server, include the port number or name after the hostname.

There are also some bonus options that allow you to execute an entire FTP session from the shell command line, as long as you don't include the -n option. These are not available with regular FTP clients, and at least one of these options (-g) conflicts with UNIX ftp (where -g means "no globbing", which does not apply to Kermit), and some of them (like the options above) also conflict with regular Kermit command-line options:

  -m mode      = "passive" (default) or "active"
  -Y            Don't execute the Kermit initialization file [1]
  -q            Quiet, suppresses all but error messages [1]
  -S            Stay, don't exit automatically [1]
  -A            Autologin anonymously [2]
  -u name       Username for autologin [2] (synonym: -M [1])
  -P password   Password for autologin (see cautions below) [2]
  -D directory  cd after autologin [2]
  -b            Binary mode [2]
  -a            Text ("ascii") mode [2] (synonym: -T [1])
  -R            Recursive (works with -p) [4]
  -p files      Files to put (upload) after autologin [2] (synonym: -s [1])
  -g files      Files to get (download) after autologin [3]

[1] Same as Kermit, not available in regular FTP clients.
[2] Conflicts with Kermit, not available in regular FTP clients.
[3] Same as Kermit, conflicts with regular FTP clients.
[4] Conflicts with Kermit, available in some FTP clients.

Fancier options such as restart, character-set translation, filename collision selection, automatic move/rename/delete, etc, are not available from the command line; for these you can use the commands described in the following sections. The -R option might also work with -g (GET) but that depends on the server.

The following security options are also available, explained in Section 3.2:

  -k realm      Kerberos 4 realm [4]
  -f            Kerberos 5 credentials forwarding [4]
  -x            autoencryption mode [4]
  -c cipher     SRP cipher type [4]
  -H hash       SRP encryption hash [4]
  -z option     Security options [4]

If you include -A or specify a name of "anonymous" or "ftp", you are logged in anonymously and, in the absence of -P, Kermit automatically supplies a password of "user@host", where "user" is your local user ID, and "host" is the hostname of the computer where Kermit is running. If you do not include -p or -g, Kermit enters command mode so you can type commands or execute them from a script.

If you include -p or -g, Kermit attempts to transfer the specified files and then exits automatically at the end of the transfer unless you also included -S (Stay). It uses the "brief" file transfer display (one line per file) unless you include the -q option to suppress it.

When uploading files with -p, Kermit switches automatically between text and binary mode for each file.

When downloading, you can either specify a particular mode (text or binary) to be used for all the files, or you can let Kermit select the type for each file automatically, based on its name (see Sections 3.5 and 3.6 for greater detail). In UNIX be sure to quote any wildcard characters to prevent the shell from expanding them, as shown in the examples just below. Filename collisions are handled according Kermit's FILE COLLISION setting (if specified in your Kermit customization file; otherwise the default, which is BACKUP).

It should go without saying that the -P option should be used with caution. In addition to the well-known risks of transmitting plaintext passwords over the Internet, in this case the password also echos to the screen if you type it, and can be seen in ps and w listings that show the user's currently active command and command-line arguments. Thus command-line FTP sessions are most appropriate for secure or anonymous connections (those that do not require passwords).

Here's an example in which you download the latest C-Kermit "tarball" from the Columbia University FTP archive:

  ftp -A kermit.columbia.edu -bg kermit/archives/ckermit.tar.gz

This assumes that "ftp" is a symbolic link to C-Kermit. It logs you in anonymously and gets the ckermit.tar.gz file in binary mode from the kermit/archives directory.

Here's a slightly more ambitious example that illustrates CD'ing to the desired server directory to get a group of files in text mode (in this case the C-Kermit source files):

  ftp -A kermit.columbia.edu -D kermit/f -ag "ck[cuw]*.[cwh]" makefile

In this case we CD to the kermit/f directory so we don't have to include it in each file specification, and we quote the ck[cuw]*.[cwh] specification so the shell doesn't expand it, since we have to pass it as-is to the server. Note also that the quotes don't go around the entire file list; only around each file specification that needs to be quoted.

Here's one more example, that uploads a debug log file in binary mode to the Kermit incoming directory (as we might ask you to do when following up on a problem report):

  ftp -A kermit.columbia.edu -D kermit/incoming -bp debug.log

In this case the -D option is required to tell the server where to put the incoming file.

Unless the -Y option is included, your Kermit initialization file (.mykermrc in UNIX, K95.INI in Windows) is executed before the command line options, so you can set any FTP-related preferences there, as described in the subsequent sections.

3.1.3. The FTP URL Interpreter

If Kermit is invoked with either its regular personality (as "kermit") or its FTP personality (as "ftp"), you can also give a URL (Universal Resource Locator) instead of a hostname and options, with or without a username and password:

ftp ftp://user:password@host/path
ftp ftp://user@host/path
ftp ftp://@host/path   (or ftp://:@host/path)
ftp ftp://host/path
kermit ftp://host/path

If the FTP personality is used, the service must be "ftp". In all cases, a hostname or address must be included. If a user is included but no password, you are prompted for the password. If a path (filename) is included:

• If "@" is included without a user, Kermit prompts for the username and password.
• If no user and no "@" are included, "anonymous" is used.
• GET is assumed.

If no path (and no action options) are included, an interactive FTP session is started, as in this example:

ftp ftp://kermit.columbia.edu

If a path is included, but a username is not included, "anonymous" is used and an appropriate user@host password is supplied automatically. If authentication is successful, Kermit attempts to GET the file indicated by the path or, if the path is the name of a directory, it asks the server for a directory listing. In both cases, Kermit disconnects from the server and exits after the operation is complete (unless you have included the -S option on the command line).

Here's an example that gets a listing of the Kermit directory at the Kermit ftp site:

ftp ftp://kermit.columbia.edu/kermit/

This example gets the top-level READ.ME file from the same directory:

ftp ftp://kermit.columbia.edu/kermit/READ.ME

Here's the same example, but requesting a text-mode transfer:

ftp -T ftp://kermit.columbia.edu/kermit/READ.ME
This illustrates that you can mix command-line options and URLs if you desire.

Here's an example that logs in as a (fictitious) real user to get a file:

ftp ftp://olga@ftp.xyzcorp.com/resume.txt
The password is not included, so Kermit prompts for it.

This scheme allows Kermit to be used as the FTP helper of other applications, such as Web browsers, with all its advantages over other FTP clients (especially the ones that are built in to most Web browsers), e.g. that it can be given wildcards, and it can pick text and binary mode automatically for each file.

HINT: suppose somebody sends you an FTP URL in email, or you see it in some text. If your terminal screen supports copy/paste, copy the url, and then at the shell prompt type "kermit", a space, and then paste the URL, e.g.:

  $ kermit ftp://alpha.greenie.net/pub/mgetty/source/1.1/mgetty1.1.27-O

"$ is the shell prompt; the part you type is underlined, the rest is pasted in. Kermit does the rest.

3.1.4. Interactive FTP Session Establishment

An FTP session is established with the FTP OPEN command:

FTP [ OPEN ] [ { /SSL, /TLS } ] hostname [ switches ] [ port ]

Opens an FTP connection to the given host on the given port and, if FTP AUTOLOGIN is ON, also logs you in to the server, prompting for username and password if necessary. If no port is specified, the regular FTP protocol port (21) is used. The OPEN keyword is optional (unless the hostname conflicts with one of the FTP command keywords, which you can list by typing "ftp ?").

The hostname can be an IP host name, numeric IP address, or if you have a network directory active (SET NETWORK DIRECTORY; see Chapter 6 of Using C-Kermit), an entry name in the directory. In the latter case, if the given hostname matches exactly one entry, the associated name or address is used; if it matches more than one, Kermit cycles through them until one is found that can be opened; if it matches none, then the hostname is used as-is. If a directory is active but you want to bypass directory lookup, include an "=" sign at the beginning of the hostname, and/or use a numeric IP address.

When an FTP connection is opened, the default file-transfer mode is set to binary if the client and server platforms are alike (e.g. both of them are some kind of UNIX), and to text ("ascii") if they are not alike. This has no particular effect for uploading since Kermit automatically switches between text and binary mode for each file, but might be important for downloading. The connection is also set to Stream mode and File structure. Record- or page-oriented file transfers are not supported by C-Kermit's FTP client.

The optional FTP OPEN switches are:

/ANONYMOUS

Logs you in anonymously, automatically supplying username "anonymous" and user@host as the password, based on your local user and host names.

/NOLOGIN

Overrides SET FTP AUTOLOGIN ON for this connection only.

/USER:name

Uses the given username to log you in, thus avoiding the Name: prompt.

Overrides SET FTP AUTOLOGIN OFF for this connection only.

/PASSWORD:text

Uses the given text as your password, thus avoiding the Password: prompt. This switch is not recommended for use in script files, which would be a security risk.

/ACCOUNT:text

Uses the given text as your account (or secondary password, depending on the requirements of the server; most servers do not require or accept an account name). If an account is not supplied, you are not prompted for one.

/PASSIVE

Opens the connection in passive mode. Passive mode is the default in Kermit's FTP client, unlike in most others, since it works better through firewalls. The /PASSIVE and /ACTIVE switches apply only to the connection that is being opened, and do not affect the global FTP PASSIVE-MODE setting.

/ACTIVE

Opens the connection in active mode. Use this switch if the server does not support passive mode, or use the command SET FTP PASSIVE-MODE OFF.

/NOINIT

Added in C-Kermit 8.0.201.   Tells C-Kermit not to send REST, STRU, FEAT, and MODE commands to the server when the connection is opened, since these have been reported to cause confusion in certain servers.

When a username or password is missing, a prompt is issued at the controlling terminal and you must type the response; the response can not be scripted. Use the switches to avoid prompts, or one of the secure authentication methods described in the next section, or see SET FTP AUTOLOGIN and the FTP USER and similar commands described later in this section.

Examples:

  ftp open kermit.columbia.edu /anonymous  ; Open and log in anonymously
  ftp kermit.columbia.edu /anonymous       ; The OPEN keyword can be omitted
  ftp xyzcorp.com                          ; Open and maybe prompt for username
  ftp xyzcorp.com /user:olga               ; Open and log in as olga
  ftp testing.abccorp.com 449              ; Specify a special TCP port number
  ftp testing.abccorp.com /user:olaf /password:secret 449

The FTP OPEN command succeeds if a connection was opened to the server (even if the given username and password were not valid) and fails otherwise (see Section 3.8 for details).

When your FTP session is complete, you can terminate it as follows:

FTP BYE

Closes the FTP connection if one was open. The FTP prefix can be omitted if no other connection is open at the same time (see Section 3.8 for details). If a connection log is active, an FTP record is written to it. If Kermit was started with the -9 command-line option or with its FTP command-line personality, and the -S (Stay) option was not given, AND there is no other active connection, the FTP BYE command also exits, just as it does on a regular FTP client. Synonyms: FTP CLOSE, FTP QUIT (but if the FTP prefix is omitted from QUIT, this becomes the regular Kermit QUIT command, which is equivalent to EXIT; i.e. it closes the connection and exits from Kermit).

The following commands can be used to achieve greater control over the connection and login process:

SET FTP ANONYMOUS-PASSWORD text

Allows you to choose the password text to be sent automatically by Kermit when you open an FTP connection with the /ANONYMOUS switch.

SET FTP AUTOLOGIN { ON, OFF }

If you give this command prior to opening an FTP connection, it controls whether Kermit tries to log you in automatically as part of the connection process. Normally ON, which means the username and password are sent automatically (and prompted for if they are not yet known). When OFF, FTP OPEN connects to the server without logging in. OFF is equivalent to the -n command-line option when using Kermit's FTP command-line personality.

FTP USER name [ password [ account ] ]

Used to log in to an FTP server to which a connection has been made without autologin, or when autologin failed. If the password is furnished on the command line, it is used; otherwise you are prompted for a password. An account may also be furnished if required by the server; it is not required by Kermit and is not prompted for if omitted. Synonyms: USER, FTP LOGIN.

FTP ACCOUNT text

Sends an account name to a server that supports accounts. If the server does not support accounts, an error response occurs. If the server does support accounts, the account is accepted if it is valid and rejected if it is not. The account might be used for charging purposes or it might be a secondary password, or it might be used for any other purpose, such as an access password for a particular disk. Servers that support accounts might or might not allow or require the account to be sent prior to login; usually it is sent after login, if at all. Synonym: ACCOUNT.

Example:

set ftp autologin off                  ; One thing at a time please
ftp xyzcorp.com                        ; Try to make the connection
if fail exit 1 FTP connection failed   ; Check that it was made
ftp user olga secret                   ; Now log in to the server
if fail exit 1 FTP login failed        ; Check that it worked
ftp account 103896854                  ; Login OK - send account
if fail echo WARNING - FTP ACCT failed ; Warn if problem
...                                    ; (have session here)
bye                                    ; Log out and disconnect

The following commands are used to control or get information about the FTP connection. Any particular FTP server does not necessarily support all of them.

FTP RESET

Terminates a user session but leaves the connection open, allowing a new login via FTP USER.

FTP IDLE [ number ]

Most FTP servers automatically log you out and and disconnect your session if there has been no activity for a certain amount of time. Use this command to ask the server to set its idle limit to the given number of seconds. Omit the number to ask the server to inform you of its current idle limit.

FTP STATUS [ filename ]

Asks the FTP server to send information about the current session. The result is a free-format report that might include server identification, username and login time, FTP protocol settings, and file-transfer statistics. If a filename is given, the server is supposed to send detailed information about the file.

FTP SYSTEM

Asks the FTP server to identify its operating system (Listed in Internet Assigned Numbers, Operating System Names). Examples: UNIX, VMS, VM/CMS, WINDOWS-NT. Unfortunately many variations are allowed (e.g. LINUX-2.0, LINUX-2.2, FREEBSD, ULTRIX, etc, instead of UNIX; WINDOWS-NT-3, WINDOWS-NT-3.5, WINDOWS-NT-3.51, WINDOWS-NT-4, etc). The report might also include other information like "Type L8", "Type I", or "Type A", indicating the file-transfer mode.

FTP HELP [ keyword [ keyword [ ... ] ]

Asks the server to list the commands it supports. The response is usually cryptic, listing FTP command mnemonics, not the commands used by the client (since the server has no way of knowing anything about the client's user interface). For example, the PUT command is STOR in FTP protocol. If a keyword is given, which should be an FTP protocol command, slightly-more- detailed help is given about the corresponding command (if the FTP server supports this feature). Examples: "ftp help", "ftp help stor".

FTP SITE text

(Advanced) Sends an FTP SITE (site-specific) command. Usually this means that the FTP server is asked to run an external command with the given arguments. You might be able to find out what SITE commands are available by sending "ftp help site" to the server, but in general the availability of and response to SITE commands is (not surprisingly) site specific.

FTP QUOTE text

(Advanced) Sends an FTP command in FTP protocol format. Use this command to send commands to the server that the FTP client might not know about.

SHOW FTP

Lists client (Kermit) FTP settings and information. Also SHOW CONNECTION, SHOW COMMUNICATIONS.

HELP FTP [ keyword ]

Asks Kermit to list and describe its built-in FTP commands.

HELP SET FTP [ keyword ]

Asks Kermit to list and describe its built-in SET FTP commands.

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3.2. Making Secure FTP Connections

In the previous section, you can see several examples of traditional insecure authentication: username and password sent across the network in clear text. Of course this is bad practice on at least two counts: (1) storing passwords in files (such as script files) gives access to the target systems to anybody who can obtain read access to your scripts; and (2) sending this information over the network leaves it open to interception by network sniffers or compromised hosts.

Because of the increasing need for security on the Internet, FTP servers are beginning to appear that offer secure forms of authentication, in which no information is sent over the network that would allow anyone who intercepts it to usurp your identity and gain your access rights.

Kermit provides an equivalent form of FTP security for each type of IETF standard security implemented in Telnet. These include GSSAPI-KERBEROS5, KERBEROS4, Secure Remote Password (SRP), and Transport Layer Security (SSL and TLS). It does not presently include SSL tunneling nor any form of SSH v1 or v2. When Kermit is built with the necessary libraries, secure FTP connections are attempted by default, in which all connections are authenticated and the command and data channels are private.

The use of authentication and encryption for FTP connections can be adjusted with the commands listed below, which are available only if your version of Kermit was built with the corresponding security options and libraries:

SET FTP AUTHTYPE { AUTOMATIC, GSSAPI-KRB5, KERBEROS4, SRP, SSL, TLS }

Specifies an ordered list of authentication methods to be attempted when AUTOAUTHENTICATION is ON. The default list is: GSSAPI-KRB5, SRP, KERBEROS_V4, TLS, SSL. If none of the selected methods are supported by the server, an insecure login is used as a fallback. Note, by the way, that SSL or TLS can be used to secure an anonymous connection.

SET FTP AUTOAUTHENTICATION { ON, OFF }

Tells whether authentication should be negotiated by the FTP OPEN command. Default is ON. Use SET FTP AUTOAUTHENTICATION OFF to force a clear-text, unencrypted connection to FTP servers (such as the one at the Kermit FTP site) that normally would try to negotiate secure authentication and encryption.

SET FTP AUTOENCRYPTION { ON, OFF }

Tells whether encryption (privacy) should be negotiated by the FTP OPEN command, which can happen only if secure authentication is also negotiated. Default is ON.

SET FTP AUTOLOGIN { ON, OFF }

Tells Kermit whether to try logging in automatically when you make an FTP connection, as opposed to letting you do it "by hand" with the FTP USER command.

SET FTP COMMAND-PROTECTION-LEVEL { CLEAR, CONFIDENTIAL, PRIVATE, SAFE }

Determines the level of protection applied to the command channel:

  CLEAR         Data is sent in plaintext and not protected against tampering.
  CONFIDENTIAL  Data is encrypted but not protected against tampering.
  PRIVATE       Data is encrypted and is protected against tampering.
  SAFE          Data is sent in plaintext but protected against tampering.

The default is PRIVATE.

SET FTP CREDENTIAL-FORWARDING { ON, OFF }

Tells whether end-user credentials are to be forwarded to the server if supported by the authentication method (GSSAPI-KRB5 only). This is often required to allow access to distributed file systems (e.g. AFS.)

SET FTP DATA-PROTECTION-LEVEL { CLEAR, CONFIDENTIAL, PRIVATE, SAFE }

Tells what level of protection is applied to subsequent data channels. The meanings of the protection-level keywords are the same as for SET FTP COMMAND-PROTECTION-LEVEL. The default is PRIVATE.

SET FTP SRP CIPHER name

Specifies the cipher to be used for encryption when SRP authentication is in use. The list of possible choices is computed based on the capabilities of the local SRP library and includes NONE plus zero or more of the following:

  BLOWFISH_ECB        CAST5_ECB          DES_ECB          DES3_ECB 
  BLOWFISH_CBC        CAST5_CBC          DES_CBC          DES3_CBC
  BLOWFISH_CFB64      CAST5_CFB64        DES_CFB64        DES3_CFB64
  BLOWFISH_OFB64      CAST5_OFB64        DES_OFB64        DES3_OFB64

The default is DES3_ECB.

SET FTP SRP HASH name

Specifies the hash to be used for data protection when SRP authentication is in use. The choices are MD5 and SHA. The default is SHA.

Command-line options:

-k name

Specifies the realm to be used with Kerberos 4 authentication (= SET AUTH K4 REALM name).

-f

Enables forwarding of Kerberos 5 credentials to the host when using GSSAPI authentication (= SET AUTH K5 FORWARDABLE ON).

-x

Enables autoencryption (= SET FTP AUTOENCRYPTION ON).

-c cipher

Specifies the kind of cipher to be used for encryption with SRP authentication. Equivalent to SET FTP SRP CIPHER, with the same choices. If this option is not given, CAST5_CBC is used.

-H hash

Specifies the hash to be used for encryption with SRP authentication. Equivalent to SET FTP SRP HASH, with the same choices. If this option is not given, SHA is used.

-z debug

Turns on SSL/TLS debugging.

-z secure

Requires secure connection.

-z certsok

Says to accept all certificates without checking validity.

-z verify=n

Sets certificate verification mode to the given number, n:
  0 = no verification
  1 = verify certificate if presented
  2 = require verification of certificate

-z cert=filename

Specifies a file containing a client certificate to be presented to the FTP server.

-z key=filename

Specifies a file containing a private key matching the client certificate.

-z !krb4

(nokrb4) Disables the use of Kerberos 4.

-z !gss

-z nogss

Disables the use of GSSAPI - Kerberos 5.

-z !srp

-z nosrp

Disables use of SRP.

-z !ssl

-z nossl

Disables the use of SSL.

-z !tls

-z notls

Disables the use of TLS.

Caution: If your FTP connection is secured via AUTH TLS, it is not possible to interrupt a file transfer. This is a limitation of all known FTP servers that support AUTH TLS.

Note that when using certain security methods, such as SSL or TLS, you may be prompted to confirm or verify certain actions or conditions, for example, whether to accept self-signed certificates. This can interfere with unattended operation of scripts; see Section 3.10.

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---

3.3. Setting FTP Preferences

3.3.1. Logs, Messages, and Other Feedback

SET TRANSACTION-LOG { VERBOSE, FTP, BRIEF }

Selects the log format. VERBOSE is the default, and is described in the manual. FTP chooses a WU-FTPD format, the same as is used by the popular FTP server. BRIEF creates per-file records in comma-separated-list format. For greater detail, see Section 4.17 of the C-Kermit 7.0 Update Notes.

LOG TRANSACTIONS filename

Records FTP (or Kermit, or any other protocol) uploads and downloads in the given file using the format selected by the most recent SET TRANSACTION-LOG command, if any, or else the default format.

FTP screen messages and displays are controlled by the following commands:

SET TRANSFER DISPLAY { FULLSCREEN, CRT, SERIAL, BRIEF, NONE, OFF }

FTP transfers use Kermit's normal file-transfer display styles. Use this command to choose the desired format; the default on most platforms is FULLSCREEN. The display is automatically disabled if Kermit is running in the background or in batch. BRIEF is always used for command-line initiated transfers (unless suppressed by -q). While a file-transfer is in progress, you can interrupt it in the normal Kermit way by typing one of the following keys or key combinations:
  X - Cancel current file but go on to the next one (if any).
  Z - Cancel the entire transfer.
  Ctrl-L or Ctrl-W - Refresh the file-transfer display (if any).

SET FTP DISPLAY { FULLSCREEN, CRT, SERIAL, BRIEF, NONE, OFF }

Like SET TRANSFER DISPLAY, but applies only to FTP connections, and does not affect Kermit- or other protocol file transfers.

SET QUIET { ON, OFF }

This command applies to Kermit in general, not just FTP. OFF by default; when ON, it surpresses most messages from most commands as well as the file-transfer display.

SET FTP PROGRESS-MESSAGES { ON, OFF }

Tells whether Kermit should print locally-generated feedback messages for each non-file-transfer command. ON by default.

SET FTP VERBOSE-MODE { ON, OFF }

Tells whether to display all responses from the FTP server. OFF by default. This shows all responses to all commands, except when the file-transfer display is active, and unless you have SET QUIET ON. When OFF, responses are shown only for commands such as FTP PWD whose purpose is to display a response.

SET FTP DEBUG { ON, OFF }

Tells whether local client debugging information should be displayed. OFF by default. When ON, the commands that are sent to the server are shown, as well as its responses (even if VERBOSE-MODE is OFF), plus additional informational messages are printed regarding the progress of secure operations. Also, the temporary file created by the MGET command is not deleted so you can see what's in it.

Set all of these to OFF when silent running is desired.

3.3.2. Operational Preferences

FTP DISABLE new-protocol-feature-name

FTP ENABLE new-protocol-feature-name

Explained in Section 3.11.

SET FTP AUTOLOGIN { ON, OFF }

If you give this command prior to opening an FTP connection, it controls whether Kermit tries to log you in automatically as part of the connection process. Normally ON, which means the username and password are sent automatically (and prompted for if they are not yet known). When OFF, FTP OPEN connects to the server without logging in. OFF is equivalent to the -n command-line option when using Kermit's FTP command-line personality. See Section 3.1.4 for usage.

SET FTP PASSIVE-MODE { ON, OFF }

ON by default, to avoid random TCP port assignment for data connections, which can prevent FTP protocol from working through firewalls and network address translators (for more on these topics, see the Kermit security reference. Set to OFF in case the FTP server does not support passive mode, or in case the client has problems with it (it has been observed, for example, that when using passive mode, the SCO XENIX 2.3.4 TCP/IP stack hangs in the connect() call forever). Synonyms: PASSIVE [ ON ], PASSIVE OFF, PASV [ ON ], PASV OFF.

SET FTP SEND-PORT-COMMANDS { ON, OFF }

This command determines whether the FTP client sends a new PORT command to the server when accepting incoming data connections (as when not using passive mode.) When PASSIVE-MODE is OFF and SET SEND-PORT is OFF, the port that was originally specified is reused. This is the default behavior for normal FTP clients but it is not compatible with many firewalls.

SET FTP CHARACTER-SET-TRANSLATION { ON, OFF }

Whether to translate character sets when transferring files with FTP (explained in Section 3.7). OFF by default.

SET FTP SERVER-CHARACTER-SET name

Tells Kermit the character set used by the FTP server, UTF-8 by default (Section 3.7).

SET FTP SERVER-TIME-OFFSET delta-time

Tells Kermit to apply the given delta time to file timestamps provided by the server for its files; for use when (for example) the server does not have its timezone set correctly.

SET FTP ERROR-ACTION { PROCEED, QUIT }

When transferring a group of files with FTP, and an error occurs with one of the files, Kermit normally goes on the next file. Use SET FTP ERROR-ACTION to QUIT to make Kermit stop the transfer immediately and fail if an error occurs with any single file in the group. Example: you have given Kermit a list of files to send, and one of the files can not be found, or read permission is denied. Note that cancelling a file by typing 'X' during transfer is not considered an error (if you want to cancel the entire transfer, type 'Z' or Ctrl-C).

SET FTP PERMISSIONS { AUTO, ON, OFF }

When uploading files with PUT or MPUT, this tells whether Kermit should send each file's permissions. The default is OFF, which means not to send permissions, in which case the uploaded file's permissions are set by the FTP server according to its own criteria. ON means to send them, AUTO means to send them only if the client (Kermit) and server are on like platforms (e.g. both UNIX). This command has no effect when downloading, since the FTP protocol does not include a way for the server to inform the client of a file's permissions. Also see FTP PUT /PERMISSIONS. Note that setting permissions after uploading is likely to work (correctly or at all) only when the client and server platforms are alike (e.g. both of them are some form of UNIX). Also note that Windows files don't have permissions. Also see FTP CHMOD.

SET FTP DATES { ON, OFF }

When downloading files with GET or MGET, this tells whether Kermit should try to set the received file's date from the server's date. FTP DATES is ON by default. Note, however, that FTP protocol does not allow date preservation when uploading. So at best, SET FTP DATES ON can work only when downloading, and then only when the server agrees to furnish file dates.

SET FTP FILENAMES { AUTO, CONVERTED, LITERAL }

When uploading (sending) files, this tells whether to convert outbound filenames to "common form". This means allowing only one period in a name, uppercasing any lowercase letters, replacing spaces by underscores, etc. AUTOMATIC is the default, meaning LITERAL when client and server are the same type of system (e.g. UNIX) and CONVERTED otherwise. Special case: if the setting is AUTOMATIC and the client is not UNIX and the server identifies itself as UNIX, Kermit uses a less-strict form of conversion, in which lowercase letters are not uppercased and the filename can contain any number of periods, but spaces are still converted to underscore. When receiving, conversion generally means to change all-uppercase names to lowercase and spaces to underscore.

SET FTP UNIQUE-SERVER-NAMES { ON, OFF }

Applies only to uploads. Tells the server to create new, unique names for incoming files that have the same names as existing files. OFF by default, in which case the server overwrites existing files with new files of the same name. When ON, the server uses its own built-in method for creating new names for incoming files; for example, appending a period (.) and a number to the name. CAUTION: Use this option only if you do not need to refer to the file after it is uploaded, since FTP protocol provides no mechanism for the client to find out what name was assigned by the server.

SET FTP COLLISION { ... }

When downloading, what to do if an incoming file has the same name as an existing file. Options are the same as for SET FILE COLLISION. If this command is not given, Kermit's regular FILE COLLISION setting is used. If this command is given, it overrides the FILE COLLISION setting for FTP transfers only. See Section 3.6.2 for details.

SET FTP TYPE { TEXT, BINARY, TENEX }

Changes the default transfer mode. When sending (uploading) files, this command has no effect unless you disable automatic text/binary mode switching (Section 4) with SET FILE SCAN OFF or SET TRANSFER MODE MANUAL. When receiving (downloading) files, this command establishes the transfer mode to be used when a filename does not match any of Kermit's text or binary filename patterns, unless you use SET FTP GET-FILETYPE-SWITCHING or SET TRANSFER MODE MANUAL to disable automatic switching, in which case, this command establishes the transfer mode for all downloaded files. In all cases, however, the FTP TYPE can be overridden in any GET or PUT command by including a /TEXT (/ASCII), /BINARY, or /TENEX switch. The FTP TYPE is independent of the Kermit FILE TYPE setting. TENEX is used for sending 8-bit binary files to 36-bit platforms such as TOPS-10, TOPS-20, and TENEX, and getting them back again. Synonym: ASCII = TEXT. Note: there is also an FTP TYPE command, which does what SET FTP TYPE does but also sends a TYPE command to the server immediately if the given type is different from the current one.

If you want want specific FTP preference settings to be in effect for all your Kermit FTP sessions, put the desired SET FTP commands in your Kermit customization file (~/.mykermrc in UNIX, K95CUSTOM.INI in Windows).

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3.4. Managing Directories and Files

• The local computer
• A remote computer when you have a connection to a Kermit server or IKSD.
• A remote computer when you have a connection to an FTP server.

(There can also be an HTTP connection, but the commands in this section don't apply to HTTP connections.)

Thus in general, each such command comes in three forms:

1. With no prefix in C-Kermit 8.0.200, it refers to the local computer (CD, DIR, etc). In C-Kermit 8.0.201 and later, however, the "locus" switches to automatically to the remote FTP server when you make an FTP connection (see the SET LOCUS description Section 7); thus C-Kermit 8.0.201 acts almost exactly like a regular FTP client when it has an FTP connection, yet still acts like itself on other kinds of connections.

2. With the REMOTE prefix, it is for a Kermit server (REMOTE CD, REMOTE DIR).

3. With the FTP prefix, it's for an FTP server (FTP CD, FTP DIR).

4. Also see Section 3.8, which explains "R-commands" and "L-commands".

Kermit's FTP file and directory management commands are as follows. When an R-command is included in the Synonyms list, be sure to read Section 3.8 about rules for use of R-commands.

FTP CD [ directory ]

Tells the FTP server to change its default (working) directory to the one given, which usually must be expressed in the syntax of the server platform (UNIX, VMS, etc). If the directory is not specified, the result depends on the FTP server -- it might complain that the command is illegal, or it might change to your original login directory. Synonyms: FTP CWD (Change Wording Directory); RCD.

FTP CDUP

Tells the FTP server to change its default (working) directory to the parent directory of its current one (equivalent to "cd .." in UNIX, or "cd [-]" in VMS). Synonyms: RCDUP, FTP UP.

FTP PWD

Asks the FTP server to report ("print") its current working directory. Synonym: RPWD.

FTP MKDIR directory

Asks the FTP server to create the directory whose name is given. In general, the name must be in the syntax of the server's file system, and it must be either absolute (a full pathname) or relative to the server's current (working) directory. This command fails if the directory can't be created for any reason, including that it exists already. Synonym: RMKDIR.

FTP RMDIR directory

Asks the FTP server to remove the directory whose name is given. The rules are the same as for MKDIR, plus in most cases, the server will not remove any directory unless it is empty. Synonym: RRMDIR.

FTP DIRECTORY [ filespec ] [ redirectors ]

Tells the FTP server to send a directory listing of the specified files. If no filespec is given, the server lists all files in its current working directory. The results are in whatever format the server chooses to send them. You c