ROSCOE Kermit 4.3.x "Beware File" - Known Bugs, Problems, Limitations. As of: 14:12pm Thursday, 1993 September 30 In order to install ROSCOE Kermit, it is first necessary to have all the materials for TSO Kermit, specifically, the files with prefixes of IKT and IK0 (I K zero). This file (IKRKER.BWR) and its companion file IKRKER.UPD are supplements to the corresponding TSO Kermit files IKTKER.BWR and IKTKER.UPD. Thus, ROSCOE Kermit is just a variant of TSO Kermit (for the present, anyway) with a few extra updates to take care of special problems in the ROSCOE/ETSO environment. In particular, it still uses "Kermit-TSO>" as the prompt and announces itself to other Kermits as "TSO" (via the attribute mechanism, but this is about to change). At some time in the future, there will be more extensive updates which take advantage of the features of ROSCOE, and users are encouraged to consider adding support for ROSCOE-specific files. ROSCOE Kermit has been reported to work successfully under both V5.6 and V5.7 of ROSCOE, but no reports have specifically mentioned any other versions. For the uninitiate, here is a brief description of ROSCOE: ROSCOE is a TSO substitute created around 1980 and now marketed by CA. It is a multi-user address space with editing and job-submitting facilities and a CLIST-like language called RPF (ROSCOE Programming Facility). One of the components of ROSCOE is the Extended Time Share Option (ETSO), which allows many programs written for TSO environments to function under ROSCOE. However, there are often problems, due mainly to the fact that everyone is in the same address space. This can cause memory to run short or applications not to work at all. The best thing about ROSCOE is its file structure, which compresses data automatically and keeps DASD VTOC's from getting cluttered. Each user is allotted a certain amount of space and is assigned a library prefix for the members he or she creates. Files for all users are stored in (typically) 5 datasets located on different packs. This file contains (A) instructions for applying Kermit updates, (B) a list of unresolved problems, (C) a list of problems with work-arounds or optional fixes, and (D) a list of resolved problems. NOTE: entries will sometimes be entered under (D) even though the needed updates have not been released in IKRKER.UPD. Please check the date of the UPD file to see if it has been changed before requesting a new copy. Bug reports should be sent to John Chandler . Some of the reports received to date have been included more-or-less verbatim in parts (A)-(D) below and have been designated with the initials of the correspondent: SC = Stuart Campbell, JL = John Lundberg, DS = Dave Saunders. Dave Saunders also provided the summary of ROSCOE above. Kermit-370 carries an "edit" number in addition to the version and release numbers. The three numbers together are printed out in the assembly listing and displayed by Kermit at startup time. Be sure to include all three numbers (e.g., 4.3.0) along with any error reports. A) Update instructions ................................................. Refer to the instructions in IKTKER.BWR and IKTKER.INS. The only change in procedure for ROSCOE is to include the ROSCOE-specific updates in the KRMUPD step. This can be done quite easily by concatenating these updates to the SYSIN DD declaration as a second data set for input. It is expected that TSO Kermit will undergo upgrades from time to time without necessitating any change to the ROSCOE-specific information in this file and IKRKER.UPD. You should therefore keep track of new developments under both IKT and IKR. ---------------- 91/1/3 --- DS ----------------------------------------- To run properly in a ROSCOE environment, Kermit must be defined in the ETSO EPL (eligible program list): KERMIT 3000 1024 1024 D CP KERMIT PROGRAM These numbers (CPU time slices and memory allocation limits) can be increased or decreased as sites see fit. The column position of the numbers is important for entries in the EPL. Also, Kermit has to be in a ROSCOE ETSOPGMS DD concatenation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ B) Unresolved problems/warnings ........................................ Refer to IKTKER.BWR first for such messages. ---------------- 88/10/20 --- JL --------------------------------------- TSO Kermit running under ROSCOE/ETSO seems to work for us until we do a micro-MVS transfer without specifying a receive file name, whereupon ROSCOE dies. There are problems in trying to create a host data set name that violates ACF2's rule. ---------------- 91/1/3 --- DS ----------------------------------------- The major limitation is the need to use only MVS files. There is no support for ROSCOE library members (but see below). ---------------- 91/1/11 ----------------------------------------------- The MVS "userid" of any ROSCOE address space, and, thus, the PREFIX initially used by Kermit is "ROSCOE"; it is not your ROSCOE library prefix. Be careful, since having an invalid prefix for MVS disk I/O can lead to disaster. For example, the Kermit DEBUG subcommand would use the dataset ROSCOE.KER.LOG by default, no matter how many Kermit users there may be at one time. It is a good idea to reset the PREFIX used in Kermit to something else. Also, it may be necessary to SET FILE UNIT to an appropriate group name. Note, however, that the means of typeout interception always uses the dataset ROSCOE.KER.BUF, regardless of the current Kermit PREFIX -- that is one reason why host commands are disabled in ROSCOE Kermit. ---------------- 91/01/11 ---------------------------------------------- Regarding the problems with system commands (see below in part D), there is some question whether *all* commands would cause the ROSCOE address space to crash, but there is certainly a problem with "OPER". Further research is necessary to determine whether it would be worthwhile to allow a specific list of commands to be executed. Any contributions of information on this topic will be welcome. ---------------- 91/2/7 --- SC ----------------------------------------- ROSCOE Kermit sometimes stops communicating properly with the micro. If STOP doesn't help, and the host is accepting input, then pressing CLEAR several times gets a "terminal I/O error", and Kermit is back in control. ---------------- 91/2/7 --- SC ----------------------------------------- ROSCOE has an escape character that defaults to "..". Set this to something else if you expect double periods in input from the remote Kermit. ---------------- 91/3/29 ----------------------------------------------- ROSCOE Kermit has been tested only in fullscreen mode (i.e., through a 7171). There is no reason to suppose, however, that it would not work in line mode. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ C) Problems with workarounds or optional fixes ......................... ---------------- 90/8/10 ----------------------------------------------- On a system without TSO/E, the STFSMODE macro doesn't allow the specification of NOEDIT=YES, which Kermit uses. However, if you don't run VTAM, the STFSMODE macro isn't needed at all. Also, without TSO/E, the TPUT macro won't have a NOEDIT option, and the NOEDIT=YES option in STFSMODE is superfluous anyway. The following update should do the trick: ./ * SC90223 ./ R 05617000 $ 5617000 40 08/10/90 ->4.3<- STFSMODE ON,INITIAL=YES Full-screen mode @SC90223 ./ D 05669500 08/10/90 ->4.3<- ./ R 05676500 05677000 $ 5676600 200 08/10/90 ->4.3<- LM 0,1,0(8) Load up registers for SVC @SC90223 Also, you may need to issue the Kermit subcommand SET SEND PARITY MARK before attempting transfers. ---------------- 91/1/3 --- DS ----------------------------------------- Occasionally, when Kermit is initially called in ROSCOE, the call will fail with a message complaining of an illegal MODESET SVC 107. However, no adverse effects seem to come from this, so we trap this message in an RPF in this manner: TRAP CALL KERMIT IF S.TC EQ 99 THEN CALL KERMIT ENDIF We've never seen it fail twice in a row. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ D) Resolved problems ................................................... ---------------- 91/1/3 --- DS ----------------------------------------- Certain "HOST" and "TSO" subcommands could cause the entire ROSCOE address space to crash with an S0F9 ABEND. The TSO "HELP" command also wouldn't function correctly. The draconian solution is to disable all these subcommands so that users can not issue them. The fix: VS91003 in IKRKER.UPD. ---------------- 91/01/04 ---------------------------------------------- Kermit would operate normally when only one user at a time was running it, but a second user would trigger an ABEND. This was due to Kermit's subtask for timing out in linemode. ROSCOE Kermit no longer does that. The fix: SC91004 in IKRKER.UPD. ---------------- 92/01/10 ---------------------------------------------- ROSCOE Kermit is in the midst of an enhancement effort designed to add support for the ROSCOE AWS and library members. It so happens that Kermit can already upload to the AWS under the guise of a dataset named 'ROAWS'. The other functions are requiring extensive code modifications (volunteer testers welcome!) ------------------------------------------------------------------------