From: mcn@cfa203.HARVARD.EDU (Charley Noecker, Prec Astron)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip.ibmpc
Subject: Re: PC Function Keys & TCP/IP LAN
Date: 30 Sep 92 14:24:15 GMT
Organization: Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Cambridge, MA,  USA

From article <9209291818.aa12152@louie.udel.edu>, 
by dunne@VICENZA-EMH1.ARMY.MIL ("Edward F. Dunn"):
>     Is there a problem using the IBM PC function keys F5 - F10 with any of
>the standard PD TCP/IP packages (NCSA/CUTCP)?   Specifically, I have been told
>that use of these function keys requires full 8 bit characters, but that these
>TCP packages use only 7bits over an 802.3 network.   Is this the case, and if
>so could some key-mapping give us a solution?
> 
>    We are having to choose between these two TCP/IP packages. What are the
>primary advantages/dissadvantages to each?    Or, how about MSkermit?
>                     Ed Dunn

IMHO, for Tek 4014 emulation and for keymapping, MSKermit v3.11 is
superior.  It is a mature and robust terminal emulator.

NCSA Telnet has a few superior features also:
-- It can open several sessions at once to different hosts
-- It can accept an FTP connection back from any of those hosts during
	a terminal session
-- It can run much faster than Kermit, refreshing your screen at
	nearly the same rate as a DOS "dir" (for those of us who
	remember being able to pause a scrolling directory on an XT,
	this is still surprising), and giving 50-80 kbyte/sec FTP
	transfer rates

I include below a piece of the NCSA keymapping documentation, which
says that the kernel of their remapping facility was taken more or
less wholesale from Kermit.  Thus in large part you may use the same
keymapping file simultaneously for both programs.  The asterisked
items in the list are supported by NCSA.

NCSA has some unfortunate limitations at present:

-- It supports Tek 4014, but it didn't work interchangeably with
	Kermit in our simplest test.  It turns out NCSA only
	recognizes one of the two possible <ESC> sequences to switch
	to graphics (Kermit recognizes both).  More info on request.

-- The backspace key is hardwired to ^H before remapping, instead of
	having its own scan code; therefore you cannot remap the
	backspace key to something else and still have your ^H on the
	^H key.  Grrrr...

-- A scrollback buffer is available, but is less convenient to use
	than Kermit's.

----------- Fragment from NCSA documentation ----------------------
NCSA Telnet does not support the extended SET KEY options such as:
      SET KEY ON
      SET KEY OFF
         or
      SET KEY CLEAR

Also, it is impossible to map the ALT+alphabetical keys to anything
with the keyboard mapping interface.  NCSA Telnet traps these internally
before they actually reach the mapping interface.
  Verb           Meaning
  \Kupscn        Roll up (back) to previous screen
  \Kdnscn        Roll down (forward) to next screen
  \Khomscn       Roll up to top of screen memory
  \Kendscn       Roll down to end of screen memory (current position)
  \Kupone        Roll screen up one line
  \Kdnone        Roll screen down one line
  \Kprtscn       Print the current screen
  \Kdump         Append the current screen to dump file
  \Kholdscrn     Toggle hold screen mode
  \Klogoff       Turn off session logging
  \Klogon        Turn on session logging
  \Ktermtype     Toggle terminal type
  \Kreset        Reset terminal emulator to initial state
  \Kmodeline     Toggle modeline off/on
  \Kbreak        Send a BREAK signal
  \Klbreak       Send a "long BREAK" signal
  \Khangup       Drop DTR so modem will hang up phone
* \Knull         Send a null (ASCII 0)
  \Kdos          "Push" to DOS
  \Khelp         Display CONNECT help message
  \Kstatus       Display STATUS message
  \Kterminals    Invoke user-defined macro TERMINALS, if any
  \Kterminalr    Invoke user-defined macro TERMINALR, if any
  \Kexit         Escape back from CONNECT mode
* \Kgold,\Kpf1   VT102 keypad function key PF1
* \Kpf2..\Kpf4   VT102 keypad function keys
* \Kkp0..\Kkp9   VT102 keypad numeric keys
* \Kkpdot,\Kkpminus,\Kkpcoma,\Kkpenter   Other VT102 keypad keys
* \Kuparr,\Kdnarr,\Klfarr,\Krtarr   VT102 cursor (arrow) keys

               Table 1-6:  Kermit-MS Verbs for the IBM PC Family

* - supported in NCSA Telnet 2.3b10

------- End of fragment of NCSA documentation ------------------

Other comments are welcome
Charley Noecker
noecker@cfa.harvard.edu