Both needs are eminently fulfilled by the book Using MS-DOS Kermit by Christine M. Gianone. The book is not free, but at 79 Marks, in a hardbound edition with over 400 pages, it is a good bargain. It includes a diskette with the latest version of MS-DOS Kermit, so all you need to get started in the world of data transfer is a PC, a modem, and a telephone connection with the right cables. In these 70 pages, the beginner gets concrete help with the first steps. These initial steps are eased by the well-written, readable, and amusing text, painstakingly translated into German, and numerous illustrations.
Terminal emulation turns a PC into a terminal to a host.
Graphics images can be saved in TIFF files so other programs can import them. With only these capabilities one can readily accomplish trivial types of data transfer from mainframe to PC, by displaying the desired information and logging it to a file. This is a particular problem when transferring binary data. For these reasons, the Kermit protocol was developed in 1981 at Columbia University in New York by Bill Catchings and Frank da Cruz. The basic idea of this protocol is for the sender to break up the data into packets.