On Mon, 21 Sep 1992 18:08:52 +0200 Eric Thomas said:
>
>Could you  please expand  on this  statement? I'm  afraid I  simply don't
>understand what you are talking about.  The line protocols used on BITNET
>were developed for  IBM machines, so they are IBM-ish  in nature, in much
>the same way  that most Internet protocols are unix-ish  in nature. There
>is nothing  that can be  done about  that, as you  said it is  what makes
>BITNET BITNET and the Internet the Internet. Within that framework, could
>you please elaborate on what specific  actions of CREN, EARN or any other
>cooperating network makes  you think that BITNET is being  developed as a
>"VM  mainframe"  network? When  reviewing  the  recent changes  volunteer
>developers  like  me  introduced  in  their  software,  do  you  get  the
>impression  that  these  people  are  making the  network  more  or  less
>"VM-mainframe-oriented", and why?
 
If Bitnet is to  be made more universal, then the  syntax and availability of
the SENDFILE and  TELL commands should be more consistant  on non-VM systems.
 
I used to have  access to two Vax VMS systems which  were directly on Bitnet.
On one  system, there was  no SENDFILE feature at  all. Being as  though CREN
Eric, and  others out  there tout  SENDFILE as a  great Bitnet  feature, they
should find  this fact  disturbing even if  the fault is  not CREN's.  On the
second  VMS  system  where  I  had  Bitnet access,  there  was  a  send  file
capability, but  its syntax was  totally different  than the VM  version. The
same situation was  true with TELL. It  was not available on  one system, and
on the other system, its syntax was entirely different.
 
It seems to me  that a network should have one set of  commands for using its
services  regardless  of  which  operating  system is  used  to  access  that
network. Of  course, thi problem  is also true of  The Internet to  a degree.
This problem  with inconsistancy both  in regard  to The Internet  and Bitnet
services probably  comes from  the fact that  third party  software providers
implement things in  different ways. As an extreme example,  consider that on
Unix and VM, one  can send mail by typing MAIL userid@host,  but in VMS' PMDF
mail package,  one must type  the address  as in%"userid@host" and  in PROFS,
which  I've never  used,  the  syntax may  be  something entirely  different.
 
 Stan Horwitz   Internet: STAN @ VM.TEMPLE.EDU  Bitnet: STAN @ TEMPLEVM
 
 Temple University's Sr. Mainframe Consultant; Manager of the Help-Net
 and Suggest lists; Listserv Postmaster
 
 Standard disclaimers apply. One of these days I will make this sig file
 look much nicer.