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From: ss@uucp.mit.edu
Subject: ANNOUNCE: Seyon 1.9 (X-based telecom program)
Message-ID: <1993Jan31.005058.1188@tc.cornell.edu>
Followup-To: comp.windows.x.apps
Originator: mdw@db.TC.Cornell.EDU
Keywords: X telecomm comm Seyon 1.9 Unix Windows
Sender: news@tc.cornell.edu
Nntp-Posting-Host: db.tc.cornell.edu
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Date: Sun, 31 Jan 1993 00:50:58 GMT
Approved: linux-announce@tc.cornell.edu (Matt Welsh)
Lines: 179
Version 1.9 of Seyon is released. You can get it from sipb.mit.edu
(/pub/seyon) and export.lcs.mit.edu (as well as nic.funet.fi and
sunsite.unc.edu). Previous versions were reported to run on many Unix
platforms: Linux, SVR4, SVR3.2, Ultrix 4.2, SunOS 4.1, Domain/OS-12
(Apollo), 386BSD, Solaris 1.0, AIX 3.2, HP-UX 8.0, and BSDI BSD/386.
(I personally verified that it compiles "out of the box" on linux,
Ultrix (cc and gcc), and 386BSD (thanks to ref.tfs.com)). Please read
the change log, as this release has many added features and ones that
have changed from the previous version. This release has a more
complete manual page that I have put a lot of effort into making as
accurate and up-to-date as possible, so please take a look at it.
The following is an introduction to Seyon, then the change log from
the previous version.
Introduction:
=============
Seyon is a complete full-featured telecommunications package for
the X Window System. Some of its features are:
Dialing directory that supports an unlimited number of entries.
The directory is fully mouse-driven and features call progress
monitoring, dial timeout, automatic redial, multi-number dialing,
and circular redial queue. Each item in the dialing directory can
be configured with its own baud rate, bit mask, and script file.
The dialing directory uses a plain-text phone book that can be
edited from withen Seyon. Seyon also supports manual dialing.
Terminal emulation window supporting DEC VT02, Tektronix 4014, and
ANSI. Seyon delegates its terminal emulation to xterm, so all the
familiar xterm functions such as the scroll-back buffer,
cut-and-paste utility, and visual bell are availabe through
Seyon's terminal emulation window. Using xterm also means that
Seyon has a more complete emulation of VT102 than other any Unix
or DOS telecommunications program. Other terminal emulation
programs can also be used with Seyon to suit the user's need; for
example, color xterm can be used to provide emulation for color
ANSI (popular on many BBS systems), and xvt can be used if memory
is a bit tight.
Script language to automate tedious tasks such as logging into
remote hosts. Seyon's script interpreter uses plain-text files and
has a syntax similar to that of sh, with a few extra addtions. It
supports many familiar statements such as conditional branching by
if-else and looping by goto. Scripts may be assigned to items in
the dialing directory for automatic execution after a connection
is made.
Unlimited number of slots for external file transfer protocols.
Protocols are activated from a mouse-driven transfer console that
uses a plain-text file, editable from withen Seyon, for protocol
configuration. Seyon prompts the user for filenames only if the
chosen protocol requires filenames or if the transfer operation is
an upload, for which Seyon also accepts wildcards. Multiple
download directories can be specified for the different transfer
slots.
Support for zmodem auto-download. Seyon detects incoming zmodem
signature and automatically activates a user-specified zmodem
protocol to receive incoming files. Zmodem transfers can thus be
completely automatic and require no user intervention.
Translation modes. Seyon can perfrom useful trasnlations on the
user's input. From example, Seyon can translate backspace to
delete (useful on may Unix systems), newline to carriage return
(useful on many BBS hosts), and my favorite, meta key tranlation:
to send keys pressed while the meta (ALT) key is held down as an
escape (ESC) followed by the key press. The latter mode simulates
the meta key on hosts that do not support 8-bit-clean connections
and makes possible the use of the meta key in programs like Emacs
on such hosts.
Other features: interactive setting of program parameters, on-line
help, software (XONN/XOFF) and hardware (RTS/CTS) flow control,
session capture to a file, and temporary running of a local shell
in the terminal emulation window.
Seyon is intended to be both simple and extensively configurable.
Almost every aspect of Seyon can be configured via the resources
to suit the user's taste.
Changes:
========
Version 1.9:
* The baud rates are now represented by radio buttons instead of
requiring the user to type them manually. This has the advantage
that the user can no longer choose an invalid baud rate (besides
looking cute, of course).
* Fixed a few minor bugs (the dialing directory shows a spurious
script for the last item, script command 'dial' doesn't accept
'^M', script keyword 'linked' doesn't work, exitConfirm resource
mistyped in the source and swapped with hangupConfirm). all
fixed now.
* Added error checking for modem reads/writes. Seyon now tells the
user when such errors occur and why they occured. The program
also suspends the terminal process when an excessive number of
such consecutive errors occur (5). You'll see how that is sueful
if you specify a port with a non-existent modem as your device
(do it at your own risk though, some oparting systems may lock
up your machine f you do so).
* Added a new script command: when. This is a very versatile
command and behaves in a similar fashion as the corresponding
command in Qmodem. Briefly, if you have something like
when "Continue?" "y^M"
when "More?" "n^M"
waitfor "Command?"
when
then while waiting for "Command? ", the script will transmit
"y^M" whenever it encounters "Continue?" and "n^M" whenever it
encounters "More?", whatever the number of times it encounters
those strings. The final when (with no argument) clears all
outstanding when commands. Some BBS systems (notably PCBoard)
change the prompts depeding on the time of your call, and you
cannot write a complete script for such boards using waitfor
only. An example is included.
* Cleaned the script module a bit and also the routine for
detecting the zmodem auto-download signature.
* Revised the interface for the settings window. Seyon now changes
the parameters as soon as the user clicks on them instead of
waiting until the 'Ok' button is pressed. A bit less efficient
perhaps, but more natural. You can now keep the settings window
open and try out different settings without having to close the
window in order to effect your changes.
* Transient windows no longer concealed by their parents, even if
they don't have the input focus. Didn't you just hate it when
those windows used to disappear behind their parents and you had
to move their parents in order to see them? No longer.
* The exit and cancel buttons are no longer hidden when they are
inactive. Instead, they are now visible all the time, but greyed
out when inactive. Looks better this way.
* When you choose f.delete (twm/mwm) or QUIT (olwm/olvwm) on
Seyon's top window (the command center), Seyon now exits
gracefully as if you clicked on the exit button (but with no
confirmation). Seyon will beep if you try to do that while
you're not allowed to exit though. Even though it is safe to do
so, I do not recommend this as the way to exit Seyon. Also,
never do this on any other Seyon window (like the dialing
directory) or Seyon won't exit gracefully. (In general, if Seyon
gets stuck and you have to kill it, do that by
kill <lowest-seyon-pid>
from another xterm. Seyon will quit gracefully this way as
well).
* Added two new script commands: flush and purge. The first
flushes the mdoem, i.e. discards data written to the modem but
not transmitted and data received but not read. The second Reads
and discards all data coming from the modem for the duration of
one second.
* The manual page now has a listing of all the keywords the script
command 'set' accepts.
* Revised the idle guard routine so that the idleGuardInterval is
now observed properly.
* New default font. I suspect most people will hate it, so it may
be removed from the next version if I hear many gribes about it.
* New error popups. Now Seyon pops up an dialog box with an
explanation of the error, possible causes, and suggested action
when an error occurs. Not all errors are handled this way yet,
but the most severe ones are. Please do give this version some
abuse (e.g. invoking it with no modem, wrong modem, locked
modem, incorrect command-line switch, or even doing something as
evil as 'kill -SEGV <lowest-seyon-pid>').
* Seyon now has an icon. Try iconifying the command center (or the
dialing directory) to see it.
* Arnold is out, a pretty face is in.
Have fun,
/Muhammad M. Saggaf | Stop the genocide
alsaggaf@athena.mit.edu | Save Bosnia
--
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