I have a question regarding executable (program) file transfers between HP3000's
vis the Internet.   Paul Gobes of Robelle and myself spent a great deal of
Tuesday getting the HP3000 LYNX program transferred from his 3000 to mine.
Eventually we succeeded but I am wondering if in our frustration with various
bits and piece we engaged in a bit of overkill. The steps that we eventually
took to transfer a file which could run on the target machine were these:
 
1       Use MOVER.PRVXL.TELESUP to compress the 3000 NMPRG file:
 
        syntax  MOVER.PRVXL.TELESUP "-c LYNXT /SYS/USRBIN/LYNX"
        note:   ' " ' around the argument list are required, comand arguments and
flags are case sensitive.
                MPE group and account qualifiers must be converted to posix
syntax.
                The truckfile (archive) will be placed in your current working
directory.
 
2       Convert to ASCII using UUENCODE.HPBIN.SYS
 
2.1     Swtich to Posix shell
 
        syntax  SH.HPBIN.SYS
 
2.2     Create transfer file
 
        syntax  uuencode LYNXT LYNXT > LYNXTU
        note    command and arguments are case sensitive. uuencode outputs to
STDOUT by default.
                 ' > 'is used to redirect output to a byte stream ascii file.
                UPPERCASE file names are required where destination file system
is MPE/iX.
 
2.3     Exit Posix shell
 
        syntax  exit
 
3       Transfer file to public gateway machine (HP9000) using FTP.ARPA.SYS
 
3.1     Run FTP from HP3000
 
        syntax  FTP.ARPA.SYS
                >BINARY                 (must use binary transfer even if ascii
file)
                >OPEN HP9000                    (substitute IP address or
preconfigured target name)
                >PUT LYNXTU /bin/dock/LYNXTU    (substitute public access path)
                >EXIT
 
        note    HP3000 FTP commands are not themselves case sensitive,
                but target and sorce file and path names are.
 
                If you do not use BINARY tranfer protocol, the FTP program will
insert additional <lf>'s
                this will corrupt the MOVER file and prevent succesfull
decompression on the target
 
3.2     Switch to gateway machine and release file for read using chmod.
 
        syntax  chmod 444 /bin/dock/LYNXTU      (subsitute public access path)
 
This completes the process of readying the prgram file for transfer via a unix
gateway.
 
 
4.      From target machine access gateway site and transfer file.  It is not
necessary to enter the Posix shell at all.
 
4.1     Run FTP.ARPA.SYS
 
        syntax  FTP.ARPA.SYS
                >binary
                >open gwhp9000                  (substitute ip address or
preconfigured host name)
                >get /bin/dock/LYNXTU /SYS/USRBIN/LYNXTU
                >exit
 
        note    HP3000 FTP commands are not case sensitive, file and path names
are.
 
4.2     Decode into binary file using UUDECODE
 
        syntax  UUDECODE.HPBIN.SYS LYNXTU
 
        note    This is an MPE/iX program, it takes no arguments other than the
file name of the source file.
                The name of the decoded file is contained in the first line of
the UUENCODE'd file.
                This name may be edited using a text editor before running
UUDECODE on the file.
                If the source file name and the target file name are the same,
this command will overwrite the source.
 
4.3     Expand decoded file using MOVER
 
        syntax  MOVER.PRVXL.TELESUP "-x /SYS/USRBIN/LYNXT"
 
        NOTE    ' " ' is required around arguments, all arguments are case
sentitive.
 
 
You now have a program file with its original name in your current working
directory.   It should run (mine did).
 
My questions are these.
 
Was it necessary to use UUENCODE and UUDECODE to transfer the file across the
Internet?   I believe so but we had so many things go wrong at various points
that I am not entirely sure anymore.
 
Given that UUENCODE is required, is there a simple way of redirecting the output
from it to a MPE/iX file directly, without having to enter the Posix shell?  I
simply did not have time to play around with this but it seems that there should
be a way using FILE equations if nothing else.  The trick is that the user
shouldn't have to define the file structure or size.
 
I am told that the ASCII/BINARY question regarding FTP was discussed on this
list earlier this year.  Can someone point me to the correct place to review
this discussion or kindly give me a precis of the important points raised?
E-Mail would be fine.
 
Once more, I would like to thank Paul Gobes at Robelle for his assitance.  It
was greatly appreciated.
 
Jim