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JMODEM.DOC
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1988-10-04
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J M O D E M
File Transfer System
Compliments of
Richard B. Johnson
PROGRAM EXCHANGE
(719) 548-0208
October 4, 1988
General:
First Let me get this over with.
MS-DOS is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation
IBM, IBM-PC, IBM-XT, AT, are registered trademarks of Inter-
national Business Machines, Inc. WILDCAT! is a trademark of
Mustang Software. XMODEM is a public-domain file-transfer
protocol developed by Ward Christensen.
JMODEM is released into the public domain. As with most
public-domain protocols, you are advised that there is no
implied warranty of any kind. The source-code is provided so
that you may determine for yourself if this program may
serve a useful purpose. It is written in Microsoft MASM
Assembly-language using good standards of engineering prac-
tice. It does not use any strange or "undocumented" func-
tions of the MS-DOS operating system.
PLEASE UPLOAD THIS FILE (The ARC file) to as many
BBS systems as you can so that it gets installed
all around the country.
Introduction:
JMODEM is a new file-transfer protocol developed to be used
as an "external protocol" on BBS systems and personal com-
puters using the IBM-PC/AT/XT structure and the MS-DOS oper-
ating system.
This file-transfer system features:
o 16-bit CRC for verification
o File size is exactly maintained
o Data compression.
o Rapid host/remote synchronization.
o Variable-length transmission blocks which,
if there are few errors, increase to 8192
data-bytes in length.
o Flow control (automatic)
o Hangup protection
o Aborted files are saved
o Files being overwritten are renamed to
".OLD", rather than deleted.
o COM1 - COM4 support.
o Interrupt on received characters allows data
to be received while the previous block is
being written to disk. This provides almost
continuous data transmission without long
waits between blocks.
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JMODEM Protocol Page 2
JMODEM is not for everyone! It does not have any pretty
screens to dazzle the user. It is designed to maximize the
amount of data that can be transferred in a given time (and
reduce telephone cost). It does this by sending very long
blocks of data and encoding (compressing) the data wherever
possible. Since long blocks of data are subject to many
transmission errors, a 16 bit CRC is used to determine the
data integrity. As many as ten retries are made if the data
is not correctly received. If you have a noisy telephone
circuit, you will find that JMODEM will abort more often
than the XMODEM protocol which sends very short blocks. A
future version that will be downward-compatible with the ex-
isting version is being developed that will do "heroic"
retries and will even go down to a 16-byte block-lengths if
that's what is necessary to get the data transferred.
Once synchronization between the remote computer and the
host are established, JMODEM paints a status block on the
screen that shows how the file transfer is going. The status
screen shows the block being transmitted (or the last re-
ceived), the length of the block, and the total bytes having
been transmitted (or received). A special synchronization
routine is used so that the first block is not thrown away
as happens so often in XMODEM type routines. During the syn-
chronization routine, where the host is waiting for the user
to enter the proper file parameters (a 30 second wait). You
can abort immediately by sending a control X (^X). After ac-
tual file transfer begins, ie. when you see the status win-
dow on the screen, no input from the keyboard is possible.
You send a control BREAK to abort the transmission (or ^C).
In this case, the program will abort after the block being
sent/received is complete. This could take 15 or more sec-
onds with long blocks so be patient.
In the event that carrier is lost (the user disconnected),
the file-transfer program will also abort. This, too, could
take as long as 15 seconds.
How it works:
The block size starts out at 512 bytes (or the actual bytes
in the file -- whichever is less). To this is added a 6-byte
overhead. If the block transfer occurred without any
retries, the block length is increased by 512 bytes to 1024
bytes. As long as the transmission was successful without
incurring any re-tries, the block-length increases to a max-
imum of 8192 bytes. There is still the same 6-byte overhead
so the maximum block length will actually be 8198 bytes. Any
time there are retries, the block length (on the next new
string) is decreased by 512 bytes. The string-length is
never reduced to less than 512 bytes due to errors. When the
last bytes are read from the file, the block length may be
as little as 7 bytes (one data byte, plus the 6 byte over-
head). The file size as received will be exactly the file
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JMODEM Protocol Page 3
size as transmitted. XMODEM will "round-up" the file size to
the next higher block. This means that MS-DOS's COMP (com-
pare) will always fail when you attempt to check files that
have been sent by XMODEM and many other protocols.
When the file is read, an attempt is made to compress the
data using the well-known RLL process where multiple bytes
are compressed into a 4-byte statement.
For instance a string that looks like this (hex):
A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0 A0
Gets compressed into this:
BB 0F 00 A0
| | | |__________ Byte to repeat
| | |_____________ High byte of repeat length
| |________________ Low byte of repeat length
|___________________ Sentinel Byte
The sentinel-byte (BBH), when encountered in a data stream
will get expanded to four bytes. Therefore, it is possible
for the "compressed" data string to actually be longer than
the original. If this occurs, the original string is sent
rather than the longer encoded one. Since the kind of data
sent can be different from block-to-block, it is necessary
to send a control-byte along with the data so the receiver
had determine how to operate on the data.
This is the control structure:
00 02 00 0B 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 0A .... 0A EA
| | | | | | |_ CRC
| | | | | |____ CRC
| | | | |______________________________________ data
| | | |_________________________________________ rec.
| | |____________________________________________ control
| |_______________________________________________ length
|__________________________________________________ Length
Two bytes are used for the string length and two bytes are
used for the CRC. As is standard in memory, the high-byte
looks "to people using DEBUG" swapped with the low byte. The
data is transmitted exactly as the memory image.
The length (a word) begins the string so the receiver may
know exactly how may bytes to receive.
The control byte is bit-mapped to 8 possibilities. The ones
most important are:
NORMAL DATA
COMPRESSED DATA
END OF FILE
ABORT
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JMODEM Protocol Page 4
This is now the receiver "knows" what to do with the data.
The CRC is generated using this polynomial:
X = X + X^(2(n-mod 7)....... Where n = t(n-1)
And t = string length
It has the advantage of simplicity in assembly-language pro-
gramming and will detect errors with a probability of about
one undetected error in 2^132 (which is a very large num-
ber). It does not correct errors so its not important to use
some "standard" function to generate the CRC.
Support for COM3 and COM4 have been added on revision level
V1.05 . Note that the standards for port locations are de-
facto standards only and may not be the ports actually used
in your computer. Please modify the communications port
structures at the beginning of the assembly-language program
to match your system parameters if they are different. The
modifications should be done to the STRUCTURES, not to the
EQUATES!
Revision level V1.09 brings musical exit status. If the file
transfer was successful, the computer plays "victory". If
the file transfer was aborted, the computer plays "retreat".
Since the BBS SysOp is unlikely to want his computer to play
bugle-calls well into the evening, the user has the option
of turning the music off. This is done by setting an en-
vironment variable string:
SET JMODEM=SHUTUP
... Will accomplish the desired result.
Usage:
This program uses parameters on the command line.
JMODEM S <filename.typ> ( Sends a file to COM1:)
JMODEM R <filename.typ> ( Receives a file from COM1:)
JMODEM S1 <filename.typ> ( Sends a file to COM1:)
JMODEM R1 <filename.typ> ( Receives a file from COM1:)
JMODEM S2 <filename.typ> ( Sends a file to COM2:)
JMODEM R2 <filename.typ> ( Receives a file from COM2:)
After version 1.05, JMODEM supported communications adapter
ports 1 through 4.
In a batch file, <filename.typ> may be a substitution
character.
JMODEM S2 %1 ( Sends a file to COM2:)
JMODEM R2 %1 ( Receives a file from COM2:)
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JMODEM Protocol Page 5
Setting up a Communications Program
External File-Transfer Protocol.
On my system, TELIX resides in the C:\TELIX directory. A
copy of JMODEM.COM is also in that directory. TELIX passes
the filename as the %3 parameter. Therefore the contents of
JUP.BAT is:
C:\TELIX\JMODEM S1 %3
The contents of JDOWN.BAT are:
C:\TELIX\JMODEM R1 %3
If I wished to receive in the "batch" mode, I could make a
file like this. Notice that some communications programs do
not allow multiple file names. Note that the comments "!"
are NOT ALLOWED in a DOS batch file.
:DO_LOOP ! Return here
IF "%3" == "" GOTO DONE ! More parameters?
C:\TELIX\JMODEM R1 %3 ! Execute JMODEM
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO DONE ! Abort on error
SHIFT ! %4 becomes %3
GOTO DO_LOOP ! Continue
:DONE ! Exit batch file
If you do not know what "%" parameters are used to pass the
file name, all you have to do is make a "dummy" batch file
that contains the following:
@ECHO OFF
ECHO %1
ECHO %2
ECHO %3
ECHO %4
ECHO %5
PAUSE
When this is executed, you will see something like this:
1200
1
FILENAME.TYP
ECHO is off
ECHO is off
Strike a key when ready . . .
The first line contains "1200" which is the baud rate. This
means that the %1 parameter contains the baud rate.
The second line contains "1" which is the communications
adapter port being used. This means that the port is being
passed as the %2 parameter.
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JMODEM Protocol Page 6
The third line contains "FILENAME.TYP" which is the file
name. This means that the file name is being passed as the
%3 parameter.
The fourth and fifth lines contain nothing to echo so DOS
replies the current state of the echo function which is
"off".
PCPLUS handles the file name passing a little bit different.
If I execute the same "dummy" batch file from the PCPLUS
directory, the response is:
FILENAME.TYP
ECHO is off
ECHO is off
ECHO is off
ECHO is off
Strike a key when ready . . .
This shows us that PCPLUS passes the file name as the first
parameter and there are no other parameters. However, If I
put more parameters on the command line within PCPLUS, they
will get sent to the batch file. The response is:
FILENAME.001
FILENAME.002
FILENAME.003
FILENAME.
ECHO is off
Strike a key when ready . . .
Therefore PCPLUS allows up to four file names to be passed
providing there's room on the command line.
Notice that these two communications programs check the de-
fault directory for the external protocol batch file FIRST!
Therefore you must make certain that there are no other
similarly-named batch files in the current directory or
within the current path. Failure to do so will cause the im-
proper execution of the wrong batch file. Lets say that the
path was "C:\DOS;C:\TOOLS;C:\PCPLUS;C:\TELIX;C:\QMODEM". If
you named all your JMODEM external protocol batch files with
the same name, and you were attempting to use an external
file transfer protocol from QMODEM, the batch file designed
to operate with PCPLUS would be the first one "found" and
executed since the search-path will search the \PCPLUS
directory before the \QMODEM directory. You prevent the ex-
ecution of the incorrect batch file by calling them slightly
different names.
When setting up external protocols, remember to configure
the communications program so that it prompts you for the
file names. Unlike some protocols, JMODEM does not transfer
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JMODEM Protocol Page 7
the file name. You can use any file name that you wish. You
must pass the file name to JMODEM since it must know the
name of the file being transmitted or received. There are no
defaults.
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JMODEM Protocol Page 8
Setting up a BBS System
External File-Transfer Protocol.
If you are running a WILDCAT! bulletin board, the external
protocol files can be set up like this:
(JUP.BAT)
CD D:\WILDCAT\PROTOCOL
IF EXIST TRANSFER.BAD DEL TRANSFER.BAD
JMODEM R1 %3
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO END
COPY %3 %4
:END
DEL %3
(JDOWN.BAT)
CD D:\WILDCAT\PROTOCOL
IF EXIST TRANSFER.BAD DEL TRANSFER.BAD
JMODEM S1 %3
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO BAD
GOTO END
:BAD
COPY ALL.OK TRANSFER.BAD
:END
There are many variations available. Since WILDCAT! supports
batch-mode downloading, you could set up the batch file like
this:
(JDOWN.BAT)
CD D:\WILDCAT\PROTOCOL
IF EXIST TRANSFER.BAD DEL TRANSFER.BAD
:DO_LOOP
IF "%3" == "" GOTO END
JMODEM S1 %3
IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO BAD
SHIFT
GOTO DO_LOOP
:BAD
COPY ALL.OK TRANSFER.BAD
:END
WILDCAT! checks the \PROTOCOL directory to see if the file
TRANSFER.BAD has been created. If it exists, it announces
that the file transfer has failed. It also announces "Error
with external protocol .. ". It does this when, in fact,
WILDCAT! has made an error itself. In many cases WILDCAT!
will "find" the file TRANSFER.BAD when it DOES NOT EXIST! In
spite of this bug, WILDCAT! is one of the most reliable BBS
systems supporting external protocols.
When setting up batch files remember that there is also a
bug in all DOS versions. The "IF ERRORLEVEL " statement does
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JMODEM Protocol Page 9
NOT test the actual value of ERRORLEVEL! Instead it checks
to see if the returned value is EQUAL or GREATER than the
tested value. If you were to put the statement:
IF ERRORLEVEL 0 GOTO GOOD
.... in a batch file, the execution would ALWAYS branch to
label "GOOD" regardless of the actual ERRORLEVEL returned!
More about bugs when we get to the "BAD BBS" section towards
the end.
JMODEM does not require any information about handshaking.
It will look at the modem port and figure out for itself
what to do.
In the event that the modem carrier is lost, JMODEM will
abort. Since JMODEM only checks the modem port occasionally,
it may take several seconds to abort when the carrier is
lost. It is impossible for a user to get at the DOS level
through JMODEM. Do NOT use the CTTY command in the external
protocol batch files. JMODEM returns ERRORLEVEL 1 if there
was any error in transmission or reception. It returns ER-
RORLEVEL 0 (no error) otherwise. It does not delete files
that have been partially received although it properly
closes them. The system operator can arrange the batch files
to delete them if required.
When JMODEM attempts to create a file that already exists it
can't ask the user if the old one should be deleted since
the user is probably not in a terminal program at the time.
Therefore, JMODEM renames the other file to <filename.OLD>
and creates the new file. In the event that <filaname.OLD>
exists, it is deleted before the rename operation occurs.
If you don't know what parameters are being sent to external
protocols, you can make a dummy batch file to check them
using the DOS's echo command just as explained in the user
interface previous to this "BBS" section. You can't see the
parameters being echoed from a remote terminal. You must be
present at the BBS board terminal to test those parameters
unless you modify the dummy command file like this:
@ECHO OFF
ECHO %1>COM1
ECHO %2>COM1
ECHO %3>COM1
ECHO %4>COM1
ECHO %5>COM1
If you find that your system passes the file name as %3,
your "upload" (receive) batch file would contain this:
JMODEM R1 %3
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JMODEM Protocol Page 10
Your "download" (send) batch file would contain this:
JMODEM S1 %3
In these examples, it is assumed that you are using communi-
cations adapter port "1".
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JMODEM Protocol Page 11
The BAD BBS
Problem.
Believe it or not, there are several very fine running BBS
systems in use that do not properly handle external proto-
cols. MS-DOS provides the proper mechanism for loading and
executing "child" programs from within the "parent" pro-
grams. This is function 4BH of the "DOS" INT 21H DOS inter-
face. Instead of using this function, these poorly-behaved
programs perform the external file-transfer protocol in the
following (or similar) manner:
(1) Make a DOS call to find the file-size of the ex-
ternal file-transfer protocol.
(2) Free up an array of memory from "string-space"
within the program that is large enough to copy the external
file transfer contents into it. As assumption about the
data-space required by the external file transfer program is
made based upon the "block-size" information that has been
entered during configuration.
(3) Loads the file into string-space memory.
(4) If its an ".EXE" file, ignore the header.
(5) CALL the first byte of code!
If JMODEM is run in this environment, it WILL crash
the system. JMODEM assumes that it has been placed in memory
by MS-DOS and that an entire segment (64k) is available to
run. JMODEM uses two buffers that are almost 32k in length!
One of the buffers is used to support data compression and
expansion. The other is used for the interrupt buffer.
If you have such a BBS system and you wish to run JMODEM,
you can make a simple modification to the source-code, and
re-compile to produce a version which is a bit slower to in-
itialize and exit, but is guaranteed to leave all memory and
registers EXACTLY as they were when JMODEM got control. This
is done by saving and restoring all registers. Additionally,
any data space that will be modified is copied to a file
called VIRTUAL.MEM, then restored from that file just before
JMODEM exits.
You modify the source-code by finding the "BAD_BBS" equate
near the beginning of the file. This is normally set to
"FALSE". You set this to "TRUE". Then you recompile in the
following manner:
MASM JMODEM;
LINK JMODEM;
EXE2BIN JMODEM.EXE JMODEM.COM
DEL JMODEM.EXE
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JMODEM Protocol Page 12
Do NOT attempt to execute the ".EXE" version. You must
change JMODEM to a ".COM" file. If you do not have
EXE2BIN.COM to make the change, you can use DOS's DEBUG to
do the same thing. You do it this way:
F:\DEV> debug jmodem.exe ; DOS command line
-rcx ; Examine CX register
CX 1239 ; Debug says the size was 1239
:
-h 1239,100 ; Calculate 1239H - 100H
1339 1139 ; Sum = 1339H, dif = 1139H
-rcx ; Examine register again
CX 1239 ; Is 1239H
:1139 ; Change to 1139H
; .. subtract 100H
-njmodem.com ; Name new SAVE file name
-w ; Write to file
Writing 1139 bytes ; Debug prompts
-q ; Exit
F:\DEV> ; Back to DOS
When you use this version of JMODEM, it will take a little
while longer to load and exit because it must write a 64k
block of memory to a file and read / delete in upon exit.
If you have problems using JMODEM with your system, you can
call the PROGRAM EXCHANGE and leave a message You can also
test your communications program's external file-transfer
protocols by transferring files (hopefully uploading) to the
PROGRAM EXCHANGE. Currently there are hundreds of boards
that are using this protocol and the number is growing every
day. Most problems encountered are found to be caused by in-
correct file names being sent to JMODEM (the wrong "%" pa-
rameters). A simple batch file to test these parameters will
go a long way towards solving the problems.
Richard B. Johnson
PROGRAM EXCHANGE
(719) 548-0208
4750 Rusina Road # 106
Colorado Springs, CO
80907
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