Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!gem.mps.ohio-state.edu!apple!bloom-beacon!eru!luth!sunic!tut!router!fintuvm.bitnet!t8m-kaup
From: T8M-KAUP@FINTUVM.BITNET (Asko Kauppi)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple
Subject: Re: BBoard protocols (none)
Message-ID: <902T8M-KAUP@FINTUVM>
Date: 24 Sep 89 00:11:38 GMT
References: <8909092230.AA26919@uunet.uu.net> <12526@athertn.Atherton.COM>
Organization: University of Turku, Finland
Lines: 96


   -< Sorry, it got a bit too long. Important things start on line 38... >-

On September the 10th, Paul Sander wrote:

> There's a guy named Asko Kauppi in Finland who's taking on this challenge.
> He's designed a suitable protocol, and was finding people to develop it along
> with a number of applications before starting his duty in The Service.  I'll
> forward a copy of this article to him to see if he wants to begin
> a discussion of his progress here.

    Yes, that might be appropriate. There hasn't been much progress, though,
    as I had to start my 11 months in "The Service" in June. Still got 225
    days to go... All the same, I try to get further with my idea even in the
    primitive army conditions. I have a Zenith CGA 8086 portable with me, so
    I'm not complitely tied to pure paper. I have also found that long marches
    are quite good situations for letting the ideas flow in my head. Try it:
    some 20 kilometers carrying a 30kg sack and you're bound to get a solution
    to your problem...  ;-)

    So far, I have re-designed my communications protocol at least five or six
    times, the first ones dating as far as July 1988. During each pass, the
    protocol has gotten better and better, simpler and simpler. I certainly
    AM a perfectionist, so only the absolutely best is good enough for me.
    At the moment, my 'baby' is nearly finished. I still want to give it one
    more pass to get all the details written clearly and understandably:
    My current notes were of no help to anyone else but me myself. When I
    get the thing 'clean' enough, I'll probably send it over for public
    discussion. I doubt you could come up with better solutions than I have
    (well, I've spent a year developing it, haven't I...), but all the same
    you must be curious and certainly must have varying opinions on some
    aspects. Just wait and see (and hope I have enough spare time among my
    combat training).

    Here are SOME main points of my protocol:

        The goal: To give powerful remote windowing and graphics abilities
                  at even as low a bandwidths as 1200 bps.

        The means: 1) Use MACROS. Often used command sequences can be stored
                      on the terminal's (disk) storage and later on called
                      with varying parameters.

                   2) Use asyncronous bitstring transfer. Long pieces of data
                      (text, picture bitmaps, files...) are transferred at
                      the connection's 'spare time', using various priorities.
                      Other, more important packets are sent prior to these
                      (files up/download at the background, pictures appear
                      gradually when everything else is going on normally...)
                      Comparable to multitasking vs. monotasking.

                   3) ALL data fields are of dynamical length. If we need
                      sharp coordinates, we give them 16 bits each, if not,
                      some 6 might be enough. The coordinate system is of
                      NAPLPS type: (0,0) - (1,1) and between.

                   4) Use heavy, automatic compressing.

     Other points: - CAD-like graphics are created using AbiScript, a sort
                     of a binary coded subset of PostScript (19 commands).

                   - BOBs (Blitter OBjects: Amiga terminology) are included
                     for the sake of remote arcade (and other) games. Some
                     people will just LOVE it|

                   - Sampled sound, of course - with multiple channels...

    If it sounds a bit too ambitious, I can assure you that my purpose by
    no means is to do it all at once. It is nice to have the total protocol
    defined before you start implementing any of it: you won't have to make
    any of those irritating 'extensions' all standards are filled with.
    The next thing to do after proof-reading the final(?) protocol papers
    will be to deside, which areas to implement first. I think I'll start
    with the drawing commands without any windowing, sound, fonts, BOBs
    or any extra. After that I'll perhaps introduce windowing and then all
    the rest... At some point, someone should put up a nice BBS program
    for my magnificient (it is|) protocol. Quite a lot of work to do,
    at least when you're alone and in the army...

    Anyway, thanks for following this far - you must be truly interested on
    the subject. If you want to reach me, it might be easier by conventional
    post (I get holidays every 2 weeks or so) sent directly to the army base.
    I do have other things to do on my holidays than replying KBs of electronic
    mail...

              Yours binary,
                               / Asko /

  Army addr: Oppilas Kauppi AP, KrhJ/AUK/PorPr, PL 5, 27911 HRINNE, FINLAND
_____________________________________________________________________

    Asko Kauppi     alias      T8M-KAUP at FINTUVM.BITNET  (BitNet
                                           MAMMUTTI.UTU.FI (InterNet
  Student of Physics
   Turku University    addr: Kakskerrantie 176, 20960 Turku, FINLAND
      Finland          tel : +358 (9)21 588 359 / 588 434