🚀 go-pugleaf

	Just to and yet another word to the "discussion" on protocol file
transfer programs, this time on the foreground graphics vs background comms
point. There's hope! National Semiconductor has a new UART chip NS16550A
which has a 16 character receiver fifo. And what a difference that makes
to losing characters! The chip can generally be plugged into an 8250 socket
and do the job old-style with no changes anywhere. However, the gotcha is
an applications program needs to engage fifo mode explicitly; MS Kermit v3.0
does so. The chips cost me about $26 apiece, the NS16550A, not a NS16550
which has bugs preventing use of the fifo (early runs of PS/2s reputedly
had to settle for 16550's).
	When properly programmed for fifo mode in MS Kermit I ask it to
generate an interrupt when either 8 characters have arrived or when fewer
are present but 4 char times have elapsed (a fast timeout). I has allowed
me to boost the speed of MSK to MSK transfers to 115KB from 386 to old
8 MHz AT on a very short wire (an RS232 problem, not a programming one).
Previously the hard disk controller and/or video display would keep 
interrupts off too long and a character would be lost; very infrequent now.
The effective file characters/second rate is limited by the cpu+disk
performance to around 4000++ characters/sec (over 40KB); 386 to 386 is faster.
But then speed is not everything.
	Joe D.