ASCII-XFR(1)

💅 ascii-xfr — the Linux Users Manual glow-up

okay bestie, gather round, because we're talking about ascii-xfr, straight out of the Linux Users Manual. it's a lil file-moving gremlin that speaks the ASCII protocol and nothing else. no fancy negotiation, no vibes check, just lines. ✨

🌸 NAME

ascii-xfr — upload/download files using the ASCII protocol 🦋

🎀 SYNOPSIS

ascii-xfr -s|-r [-ednv] [-l linedelay] [-c characterdelay] filename

like. that's the whole thing. she's simple. she's efficient. she's giving minimalist icon. 💅

✨ DESCRIPTION

so Ascii-xfr transfers files in ASCII mode. and what does that mean, you ask? it means no flow control, no checksumming, and no file-name negotiation. literally none. it should only be used if the remote system doesn't understand anything else — like, this is the last-resort protocol, the "we have no other options" protocol, the "your grandpa's BBS" protocol. 🙈

the ASCII protocol transfers files line-by-line. the EOL (End-Of-Line) character gets transmitted as CRLF. when receiving, the CR character is stripped from the incoming file. and the Control-Z (ASCII 26) character signals End-Of-File — but only if option -e is specified (unless you change it to Control-D (ASCII 4) with -d). iykyk. 🫶

Ascii-xfr reads from stdin when receiving, and sends data on stdout when sending. so yeah, some form of input or output redirection to the modem device is needed when downloading or uploading, respectively. no redirection, no transfer, periodt. 💀

👑 OPTIONS

• -s — send a file. 📤
• -r — receive a file. 📥 one of -s or -r must be present, bestie. like, you have to pick a lane.
• -e — send the End-Of-File character (Control-Z, ASCII 26 by default) when uploading has finished. wrap it up, we're done here. 🎀
• -d — use the Control-D (ASCII 4) as the End-Of-File character. a lil switcheroo. 🔄
• -n — do not translate CR to CRLF and vice versa. leaving it raw, no filter, no makeup. 💅
• -v — verbose: show transfer statistics on the stderr output. she's telling you everything. 👀
• -l milliseconds — when transmitting, pause for this delay after each line. slow and steady wins the race. 🐢
• -c milliseconds — when transmitting, pause for this delay after each character. one. at. a. time. 😭
• file — name of the file to send or receive. and heads up: when receiving, any existing file by this name will be truncated. like, gone. poof. bye. so maybe double-check that filename, bestie. 💀

🦋 USAGE WITH MINICOM

so if you wanna call this program from minicom(1), here's the move: start minicom and go to the Options menu. select File transfer protocols. then add the following lines — for example as protocols I and J. 🌈

I  Ascii    /usr/bin/ascii-xfr -sv   Y   U   N   Y
J  Ascii    /usr/bin/ascii-xfr -rv   Y   D   N   Y

copy it exactly, don't freestyle. ⭐

💜 AUTHOR

• Miquel van Smoorenburg, miquels@cistron.nl
• Jukka Lahtinen, walker@netsonic.fi

legends, honestly. 👑

🌸 SEE ALSO

• minicom(1)

also quick warning bestie: no flow control + no checksums means the ASCII protocol is not the move for anything important or reliable. it's the vibes-only protocol. use it when the remote side literally can't do better. 🙈

and that's the tea, bestie 🍓 this page is from the Linux Users Manual, dated $Date: 2006-10-28 14:35:59 $ (yeah she's a classic, an elder icon, still serving ✨) and it lives under ASCII-XFR(1). go forth and transfer responsibly 💖🎀🦋