Curious about sb command.Need exact details.

[Ramakanta Sahoo]

Hi all,

I'm a proud Fedora 9 User.
while typing I found a command named sb.
But dont have much info about it as man sb..has no manual pages.
What i think, this is may be something like scp command for file transfer.
if anyone know what are the exact details and how to use this command then please let me know.
Am just curious about the usage of this command.
posting the outputs for reference.

 $ sb
sb: need at least one file to send
Try `sb --help' for more information.

 $ sb --help
sb version 0.12.20
Usage: sb [options] file ...
   or: sb [options] -{c|i} COMMAND
Send file(s) with ZMODEM/YMODEM/XMODEM protocol
    (X) = option applies to XMODEM only
    (Y) = option applies to YMODEM only
    (Z) = option applies to ZMODEM only
  -+, --append                append to existing destination file (Z)
  -2, --twostop               use 2 stop bits
  -4, --try-4k                go up to 4K blocksize
      --start-4k              start with 4K blocksize (doesn't try 8)
  -8, --try-8k                go up to 8K blocksize
      --start-8k              start with 8K blocksize
  -a, --ascii                 ASCII transfer (change CR/LF to LF)
  -b, --binary                binary transfer
  -B, --bufsize N             buffer N bytes (N==auto: buffer whole file)
  -c, --command COMMAND       execute remote command COMMAND (Z)
  -C, --command-tries N       try N times to execute a command (Z)
  -d, --dot-to-slash          change '.' to '/' in pathnames (Y/Z)
      --delay-startup N       sleep N seconds before doing anything
  -e, --escape                escape all control characters (Z)
  -E, --rename                force receiver to rename files it already has
  -f, --full-path             send full pathname (Y/Z)
  -i, --immediate-command CMD send remote CMD, return immediately (Z)
  -h, --help                  print this usage message
  -k, --1k                    send 1024 byte packets (X)
  -L, --packetlen N           limit subpacket length to N bytes (Z)
  -l, --framelen N            limit frame length to N bytes (l>=L) (Z)
  -m, --min-bps N             stop transmission if BPS below N
  -M, --min-bps-time N          for at least N seconds (default: 120)
  -n, --newer                 send file if source newer (Z)
  -N, --newer-or-longer       send file if source newer or longer (Z)
  -o, --16-bit-crc            use 16 bit CRC instead of 32 bit CRC (Z)
  -O, --disable-timeouts      disable timeout code, wait forever
  -p, --protect               protect existing destination file (Z)
  -r, --resume                resume interrupted file transfer (Z)
  -R, --restricted            restricted, more secure mode
  -q, --quiet                 quiet (no progress reports)
  -s, --stop-at {HH:MM|+N}    stop transmission at HH:MM or in N seconds
      --tcp                   build a TCP connection to transmit files
      --tcp-server            open socket, wait for connection
  -u, --unlink                unlink file after transmission
  -U, --unrestrict            turn off restricted mode (if allowed to)
  -v, --verbose               be verbose, provide debugging information
  -w, --windowsize N          Window is N bytes (Z)
  -X, --xmodem                use XMODEM protocol
  -y, --overwrite             overwrite existing files
  -Y, --overwrite-or-skip     overwrite existing files, else skip
      --ymodem                use YMODEM protocol
  -Z, --zmodem                use ZMODEM protocol
 
short options use the same arguments as the long ones
  

 $ man sb
No manual entry for sb
   

Thanks.

Ricky
[ October 04, 2008: Message edited by: Ricky Boxon ]

[Ernest Friedman-Hill]

sb is the batch version of sz; try "man sz". It's for sending files over serial links. There's also an rb, the batch version of rz, which receives files over such a link. "man rz" will tell you about that part.

[Ramakanta Sahoo]

Hey Ernest Friedman-Hill Thanks man.

when trying man sz i found something like

Sz uses the ZMODEM, YMODEM or XMODEM error correcting protocol to send
one or more files over a dial-in serial port to a variety of programs
running under PC-DOS, CP/M, Unix, VMS, and other operating systems.

Can you provide me one example where i can use it.

[Ernest Friedman-Hill]

A long, long time ago, back when I was your age, maybe, there were actually computers that were not connected to a network! Hard to believe, actually, but true! Turns out there wasn't even necessarily a network for them to connect to, half the time. So if you wanted to move data between computers, you used a serial line, either via a pair of modems and a telephone line, or a direct connection with a big fat RS232 serial cable. A lot of computers don't even have these "serial ports" anymore, but in the old days, PCs had as many as four of them, as they were used for a lot of things. XMODEM, YMODEM, and ZMODEM are standard protocols for file transfer over a serial connection, and there were actually others, as well. A program named "Kermit" was an extremely popular way of not only sending files over serial, but keystrokes too; I spent many an hour typing to a mainframe through a serial cable that snaked through the acoustic cieling tile of my lab at MIT.

Anyway, when would you use these programs? Nowadays, only very rarely, like if you need to download code to an old-fashioned embedded system board with a serial port. But even many small embedded system board have USB or Ethernet connections these days!

You damn kids, get the hell off my lawn!

[Ramakanta Sahoo]

Thanks a lot Ernest
Really Great Info.






Cheers!!