Definition: Kermit

A file transfer protocol developed at Columbia University, noted for its adaptability to noisy lines, enabling transfers to succeed under the worst conditions. Kermit supports streaming over the Internet, sliding windows for links with long round-trip delays, record and character conversion of text files, restart/recovery from point of failure and platform-independent transfer of directory trees with a mix of text and binary files.

Kermit Software
Kermit is also the name of a large family of software that implements the Kermit protocol on a huge number of platforms, including Windows, Mac, Unix, Linux, OpenVMS and IBM mainframes. The programs offer file transfer, file management and terminal emulation with connections for serial ports and modems as well as TCP/IP. Support for encryption and authentication (SSL, TLS, SSH, Kerberos) is also provided. In most cases, a full programming language is built in for automating communications tasks. For more information, visit http://kermit.columbia.edu.