What is KISS? What software uses KISS?

WHAT IS KISS?


Here's some quick info straight from Wikipedia:


KISS is a protocol for communicating with a serial terminal node controller (TNC) device used for amateur radio. This allows the TNC to combine more features into a single device and standardizes communications. KISS was developed by Mike Chepponis and Phil Karn to allow transmission of AX.25 packet radio frames containing IP packets over an asynchronous serial link, for use with the KA9Q NOS program.^[1]




Basically KISS eliminates the old "CMD:" prompt that we all grew fond of in the 1980s and 1990s on packet radio.


An article from 1987 by Phil Karn and Mike Chepponis introduces it by stating:


Standard TNC software was written with human users in mind; unfortunately, commands and responses well suited for human use are ill-adapted for host computer use, and vice versa. This is especially true for multi-user servers such as bulletin boards which must multiplex data from several network connections across a single host/TNC link. In addition, experimentation with new link level protocols is greatly hampered because there may very well be no way at all to generate or receive frames in the desired format without reprogramming the TNC.
The KISS TNC solves these problems by eliminating as much as possible from the TNC software, giving the attached host complete control over and access to the contents of the HDLC frames transmitted and received over the air. This is central to the KISS philosophy: the host software should have control over all TNC functions at the lowest possible level.
The AX.25 protocol is removed entirely from the TNC, as are all command interpreters and the like. The TNC simply converts between synchronous HDLC, spoken on the full- or half-duplex radio channel, and a special asynchronous, full duplex frame format spoken on the host/TNC link. Every frame received on the HDLC link is passed intact to the host once it has been translated to the asynchronous format; likewise, asynchronous frames from the host are transmitted on the radio channel once they have been converted to HDLC format.
Of course, this means that the bulk of AX.25 (or another protocol) must now be implemented on the host system. This is acceptable, however, considering the greatly increased flexibility and reduced overall complexity that comes from allowing the protocol to reside on the same machine with the applications to which it is closely coupled.

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KISS quickly became the standard, and even was used by soundcard and other software to simulate a TNC.


WHAT SOFTWARE USES IT?


APRSIS (APRS)
XASTIR (APRS)
AGWPE (Packet)
D-RATS (D-STAR "super" messaging and file transfer)
BPQ32 (Packet switch, messaging, chat, and APRS)
Winlink2000/RMS Express (message handling)


WINAPRS (Old APRS program)
UiView (Old APRS program)


So, as you can see, literally a whole new world of functionality has been opened by providing the "KISS" Port in FLDIGI.