[net.unix] VMS text files?!

AWalker@RUTGERS.ARPA (04/26/84)

From:  Hobbit <AWalker@RUTGERS.ARPA>

Last I heard, Files-11 sequential format is character stream with records
terminated by CR.  This is made very clear in the RMS bible.  I don't even
know if RMS *supports* counted records at all.... who ever gave you that idea?

_H*
-------

hopp@nbs-amrf.UUCP (05/03/84)

>From:  Hobbit <AWalker@RUTGERS.ARPA>
>
>Last I heard, Files-11 sequential format is character stream with records
>terminated by CR.  This is made very clear in the RMS bible.  I don't even
>know if RMS *supports* counted records at all.... who ever gave you that idea?
>
>_H*

Oh, I got it from a file dump.  Seriously, you must have a very poor
translation of the bible.  According to my copy of the VAX-11 RMS
Reference Manual (for VMS 3.0, Document AA-D031D-TE, page B-2), VAX-11
RMS provides three different record formats: fixed-length,
variable-length, and stream.  Stream record formats, what you have
described, come in three flavors, based on what characters terminate a
record; there can be either CR, LF, or [FF,VT,LF,CR/LF] terminators.
Stream records are supported only for sequentially organized disk
files.  Fixed-length records are terminated implicitly by the record
length, and are supported by all file organizations.  Variable-length
records come in two flavors and two major variants.  The two flavors
are both counted records; one, for use with disk files, has a two-byte
binary count field and the other, for use with tape files, has a
four-byte ascii (decimal) count field.  The two major variants parallel
these, but also include a fixed-length control field in each record.
The variable-length with fixed-length control formats are not supported
for indexed files.
-- 

Ted Hopp		      UUCP: {seismo,allegra}!umcp-cs!nbs-amrf!hopp
National Bureau of Standards  ARPA: hopp.nbs-amrf.umcp-cs@udel-relay
Metrology A127		      BELL: (301)921-2461
Washington, DC 20234

stern@bnl.UUCP (05/09/84)

   You may also be interested in knowing that stream text
files, such as those produced by using the standard io package
in the DEC C compiler, are not supported for DECnet transfers
between machines.

				Eric G. Stern
				SUNY StonyBrook