[mod.computers.vax] RMS attributes of a file

NU043109@NDSUVM1.BITNET.UUCP (01/28/87)

     Where are thae RMS attributes of a file stored? How to access them?
                             Thanks for the help
                                      Rao
                            nu043109@ndsuvm1

carl@CITHEX.CALTECH.EDU.UUCP (01/30/87)

The RMS attributes of a file are stored in the UFAT (user file attributes area)
of the file's header(s), which is(are) stored in [000000]INDEXF.SYS.  There are
two common ways of accessing these attributes:
	1)  Use RMS routines to get them for you (see the RMS manual); or
	2)  Read the appropriate block of INDEXF.SYS and deal with the
	    information there.
The first method is recommended for most purposes.  However, it is possible to
use RMS to modify file attributes (especially if you use $MODIFY and certain
undocumented RMS features) in such a way that the resulting file has invalid
attributes, after which RMS won't let you do anything.  In such cases, it is
necessary to edit INDEXF.SYS directly.  By the way, is there anybody out there
who'd be willing to put a copy of the ODS-2 document I referred to a while
back in this teleconference somewhere that people can get at it conveniently
via anonymous FTP or BITNET? (said document describes, among other things,
the layout of file headers, including RMS's use of H.UFAT).