[comp.lang.c] File specification regularity

dave@arnold.UUCP (Dave Arnold) (10/04/88)

To all you future filesystem designers, please avoid the following:

SYS$SYSROOT[UTILS.ANUNEWS.SRC.NEWS_SRC]NEWSADD.OBJ;1

NOTE: SYS$SYSROOT is also a logical name which has 2 translations.

Oh yeah, then there is the DECNET node specs:

VAXB"LOGIN PASSWORD":: plus the above.

I prefer:

/sysroot/utils/anunews/src/news_src/news_add.obj

P.S.  Did I make a syntax error somewhere?
-- 
Dave Arnold
dave@arnold.UUCP	{cci632|uunet}!ccicpg!arnold!dave

mkhaw@teknowledge-vaxc.ARPA (Mike Khaw) (10/05/88)

In article <206@arnold.UUCP>, dave@arnold.UUCP (Dave Arnold) writes:
> To all you future filesystem designers, please avoid the following:
>   SYS$SYSROOT[UTILS.ANUNEWS.SRC.NEWS_SRC]NEWSADD.OBJ;1
> NOTE: SYS$SYSROOT is also a logical name which has 2 translations.
> Oh yeah, then there is the DECNET node specs:
>   VAXB"LOGIN PASSWORD":: plus the above.
> I prefer:
>   /sysroot/utils/anunews/src/news_src/news_add.obj

It's even more fun when you decnet copy between Ultrix and VMS because
VMS thinks "/" means a command line option switch (so you have to quote
Unix pathnames), and csh thinks all sorts of horrible things about "$",
":", "[", "]", and ";" (so you have to '-quote the whole mess).  On top
of that DEC had to invent totally different ways of specifying username
and password for Ultrix, and Ultrix's dcp (decnet cp) is strictly 1 file
per invocation (blecch).

At least Ultrix decnet lets you omit your password on the command line,
and let you supply it UNECHOED in response to a prompt.  I don't know
if it's fixed in VMS 5.0, but VMS 4.x decnet was pretty brain-damaged to
require that you type your password in a nodespec for the whole world to see.

One good feature of Ultrix decnet is tcp/decnet gatewaying.  It lets
a Unix host telnet and ftp to a VMS host that doesn't run tcp/ip services.
It even works for non-VAX Unix machines (e.g., Suns).

Mike Khaw
-- 
internet: mkhaw@teknowledge.arpa
uucp:	  {uunet|sun|ucbvax|decwrl|uw-beaver}!mkhaw%teknowledge.arpa
hardcopy: Teknowledge Inc, 1850 Embarcadero Rd, POB 10119, Palo Alto, CA 94303

thierbac@umbc3.UMD.EDU (Ed Thierbach ) (10/06/88)

In article <25312@teknowledge-vaxc.ARPA> mkhaw@teknowledge-vaxc.ARPA (Mike Khaw) writes:
>[...]
>At least Ultrix decnet lets you omit your password on the command line,
>and let you supply it UNECHOED in response to a prompt.  I don't know
>if it's fixed in VMS 5.0, but VMS 4.x decnet was pretty brain-damaged to
>require that you type your password in a nodespec for the whole world to see.

Actually, although V3.x and earlier did indeed have this problem, V4.0
introduced something called "proxy logins".  The system manager of each site
can set up a correlation (sp?) between userids on different systems, so that
the username and password can be left off.  For example, I can specify a proxy
such that VAXA::ED (the remote node) corresponds to VAXB::BIG_CHEESE (local
node) -- so if I'm on VAXA I can type:

	$ COPY VAXB::LOGIN.COM

to copy the LOGIN.COM file from BIG_CHEESE's login directory on VAXB.  It's
pretty nifty, and the old NODE"USER PASSWORD"::etc. still works if you need
it.  What *doesn't* work is NODE"USER PASSWORD1 PASSWORD2":: for those of
us who use two passwords on sensitive accounts.  (Could someone bring this
up at DECUS?  I won't be there this time ... sigh)

V5.0 brings you the ability to set up multiple proxies for a single remote
user, so he/she can specify the account desired.

Take a look at the VAX/VMS Networking manual; it gives a pretty good
description.
---
Ed Thierbach
VAX System Manager
Roy F. Weston, Inc.

thierbac@umbc3.umd.edu (guest account...mail seems better behaved these days)

cfchiesa@bsu-cs.UUCP (Christopher Chiesa) (10/08/88)

In article <25312@teknowledge-vaxc.ARPA>, mkhaw@teknowledge-vaxc.ARPA (Mike Khaw) writes:
> In article <206@arnold.UUCP>, dave@arnold.UUCP (Dave Arnold) writes:
> > To all you future filesystem designers, please avoid the following:
> >   SYS$SYSROOT[UTILS.ANUNEWS.SRC.NEWS_SRC]NEWSADD.OBJ;1
> > NOTE: SYS$SYSROOT is also a logical name which has 2 translations.
> > Oh yeah, then there is the DECNET node specs:
> >   VAXB"LOGIN PASSWORD":: plus the above.
> > I prefer:
> >   /sysroot/utils/anunews/src/news_src/news_add.obj
> 

Speaking as a 3-year VMS veteran who's been munging about in UNIX for about a
year now, I find that I prefer VMS file- and directory-specs, because I can
tell at a glance whether the entity I am ultimately referencing is a file or
a directory.  In UNIX I have to wait to enter my command and then receive an
error message to the effect that the entity I referred to was the wrong kind.

On the other hand, it IS quicker to type slashes and names, than colons and
brackets and dots and names...

All in all, I can use EITHER system quite conveniently and I find that to be
true on ALL computers, bar none, that I have tried: Atari and Commodore 8bits,
Amigas, Intel minis, PC's with MS-DOS, and a slew of others.  All it takes is
some getting used to.  Sometimes I think people just want instant comprehension
and get all honked off when faced with a "learning curve."  Perhaps I'm wrong,
but isn't it really just a matter of calming down and paying attention to 
what you're doing, rather than quibbling about notation?

Chris 

-- 
UUCP: <backbones>!{iuvax,pur-ee,uunet}!bsu-cs!cfchiesa 
cfchiesa@bsu-cs.UUCP                                           

gwyn@smoke.ARPA (Doug Gwyn ) (10/09/88)

In article <4243@bsu-cs.UUCP> cfchiesa@bsu-cs.UUCP (Christopher Chiesa) writes:
>but isn't it really just a matter of calming down and paying attention to 
>what you're doing, rather than quibbling about notation?

No, a well-chosen notation can make possible things that one wouldn't
dream of doing under other circumstances.  A uniform hierarchical
naming scheme offers opportunities for simple grafting on of subsystems,
generalized mounts, etc. that an erratic naming scheme does not.

hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu (Charles Hedrick) (10/10/88)

>Speaking as a 3-year VMS veteran who's been munging about in UNIX for about a
>year now, I find that I prefer VMS file- and directory-specs, because I can
>tell at a glance whether the entity I am ultimately referencing is a file or
>a directory.  In UNIX I have to wait to enter my command and then receive an
>error message to the effect that the entity I referred to was the
>wrong kind.

I'm not sure exactly what kind of problem you are having, but do you
know about the -F argument to ls?  I do "alias ls ls -F" so that I
always get it.  -F causes file names displayed by ls to have / tacked
onto the end if they are directories and * if they are executable.  At
least on our Pyramid this exists in both Berkeley and Sys V versions
of ls.  This is intended to make it clear what kind of object a file
is.  Also, you may find it convenient to use one of the shells that
lets you check for things that match what you've typed so far when you
are in the middle of typing a file name.  ksh and the 4.3 csh do this.

eal@tut.fi (Lehtim{ki Erkki) (10/16/88)

In article <206@arnold.UUCP> dave@arnold.UUCP (Dave Arnold) writes:
>
>
>SYS$SYSROOT[UTILS.ANUNEWS.SRC.NEWS_SRC]NEWSADD.OBJ;1
>P.S.  Did I make a syntax error somewhere?

Yeah, you did.

SYS$SYSROOT:[UTILS.ANUNEWS.SRC.NEWS_SRC]NEWSADD.OBJ;1

is correct one.
-- 
Erkki A. Lehtim{ki        eal@tut.uucp   "I don't eat nutrasweet"