[comp.os.vms] SYS$IDTOASC / scan rights database by UIC

STAM@HROEUR51.BITNET (AC Stam EUR/ERC) (05/18/88)

Hi everybody,

Thanks for your reactions on SYS$IDTOASC, or how to scan the
rights database by group UIC.

*** However, the solutions are not what I meant... ***

I wrote that we didn't want to use UIC's again, in other words:
Whenever an account has been deleted, the account's UIC may NOT
be used again by an account to be created afterwards.
If, for example, member numbers 5, 11 and everything above 23
is free, my program should return 24 as value, and *NOT* 5.
Calling sys$idtoasc, one should not specify an identifier, and
check whether it exists.  A wildcard search (-1 as identifier
value) will automatically find the next identifier IN USE.
Now I did that, scanning ALL identifiers, but I need something
similar for a scanning a GROUP.  AUTHORIZE must do it somewhat
alike when you specify UAF> sho [xxx,*], because I cannot imagine
it will call sys$idtoasc 65536 times, and that's what would be
needed to be sure. Somehow the identifiers point to one another,
I guess (modifying contxt value in sys$idtoasc (?) ).
Unfortunately, this is in alphabetical order.

So my question is:

How do I perform an indexed search, using identifier values as key ?

Any help would be appreciated.

ARJAN@HROEUR51.BITNET