jeh@crash.cts.com (Jamie Hanrahan) (01/23/88)
In article <8801220408.AA19214@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU> LLACROIX@carleton.EDU (Les LaCroix) writes: >Back in some recent VAX SIG Symposium tape, someone submitted a utility >named LOCK, and claimed that they had registered the command with DEC. >They further claimed that such registration would prevent name conflicts >with other registered commands (including all DCL commands created by DEC). > >I have been unable to reach the author (whose name I forget just right now-- >sorry). Has anyone out there heard of such a thing as registering DCL >commands? Do you know what department at DEC would be in charge of this >kind of thing, and how to contact them? > I'm responding to the net rather than to the author because this OUGHT to be a burning issue to everyone who writes software for the VAX -- everyone, that is, who writes software that will be used in concert with anybody else's third-party software. I believe that what is being described here is the "VAX/VMS Registrar Service". This was described in an article in the Nov. 86 {\em Pageswapper}. (If you don't have the issue handy, it's on the Fall 86 VAX SIG Symposium tape - saveset VAX86C, file [VAX86C.PAGESWAPR]PAGSWP804.MEM .) The article was written by DEC and claims that the service is also described in the {\em Developer's Guide to VMSINSTAL}, but I'll be damned if I can find any mention of it in my copy. Anyway, this is a free (!) service whereby third-party software developers (and this includes developers of both public- domain and in-house-use only software) may register "facility names". These names may then be used as the prefixes (prefices?) for: o Global symbols o Entry points o Rights database identifiers o Data structure field names o File names The service also provides for the registry of logical name prefixes, system-wide process names, system-wide mailbox names, and shareable images. Not mentioned in the article, but mentioned someplace else that I can't find right now, is the ability to register facility numbers for customer- specific message codes. DEC recommends that you not do this unless you really need it, as only 2,048 such numbers are available. (The facility number is a 12-bit field; one of the bits indicates that it's a customer- defined facility.) I don't recall seeing anything about DCL commands being subject to registry, and offhand this seems unlikely to me. But things may have changed. For more information, write to: VAX/VMS Registrar Service Digital Equipment Corporation 110 Spitbrook Road Nashua, NH 03062-2698 (p.s. -- if anyone can find out where this is described in the orange binders, or some reasonable facsimile thereof, please post the info to the net.)