[comp.os.vms] public domain binary edit

PORTIA@ENGVAX.SCG.HAC.COM.UUCP (07/07/87)

>  Is there anything out there that will allow editing of a non-ASCII file in a
>nice straightforward manner?  (For those of you on IBM (Yeuch!) PC's, I'm
>looking for something that behaves similar to the DUMP format screen of the
>Norton Utilities NU.)  Something that will not try to interpret the file, but
>will let me go in an toggle bits to my hearts content without getting all bent
>out of shape about it.  Maybe a display in hex on the left and ASCII on the
>right, or toggle between different windows.  It doesn't have to be cursor
>controled as long as the commands are fairly logical.  The DEC-10 used to have
>something like that.  I think it was called BITED and it looked like a poor
>man's SOS for binary files, but it did the job.

>Kevin Cole      <Flatline>                              KJCOLE@GALLUA.BITNET

If you want it for VMS, then there is a good binary editor on the DECUS tape
(sometime around Spring 1986, I think) called VFE (virtual file editor). It is
powerful and easy to use.

the readme file says,
----------------------------------------------

     VFE is a block-oriented, type insensitive VMS file editor.  It
can edit user files, FOREIGN-mounted tapes, and disk devices.  Data
can be displayed in ASCII, EBCDIC, hex, binary, and integer format.
User-defined sections of single or multiple contiguous blocks can be
changed, compared, and transferred within a file or between files.
VFE also has a very fast search which can target a string, hex or
integer constant.  All or part of a terminal session can be logged
to a sequential file for later lineprinter output.

     For more information, see VFE.DOC.

     This is the second release of VFE, with many useful enhancements.
If you are a user of the original version, released on the fall 1984
VAX SIG tapes, be sure to look at VFENEW.DOC.

     This utili at the "VAX magic" session of the fall
1984 DECUS symposium.  Submitted by:

     Ward Condit
     Maricopa Community Colleges
     P. O. Box 13349
     Phoenix, Az.  85002

-----------------------------------------
some of the highlights in vfenew.doc:

   - The original block restrictions on CUT and PASTE have been eliminated.   A
     new  command,  SET  BUFF,  is  available  for  disk operation which allows
     expansion of the current and paste buffers.  "Chunks" of data which can be
     up to 50 blocks in size and begin at an arbitrary location can be compared
     and moved within a file or between files.
   - The EBCDIC character set is now fully supported for display,  change,  and
     locate operations.  SET CHARSET can be used to select the character set to
     be used (ASCII is the default).

   - The LOCATE command now can search in case-insensitive mode with  character
     string  data,  as  directed  by  the  SET  NOCASE command.  There is a new
     command, LGLOBAL, which can search for all occurrences of a target  string
     within a file or device.

   - There are two new display  formats,  MULTI  and  BINARY.   MULTI  displays
     simultaneously in character and hex format.

   - Most display commands  now  output  and  accept  hex  byte  addresses,  as
     directed  by  SET  RADIX.   Ranges  can  now be given in either counted or
     address-delimited forms (see HELP RANGE).

   - VFE now is aware of SYS$INPUT and SYS$OUTPUT, so can be  run  from  within
     command files and from batch jobs.

I can post the source if there is enough interest... it is about 300 blocks.

AAAREADME.TXT;1     COMMAND.MAR;1       COMMAND.OBJ;1       DISPLAY.MAR;1
DISPLAY.OBJ;1       FILEHDLR.MAR;1      FILEHDLR.OBJ;1      TERMHDLR.MAR;1
TERMHDLR.OBJ;1      VFE.DOC;1           VFE.EXE;1           VFE.HLB;1
VFE.MAR;1           VFE.OBJ;1           VFE.RNH;1           VFELIB.MAR;1
VFELIB.MLB;1        VFENEW.DOC;1


-- Portia Shao              UUCP -- {allegra|ihnp4}!scgvaxd!engvax!portia
   Hughes Aircraft Co.      ARPA -- portia@engvax.scg.hac.com
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