[fa.info-vax] Help??

info-vax (08/12/82)

>From CLUSER.JFW@MIT-XX Thu Aug 12 11:47:14 1982
I have a (probably stupid) VMS question, which I cannot seem to find the answer
to in the manuals.  I have a MACRO program which simply wants to write to the 
user's terminal.  In a completely cookbook manner, I have an ASCID string
whose contents are SYS$OUTPUT, I call $TRNLOG_S to get the True Name of the
terminal into a buffer, and then I call $ASSGN_S to assign a channel.  $ASSGN_S
returns the error %SYSTEM-F-IVDEVNAM, invalid device name.  Using the library
procedure LIB$PUT_OUTPUT, it tells me that the device name is
"_OPA0:", which is the correct thing (This is done from the console of a single
user machine).  The code, as I said, is stolen character-for-characcter from
two different VMS Manual examples (such as they are).  What is going on?
Thanks for your patience and assistance.
	-John Woods, CLUSER.JFW @ MIT-XX
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info-vax (08/13/82)

>From CLUSER.JFW@MIT-XX Thu Aug 12 21:10:18 1982
Thanks to all who have answered my plea, but the common suggestion (that
process permanent files have magic cookies in front of them) isn't the problem.
(Review:  I get %SYSTEM_F_IVDEVNAM for daring to ASSIGN SYS$OUTPUT after
$TRNLOG_S'ing it)  I do, in fact, remove the escape sequence; the code to do
this is in both of the VMS Manual examples which I cannabalized.  To (perhaps)
clarify the problem more, two other manifestations:
1)	If I $ASSIGN_S right from .ASCID /SYS$OUTPUT/ (since $ASSIGN_S is
	capable of dealing with single level logical names), I still get the
	problem (and one would hope that the writer of $ASSIGN knew about
	the magic cookie).
2)	When I removed the TRNLOG, and changed the program to $ASSIGN_S from
	.ASCID /_OPA0:/ (which is the console terminal I am working from,
	and is the string yielded by TRNLOG), I *still* get the error.
Does this further information suggest some OTHER obvious tripping point for the
initiate?
Thanks,
	John Woods (CLUSER.JFW @ MIT-XX)
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