Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.3 4.3bsd-beta 6/6/85; site ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Path: utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!seismo.css.gov!topaz!packard!ttrdc!levy
From: levy@ttrdc.UUCP
Newsgroups: mod.computers.vax
Subject: (none)
Message-ID: <8510240809.AA10374@py.garage.packard.DK>
Date: Thu, 24-Oct-85 04:01:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: py.8510240809.AA10374
Posted: Thu Oct 24 04:01:00 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 25-Oct-85 03:12:50 EDT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The ARPA Internet
Lines: 71
Approved: info-vax@ucb-vax.arpa

known on my side of the fence).  Thank you.

Please, please pardon me for cluttering up your screens again if you've seen
this before, but I really need to find something out and I knew it was posted
some time ago (when of course I neglected to save it :-( ).

A couple or so months back, somebody (I think from Raytheon Corp.) posted a
question of how it would be possible to induce reads from VMS C to fetch the
"hidden" first byte of each record in a file which had been previously created
with Fortran carriage-control attributes.  It seems that in their infinite wis-
dom, the implementors of VMS C decided that reads from such a file would ignore
these first bytes, as if it were being read from a printed page, I guess.
Unfortunately, this makes such a file and an edited copy of it (sans attributes)
look different to a VMS C program, among other difficulties (what if there is
important data in that first byte?).  A workaround is converting the file
type (from DCL) but that is kind of awkward.

Anyhow, several helpful people posted messages concerning an "undocumented" flag
which could be used upon open()-ing [or maybe fopen()-ing] the file in order
not to miss those first bytes when the file was read.  At the time I did not
have access to VMS C (only Eunice C, which did not care whether or not there
were Fortran carriage-control attributes--yay Eunice I guess) so there was no
occasion for me to save this.  Now I have access to a VMS C compiler, and am
banging my head over this problem.  I contacted my friendly DEC representative,
who told me he knew of no such flag, but suggested the direct use of system
services (UGH!!! and highly nonportable).   So I am pleading and begging for
SOMEONE who remembers this or knows about this to PLEASE post or send me
Unix mail (address given in .signature).  I shall a thousand times over
be grateful (well maybe only 999 but... :-).

--Dan--


----- News saved at Tue, 22-Oct-85 20:07:33 CDT
Please, please pardon me for cluttering up your screens again if you've seen
this before, but I really need to find something out and I knew it was posted
some time ago (when of course I neglected to save it :-( ).

A couple or so months back, somebody (I think from Raytheon Corp.) posted a
question of how it would be possible to induce reads from VMS C to fetch the
"hidden" first byte of each record in a file which had been previously created
with Fortran carriage-control attributes.  It seems that in their infinite wis-
dom, the implementors of VMS C decided that reads from such a file would ignore
these first bytes, as if it were being read from a printed page, I guess.
Unfortunately, this makes such a file and an edited copy of it (sans attributes)
look different to a VMS C program, among other difficulties (what if there is
important data in that first byte?).  A workaround is converting the file
type (from DCL) but that is kind of awkward.

Anyhow, several helpful people posted messages concerning an "undocumented" flag
which could be used upon open()-ing [or maybe fopen()-ing] the file in order
not to miss those first bytes when the file was read.  At the time I did not
have access to VMS C (only Eunice C, which did not care whether or not there
were Fortran carriage-control attributes--yay Eunice I guess) so there was no
occasion for me to save this.  Now I have access to a VMS C compiler, and am
banging my head over this problem.  I contacted my friendly DEC representative,
who told me he knew of no such flag, but suggested the direct use of system
services (UGH!!! and highly nonportable).   So I am pleading and begging for
SOMEONE who remembers this or knows about this to PLEASE post or send me
Unix mail (address given in .signature).  I shall a thousand times over
be grateful (well maybe only 999 but... :-).

--Dan--

 -------------------------------    Disclaimer:  The views contained herein are
|       dan levy | yvel nad      |  my own and are not at all those of my em-
|         an engihacker @        |  ployer or the administrator of any computer
| at&t computer systems division |  upon which I may hack.
|        skokie, illinois        |
 --------------------------------   Path: ..!ihnp4!ttrdc!levy