Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!QUCDNEE1.BITNET!PENSTONE
From: PENSTONE@QUCDNEE1.BITNET.UUCP
Newsgroups: mod.computers.vax
Subject: Getting file attributes
Message-ID: <8701140406.AA19804@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Date: Mon, 12-Jan-87 16:03:00 EST
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.8701140406.AA19804
Posted: Mon Jan 12 16:03:00 1987
Date-Received: Wed, 14-Jan-87 19:21:45 EST
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The ARPA Internet
Lines: 19
Approved: info-vax@sri-kl.arpa

< How does one determine from inside a program whether an existing disk file
< (FORM="UNFORMATTED") is RECORDTYPE="VARIABLE"  .....

        There is a C function stat() that returns some information about
a file. It puts it into a structure which is described in stat.h of the
C library. The values to look for in the "record format" and
"record attributes" values are described in fab.h. You can identify
the values FAB$C_FIX or FAB$C_VAR in the st_fab_rfm field of the structure
filled by the stat() call, and the record attributes in the st_fab_rat field.
If that doesn't work, then you will have to use the dreaded FAB and RAB
calls provided in RMS ! (Not really as terrifying as they look; an
afternoon's reading of the RMS manuals will usually suffice...they work
well from C, but are a bit more of a pain in FORTRAN because of the difficulty
of creating structures.)

Sid Penstone
Dept. Of Electrical Engineering,
Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
PENSTONE@QUCDNEE1.BITNET