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From: LEICHTER-JERRY@YALE.ARPA.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.os.vms
Subject: Re: Changing symbol info in spawned processes
Message-ID: <8706102340.AA10640@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Date: Wed, 10-Jun-87 20:16:53 EDT
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.8706102340.AA10640
Posted: Wed Jun 10 20:16:53 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 13-Jun-87 05:32:12 EDT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Reply-To: <LEICHTER-JERRY@YALE.ARPA>
Distribution: world
Organization: The ARPA Internet
Lines: 32


    I would like to modify my prompt in spawned subshells, particularly
    from Eve.  Is there an easy way to do this?  The reason I want this
    facility is so that I do not type "lo" one too many times and find
    myself logging in again!
    ...

The LIB$SPAWN primitive, and the DCL SPAWN command, have a /PROMPT qualifier
that allows you to specify the prompt for the newly-created subprocess.  Un-
fortuately, the TPU SPAWN primitive, which EVE uses, doesn't provide this
option.

There are two alternatives:

	1) By using TPU's callable interface, it's possible to combine code
	   written in any standard VMS language with TPU code.  This code
	   can be called back to, so can provide an interface to LIB$SPAWN
	   that allows the prompt to be set.

	2) I have the following definition in my LOGIN.COM file:

		$ POP == "IF F$GETJPI("""",""OWNER"") .NES. """" THEN LOGOUT"

	   The POP command in a subprocess logs you out.  The POP command in
	   a top-level process is a no-op.  Then all you have to do is disci-
	   pline yourself to always type POP unless you really WANT to log
	   out of the system.

While alternative 1 is certainly do-able, I think you'll find alternative 2
a LOT easier, and just as effective!
							-- Jerry
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