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From: CGORMAN@DREW.BITNET.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.os.vms
Subject: Vmshar problem (SUMMARY!)
Message-ID: <8708312229.AA03277@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Date: Mon, 31-Aug-87 10:41:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.8708312229.AA03277
Posted: Mon Aug 31 10:41:00 1987
Date-Received: Tue, 1-Sep-87 04:42:39 EDT
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A while ago, I wrote the following to the net:

> I am reasonably new to the net and was really delighted with the idea
> behind Bednarik's VMSHAR program (never having had such niceties at my
> fingertips before).  However, although I have cut'ted and past'ted between
> the dotted lines, the darned archives always seem to give me a failed
> checksum (about 50% of the time).  I can't believe that I am alone in this
> dilemma (I might be wrong), but has anyone had problems with lotsa failed
> checksums.  I am on BITNET.

I thank you all for the responses.  Here is a summary of what I was told:

From:   bitnet%"sloane@ukanvax.bitnet" 28-AUG-1987 14:08

I have also had problems with failed checksums.  The problem is usually
that the original file contained TAB characters, or had lines that were
longer than 80 characters.  The RSCS protocol doesn't seem to tolerate
control characters or lines longer than 80 characters very well. Someday
I hope to modify VMS_SHAR to handle control characters and long lines.

From:   BITNET%"CADS_COLE@GALLUA" 28-AUG-1987 14:08

The problem with the checksum nonsense is twofold, and ya just have to ignore
it as far as I'm concerned...  First, if the original file contained <TAB>'s,
by the time it reaches you, it no longer does.  Now it's got multiple spaces.
Thus, CHECKSUM failure #1.  Also, completely blank lines are turned into lines
with 5 spaces followed by a carriage return.  (At least it seems true of
everything I've ever received.)

  I suppose, if you want, you can edit with the above in mind and see if you
can get a matching checksum, but I'm not sure it's worth it.

From:   arpa%"art@mitre.arpa" 28-AUG-1987 14:16

Tabs often are expanded by gateways.  This results in many Fortran programs
no longer working as the continuation code now is in the wrong place.

[I think that this was what prompted me to complain in the first place.
Many submissions are in FORTRAN, and a couple have not worked without
my re-indenting them to fix this problem (not a pleasant task) - Chris]

Thanks to those who responded to me:

From:   bitnet%"sloane@ukanvax.bitnet" 28-AUG-1987 14:08
From:   BITNET%"CADS_COLE@GALLUA" 28-AUG-1987 14:08
From:   BITNET%"DHASKIN@CLARKU" 28-AUG-1987 14:12
From:   BITNET%"W_COSTA@UNHH" 28-AUG-1987 14:12
From:   arpa%"art@mitre.arpa" 28-AUG-1987 14:16
From:   UK%"ABBOTTP%mail.aston.ac.uk@Cs.Ucl.AC.UK" 28-AUG-1987 23:24

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Chris Gorman                     BITNET:  Cgorman@DREW
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