Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!mcvax!ukc!stc!idec!prlhp1!mcwill
From: mcwill@prlhp1.prl.philips.co.uk (Iain McWilliams)
Newsgroups: comp.os.vms
Subject: DCL query -- f$parse
Message-ID: <319@prlhp1.prl.philips.co.uk>
Date: 11 Apr 88 14:23:55 GMT
Reply-To: mcwill@prlhp1.UUCP (Iain McWilliams)
Followup-To: comp.os.vms
Distribution: comp.os.vms
Organization: MEL, Crawley, West Sussex, England
Lines: 26
Keywords: f$parse, f$search
Summary: YADCLQ ( Yet Another DCL Query )


  I wish to use F$PARSE to create a full file spec in a command file, when I
only supply part of the filename as a parameter. The problem arises when the
default spec is to contain a logical symbol set up as a search list ==>

----------------------------------------
$assign [unit],[subsystem],[project] search$path:      !usually in login.com
$full_spec = F$PARSE(p1,"search$path:standard.dat")
$if f$search(full_spec) .nes. "" then write sys$output p1," found"
----------------------------------------

  Under these circumstances, F$PARSE will translate the logical into the first 
element in the search list, so that if the file exists elsewhere in the search
list, F$SEARCH cannot find it.
 
  There is a field "parse-type" which I thought may offer a solution, but it
will stop iterative translation only when it encounters a logical name with the
'concealed' attribute, and that attribute is only valid for an equivalence
string which is a physical device.

 Does anyone have a solution, or has the lexical been changed in any recent
(post 4.5) release

 Any suggestions received with thanks,

-- Iain.