Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!bloom-beacon!mit-eddie!bbn!uwmcsd1!ig!agate!ucbvax!DRYCAS.CLUB.CC.CMU.EDU!SYNFUL
From: SYNFUL@DRYCAS.CLUB.CC.CMU.EDU (Marc Shannon)
Newsgroups: comp.os.vms
Subject: Pascal type recasting and Wanted: Snobol
Message-ID: <8806201900.AA13936@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Date: 13 Jun 88 07:41:34 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 51

I am working on a Pascal program which receives a block of data from
a network connection.  For simplicity, I'm storing this data into a
packed array of characters.

I need to convert two characters in the array to their 2-byte word length
integer equivalent.

The bytes are coming in in MSB-LSB form as shown:

	     1             0 0             0
	     5             8 7             0
	....+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+....
	    |               |               |
	....+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+....
	     M                             L
	     S                             S
	     B                             B

Since this would seem to be standard VAX form for a word, I tried to use
recasting to get it into a word length integer like:

	Type Word = [WORD] 0..65535;

	Var WholePacket : Packed Array [1..128] of Char;
	    TwoBytes : Packed Array [1..2] of Char;
	    Number : [WORD] 0..65535;
	.
	.
	   TwoBytes := WholePacket[4] + WholePacket[5];
	   Number := TwoBytes::Word;

Unfortunately, "Number" gets the value of the word length integer with the
bytes swapped (ie. bits 7-0 followed by 15-8).

Am I getting confused in my youth or is Pascal doing something for me?

--SECOND QUESTION--

We are trying to get Snobol (or Spitbol) up on our VAX.  We've received
references to a DECUS version, but we seem to have all the tapes since '83
with the exception of the '84A tape (which is where my listing says it
exists).

If you have (and are willing/able to share) a version of either of these
languages, please let me know.  Any help/pointers would be GREATLY
appreciated!

--Marc Shannon
  Carnegie-Mellon University
  SYNFUL@DRYCAS.CLUB.CC.CMU.EDU
     or  DRYCAS.Bitnet