From - Sun Mar 19 19:53:54 2000 Path: reader4.news.rcn.net!feed1.news.rcn.net!rcn!netnews.com!feeder.via.net!enews.sgi.com!paloalto-snf1.gtei.net!news.gtei.net!newsgate.tandem.com!mailint03.im.hou.compaq.com!not-for-mail From: hoffman@xdelta.zko.dec.nospam (Hoff Hoffman) Newsgroups: comp.os.vms,comp.sys.dec,vmsnet.alpha,vmsnet.misc,comp.answers,news.answers Subject: OpenVMS Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), Part 4/4 Followup-To: poster Date: 18 Mar 2000 02:01:31 GMT Organization: Compaq Computer Corporation Lines: 1995 Approved: news-answers-request@mit.edu Distribution: world Expires: 7 August 2000 00:00:00 GMT Message-ID: <8auo1r$s8d$1@mailint03.im.hou.compaq.com> Reply-To: hoffman@xdelta.zko.dec.nospam NNTP-Posting-Host: xdelta.zko.dec.com X-Trace: mailint03.im.hou.compaq.com 953344891 28941 16.32.80.251 (18 Mar 2000 02:01:31 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@mailint03.im.hou.compaq.com NNTP-Posting-Date: 18 Mar 2000 02:01:31 GMT Summary: This posting contains answers to frequently asked questions about the OpenVMS operating system from Compaq Computer Corporation, and the computer systems on which it runs. Xref: reader4.news.rcn.net comp.os.vms:265898 comp.sys.dec:85611 vmsnet.alpha:10304 vmsnet.misc:6512 comp.answers:40707 news.answers:181419 Archive-name: dec-faq/vms/part4 Posting-Frequency: monthly Last-modified: 17 March 2000 Version: VMS-FAQ-4.TXT(4) Overview ======== This is part 4/4 of the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) posting for the comp.os.vms and vmsnet.misc newsgroups. (comp.os.vms is bidirectionally-gatewayed to the INFO-VAX mailing list - see INTRO3 for further details.) It contains answers to frequently asked questions about Compaq's OpenVMS operating system and the computer systems on which it runs. (Please see INTRO5 before posting.) The OpenVMS FAQ is archived in the following locations: http://www.openvms.digital.com/wizard/openvms_faq.html ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/Digital/dec-faq/OpenVMS.txt ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/Digital/dec-faq/vms ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/dec-faq/vms comp.answers and news.answers newsgroups Other internet FAQs are generally available in these locations: comp.answers and news.answers newsgroups ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/... User-created HTML versions of the OpenVMS FAQ are located at: http://www.kjsl.com/vmsfaq http://eisner.decus.org/vms/faq.htm Please do NOT send technical questions to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) editor -- well, please do not email any questions that do not also include the answer(s). Please post these questions to the appropriate newsgroup instead -- and see INTRO5 before posting. To make suggestions for changes or additions to this FAQ list, please send mail to the FAQ editor at hoffman@xdelta.zko.dec.com. Again, the FAQ editor is *not* in a position to answer general questions. Some general notes: The term "VMS" is synonymous with "OpenVMS". "Alpha", "AlphaGeneration" or "AXP" generally refers to any system or product based on or related to Compaq's Alpha processor architecture. OpenVMS manual names mentioned are those as of V7.2 -- names may be different in other editions of the documentation set. World-Wide Web Universal Resource Locator (URL) notation is used for FTP addresses. Many people have contributed to this list, directly or indirectly. In some cases, an answer has been adapted from one or more postings on the comp.os.vms newsgroup. Our thanks to all of those who post answers. The name (or names) at the end of an entry indicate that the information was taken from postings by those individuals; the text may have been edited for this FAQ. These citations are only given to acknowledge the contribution. Although the editor of this FAQ is an employee of Compaq Computer Corporation, this posting is not an official statement of Compaq. AlphaGeneration, AlphaServer, AlphaStation, Alpha AXP, AXP, DEC, DECstation, DECsystem, OpenVMS, ULTRIX, VAX and VMS are trademarks of Compaq. Compaq and the names of Compaq products are trademarks and/or registered trademarks and/or service marks of Compaq Computer Corporation. OSF/1 is a registered trademark of the Open Software Foundation. UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries, licensed exclusively through X/Open Company Ltd. Other names are properties of their respective owners. Table of Contents - Part 4/4 ____________________________ DECwindows ======================================== DECW1. How do I let someone else display something on my workstation? DECW2. How do I create a display on another workstation? DECW3. How can I get the information from SHOW DISPLAY into a symbol? DECW4. How do I get a log of a DECterm session? DECW5. Problem - the DELETE key deletes forward instead of backward! DECW6. Why is DECwindows Motif not starting? DECW7. Problem - My LK401 keyboard unexpectedly autorepeats DECW8. Problem - My LK411 sends the wrong keycodes or some keys are dead DECW9. How do I set the title on a DECterm window? DECW10. How do I customize DECwindows, including the login screen? DECW11. Why doesn't XtAppAddInput() work on OpenVMS? DECW12. Why do the keyboard arrow keys move the DECwindows cursor? DECW13. Why does half my DECwindows display blank? Miscellaneous ======================================== MISC1. Looking for connector wiring pinouts? MISC2. Where can I find information on escape and control sequences? MISC3. Can I reuse old keyboards, mice and monitors with a PC? MISC4. What connectors and wiring adapters are available? MISC5. Where can I find performance info and specs for older systems? MISC6. What does "failure on back translate address request" mean? MISC7. How to determine the network hardware address? MISC8. Why does my system halt when I powercycle the console terminal? MISC9. Why can't I use PPP and RAS to connect to OpenVMS Alpha? MISC10. Which video monitor works with which graphics controller? MISC11. Where can I get information on storage hardware? MISC12. Does DCPS work with the LRA0 parallel port? MISC13. How do I check for free space on a (BACKUP) tape? MISC14. So what happened to sys$cmsuper? MISC15. How can I send radio pages from my OpenVMS system? MISC16. What is flow control and how does it work? MISC17. How do I reset the LAN (DECnet-Plus NCL) counters? MISC18. What are the prefixes for the powers of ten? MISC19. OpenVMS Cluster (SCS) over DECnet? Over IP? Software ======================================== SOFT1. Where can I find freeware/shareware/software for OpenVMS? SOFT2. Where can I find the UNIX tool for OpenVMS? SOFT3. Where can I get the Netscape Navigator Mozilla.org Web Browser? SOFT4. Where can I get Java for OpenVMS? SOFT5. VAX C and DEC C, and other OpenVMS C Programming Considerations? SOFT6. Obtaining user input in DCL CGI script? SOFT7. How do I get my own batch entry number? SOFT8. How do I convert to new CMS libraries? SOFT9. Where can I get new certificates for Netscape Navigator? SOFT10. Why doesn't DCL symbol substitution work? ------------------------------------------------------------ DECW1. How do I let someone else display something on my workstation? On a workstation, you go into "Customize" menu of the session manager utility and select "Security". When the pop-up box appears, you can put node/user/tranport to allow who can launch an application to the display on that workstation. [raspuzzi@mrlat.enet.dec.com] > Yah, but this doesn't seem to work with non-VMS systems. What do I put in > for the transport? I tried "TCPIP" just for kicks, but it didn't work. You need a checklist of sorts: 1) Make sure that you've specified the X-windows "display" correctly on the remote side. For DECNET it's something like NODE::0.0, for TCP/IP it's Node.Domain:0.0, etc. On a unix system, define the DISPLAY environment variable so: # setenv DISPLAY myvax.domain:0.0 2) If you've verified 1) and things still aren't working, make sure the Security settings on the VMS side will allow the connection: Pull down the "Options" menu in the Session Manager, select "Security..." near the bottom. If you don't find your host (and username) listed on the left under "Authorized Users", go to the right side of the menu and fill in the three fields, "Node", "Username", "Transport". Then click on the Add botton, then the Apply and OK buttons to add the new host to the security database. a) There are various transports: LOCAL, DECNET, LAT, TCPIP, etc. Select the one appropriate to the client machine's connection to the VMS machine. b) If the connection is DECNET, do *NOT* add :: to the node name! c) If the connection is TCPIP, "Username" _must_ be an asterisk (*) because the TCP/IP protocol used does not provide the remote username. d) If the connection is TCPIP, it's best to use a full domain name, e.g., Node.Subd.Domain. However, you _may_ have to use the IP address itself, rather than the domain name (EWS requires this). I generally add two entries for each TPCIP host, the first using the domain name, the second the IP address. e) There are a various 3rd party vendors who supply TCP/IP packages for VMS, including but not limited to TGV (Multinet) and Wollongong (Pathway ?). Multinet (and DEC's own UCX) call the transport "TCPIP", Wollongong, at least in some incarnations, uses "WINTCP". You need to use the appropriate vendor's package transport name in the "Transport" field. 3) If things _still_ aren't working, make sure the transport you want has been activated for DECwindows. This is a system manager job, but you can do the ground work yourself before bothering the sysmgr. Do the following: $ DIR SYS$MANAGER:DECW$PRIVATE_SERVER_SETUP.COM If that file exists, then do: $ SEARCH SYS$MANAGER:DECW$PRIVATE_SERVER_SETUP.COM - $_ DECW$SERVER_TRANSPORTS You sould find something like: $ decw$server_transports == "DECNET,LOCAL,LAT,TCPIP" If the transport you want, e.g., TCPIP, isn't listed, have your system manager make the appropriate changes and restart DECwindows. If the file doesn't exist, the sysmgr will have to create it by copying the corresponding .TEMPLATE file to .COM and uncommenting the line that defines decw$server_transports. a) If you're wanting to use TCP/IP to connect, make sure TCP/IP is available on the VMS host. TCP/IP is _not_ native to VMS. You need to be running either Compaq's TCP/IP or a 3rd party vendor's TCP/IP product. If you're not, none of the above will help. [Fairfield@Slac.Stanford.Edu] There is a log file created in SYS$MANAGER which tells you which transports are loaded, and also tell you what connect attempts were rejected, including showing what the presented credentials were. This file is SYS$MANAGER:DECW$SERVER_0_ERROR.LOG, although the 0 could be another number if you have multiple servers on the workstation. I have found this file to be very useful for tracking down what needs to be put in the Session Manager Security entries. [rabinowitz@bear.com] ------------------------------------------------------------ DECW2. How do I create a display on another workstation? $ SET DISPLAY /CREATE /TRANSPORT=net_transport /NODE=remote_node for LAT the command might look like this: $ SET DISPLAY /CREATE /TRANSPORT=LAT /NODE=REMOTE_NODE for DECnet: $ SET DISPLAY /CREATE /TRANSPORT=DECNET /NODE=NODE for TCP/IP $ SET DISPLAY /CREATE /TRANSPORT=TCPIP /NODE=128.12.4.122 Note that LAT is typically used for X terminals but can be used from OpenVMS to OpenVMS systems on OpenVMS Alpha V6.1 (if you have setup the X server to allow the LAT transport - check the docs). LAT will be supported on OpenVMS VAX as a transport for DECwindows in a future OpenVMS VAX release. [raspuzzi@mrlat.enet.dec.com] There is a log file created in SYS$MANAGER which tells you which transports are loaded, and also tell you what connect attempts were rejected, including showing what the presented credentials were. This file is SYS$MANAGER:DECW$SERVER_0_ERROR.LOG, although the 0 could be another number if you have multiple servers on the workstation. I have found this file to be very useful for tracking down what needs to be put in the Session Manager Security entries. [rabinowitz@bear.com] ------------------------------------------------------------ DECW3. How can I get the information from SHOW DISPLAY into a symbol? Use the undocumented SHOW DISPLAY/SYMBOL, and then reference the symbols DECW$DISPLAY_NODE, DECW$DISPLAY_SCREEN, DECW$DISPLAY_SERVER and/or DECW$DISPLAY_TRANSPORT. [Fairfield@Slac.Stanford.Edu] An example of calling the underlying (and also undocumented) sys$qio programming interface for the WSDRIVER (WSAn:) is available at: http://www.openvms.digital.com/freeware/srh_examples/DECUS_UNDOC_CLINIC/ ------------------------------------------------------------ DECW4. How do I get a log of a DECterm session? If you are working from a Decterm, you can use the AutoPrint feature. Choose the "Printer..." menu item from the "Options" menu, set the printing destination to the name of the file you want, and set "Auto Print Mode". You are now free to continue. It should be noted that ALL the characters and escape sequences are captured, but if you display the log file on a DECterm you will get EXACTLY what you had. [fenster@star.enet.dec.com] ------------------------------------------------------------ DECW5. Problem - the DELETE key deletes forward instead of backward! This has to do with Motif's virtual bindings. When a Motif application starts up, it looks at the vendor string returned in the display connection information and attempts to match the string to a table of virtual bindings. You can override the default bindings in your decw$xdefaults.dat file. Here is the entry you would make to get the default VMS bindings. *defaultVirtualBindings:\ osfCancel : F11 \n\ osfLeft : Left \n\ osfUp : Up \n\ osfRight : Right \n\ osfDown : Down \n\ osfEndLine :Alt Right \n\ osfBeginLine :Alt Left \n\ osfPageUp : Prior \n\ osfPageDown : Next \n\ osfDelete :Shift Delete \n\ osfUndo :Alt Delete \n\ osfBackSpace : Delete \n\ osfAddMode :Shift F8 \n\ osfHelp : Help \n\ osfMenu : F4 \n\ osfMenuBar : F10 \n\ osfSelect : Select \n\ osfActivate : KP_Enter \n\ osfCopy :Shift DRemove \n\ osfCut : DRemove \n\ osfPaste : Insert To merge: $ xrdb :== $decw$utils:xrdb.exe $ xrdb -nocpp -merge decw$xdefaults.dat [Fred Kleinsorge] ------------------------------------------------------------ DECW6. Why is DECwindows Motif not starting? First check to see if there is a graphics device, usually a G* device. (eg: On a DEC 2000 model 300, use the command SHOW DEVICE GQ) If you do not find a graphics device: a) OpenVMS has failed to find the appropriate IRQ information for an EISA graphics card (on the DEC 2000 series) such as the Compaq QVision, and did not autoconfigure it. Run the correct ECU (for Tru64 UNIX and OpenVMS) and reboot. This is necessary only on EISA-based systems. b) You have an EISA-based system (such as the DEC 2000 model 300) and do not have a Compaq QVision video card. This EISA graphics card should have Compaq printed on it, and identifies itself as a CPQ3011 or a CPQ3111. If it is not one of these two EISA devices, then OpenVMS does not support it. (There are no other supported EISA graphics controllers, and EISA graphics are normally used with DECwindows only on the DEC 2000 series systems.) c) You have a PCI-based system and do not have a supported graphics controller -- such as the PowerStorm 3D30, PowerStorm 4D20, or ELSA GLoria Synergy. (See MGMT24 for this latter controller.) d) You have booted the system minimally, or have otherwise disabled the device autoconfiguration process. If there is a G* graphics device present: a) There may have been a severe error in the DECwindows startup. Type the contents of SYS$MANAGER:DECW$SERVER_0_ERROR.LOG for any information on errors starting the server. b) The system parameter WINDOW_SYSTEM is not set to 1. This is a common way for system managers to disable the DECwindows server startup. c) You may not have a valid Motif license. To check for the Motif license, type the commands: LICENSE LIST DW-MOTIF/FULL LICENSE LIST NET-APP-SUP*/FULL and examine the information displayed. Make sure that one of these licenses is present, valid and active. [Kleinsorge, Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ DECW7. Problem - My LK401 keyboard unexpectedly autorepeats There are several modes of failure: a) Pressing 2 and 3 keys at the same time causes one key to autorepeat when released. Check the hardware revision level printed on the bottom of the keyboard. If the revision level is C01, the keyboard firmware is broken. Call field service to replace the keyboard with any revision level other than C01. b) Pressing certain keys is always broken. Typical sympypoms are: delete always causes a autorepeat, return needs to be pressed twice, etc. This is frequently caused by having keys depressed while the keyboard is being initialized. Pressing ^F2 several times or unplugging and replugging the keyboard frequently fix this problem. There is a patch available to fix this problem [contact the CSC for information - a CSCPAT number will be included here when available. - Ed.] c) A key that was working spontaneously stops working correctly. This may be either (a) or (b) or it may be bad firmware. Ensure that you have the most recent firmware installed on your CPU. An old version of the DEC 3000 firmware had a bug that could cause this symptom. [Fred Kleinsorge] ------------------------------------------------------------ DECW8. Problem - My LK411 sends the wrong keycodes or some keys are dead Check the firmware revision on the keyboard. Hardware revision B01 introduced an incompatability with the device driver which causes the keyboard to not be recognized correctly. There is a patch available to fix this problem: [AXPDRIV06_061] - the fix is also included in OpenVMS V6.2. The rev A01 keyboard, and the LK450 should work without problems. [Fred Kleinsorge] [inazu_k] ------------------------------------------------------------ DECW9. How do I set the title on a DECterm window? If you are creating a new DECterm window, check HELP CREATE /TERMINAL /WINDOW_ATTRIBUTES. If you want to change the title of an existing window, use the following control sequences, where is the ANSI escape code, value decimal 27, and is what you want to display: To set the DECterm title, send ]21;text label\ To set the icon label, send ]2L;text label\ For example, you can use DCL to display "My DECterm" in title bar: $ Esc = 27 $ EscTitle = "*[21" $ EscTitle[0,8] = Esc $ EscIcon = "*[2L" $ EscIcon[0,8] = Esc $ EscEnd = "*\" $ EscEnd[0,8] = Esc $ WRITE SYS$OUTPUT EscTitle + "My DECterm Title" + EscEnd $ WRITE SYS$OUTPUT EscIcon + "My DECterm Icon" + EscEnd [p lee] You can also change the title and the icon using the Options-Window... menu. Also see MISC2. ------------------------------------------------------------ DECW10. How do I customize DECwindows, including the login screen? To customize various DECwindows Motif characteristics including the defaults used by the SET DISPLAY command, the DECwindows login screen background logo used (the default is the DIGITAL or Compaq logo), various keymaps, the FileView defaults, session manager defaults, the DECwindows login processing, DECwindows log file processing, and various other DECwindows attributes, see the example file: SYS$STARTUP:DECW$PRIVATE_APPS_SETUP.TEMPLATE This example template file is typically copied over to the filename SYS$COMMON:[SYS$STARTUP]DECW$PRIVATE_APPS_SETUP.COM and then modified to meet site-specific requirements. Additionally, various X tools such as xsetroot, bitmap and xrdb -- some these can be useful in customizing the appearance of an application or of the DECwindows Motif display -- are provided in the DECW$UTILS: area. When using DECwindows V1.2-4 and later on OpenVMS Alpha, the default desktop is the Common Desktop Environment (CDE). You can select your prefered desktop (CDE or DECwindows Motif) when logging in, or you can change the default to the DECwindows Motif desktop using the DCL symbol decw$start_new_desktop in the DECwindows private application setup command procedure. See SYS$STARTUP:DECW$PRIVATE_APPS_SETUP.TEMPLATE for further details, and how to create DECW$PRIVATE_APPS_SETUP.COM. Note that with DECwindows CDE, the root window is no longer visible by default. The root window is hidden behind the "backdrop" window of the current CDE workspace. To make the root window visible, use the CDE style manager selection "backdrop none", and use information such as that in the OpenVMS FAQ to set the root window. To add a new backdrop to the DECwindows CDE environment, the backdrop must first be in or be converted into X11 pixmap format. (This conversion is often possible using tools such as xv.) Then (if necessary) create the default backdrop directory SYS$COMMON:[CDE$DEFAULTS.USER.BACKDROPS]. Place the X11 pixmap file containing the desired image into the backdrops directory, ensure that it has a filename extension of .PM. (The xv default filename extension for the X11 pixmap file is .XPM, while CDE expects only to see files with .PM.) Now invoke the CDE style manager and select a new backdrop. You will find your image will be placed at the end of the list of backdrops available. [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ DECW11. Why doesn't XtAppAddInput() work on OpenVMS? XtAppAddInput() does work on OpenVMS. The MIT definition of the X Windows call XtAppAddInput() includes platform-specific arguments. On platforms where C is the typically the primary programming language for the platform, the file descriptor mask is one of the arguments to the XtAppAddInput() call. On OpenVMS, the platform-specific arguments to this call include an event flag and an IOSB, as these are the traditional OpenVMS constructs used to synchronize the completion of asynchronous operations. While it would be easier to port non-OpenVMS C code that calls XtAppAddInput() over to OpenVMS if the arguments included the C file descriptor, this would make the call unusable from other OpenVMS languages, and would make it extremely difficult to use OpenVMS features such as ASTs and sys$qio calls. One restriction on the event flag: the event flag chosen must be from event flag cluster zero. When using the traditional lib$get_ef and lib$free_ef calls to allocate and deallocate event flags, you must first explicitly call lib$free_ef to free up some event flags in event flag cluster zero. Please see the event flag documentation for specific details on these calls and for specific event flags that can be freed in event flag cluster zero. Here is some example code that covers calling this routine on OpenVMS: m->InputID = XtAppAddInput( m->AppCtx, m->InputEF, m->InputIosb, the_callback, 1 ); if ( !((int) m->InputID )) { XtAppErrorMsg( m->AppCtx, "invalidDevice", "XtAppAddInput", "XtToolkitError", "Can't Access Device", (String *) NULL, (Cardinal *) NULL ); ... [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ DECW12. Why do the keyboard arrow keys move the DECwindows cursor? Congratulations, you have just stumbled into "dead rodent" mode. This DECwindows environment -- where the keyboard arrow keys move the mouse cursor and where the [SELECT], [PREV], and [NEXT] keys emulate the three mouse buttons -- allows rudimentary system operations when the mouse is among the casualties. To enter or exit the "dead rodent" mode. press: [CTRL][SHIFT][F3] ------------------------------------------------------------ DECW13. Why does half my DECwindows display blank? This is likely a result of receiving an OPCOM or other console message on a system that shares the system console with the DECwindows graphics workstation display. You can toggle off the console display window using , and you can enable a serial console per ALPHA7 or VAX10. Also see the console message window application available with recent DECwindows versions -- recent DECwindows versions (V1.2-3 and later) will enable this window by default. For details on this console message window, see the DECW$CONSOLE_SELECTION option in SYS$STARTUP:DECW$PRIVATE_APPS_SETUP.TEMPLATE. On older releases, you can disable output using the following: SET TERMINAL/PERMANENT/NOBROADCAST OPA0: DEFINE/USER SYS$COMMAND OPA0: REPLY/DISABLE Also see VAX9 and MGMT22, as well as DCL4. ------------------------------------------------------------ MISC1. Looking for connector wiring pinouts? DECconnect DEC-423 MMJ pinout: 1: Data Terminal Ready (DTR) 2: Transmit (TXD) 3: Transmit Ground (TXD-) 4: Receive Ground (RXD-) 5: Receive (RXD) 6: Data Set Ready (DSR) +------------------+ | 1 2 3 4 5 6 | +------------+ ++ +____+ The PC-compatible DB9 connector pinout follows: 1: Data Carrier Detect (DCD) 2: Received Data 3: Transmit Data 4: Data Terminal Ready (DTR) 5: Ground 6: Data Set Ready (DSR) 7: Request To Send (RTS) 8: Clear To Send 9: floating The MicroVAX DB9 console connector pinout predates the PC-style DB9 pinout, and uses a then-common (older) standard pinout, and uses the following EIA-232-standard signals: 1: Protective Ground 2: Transmited Data 3: Received Data 4: Request To Send (RTS) 5: Data Terminal Ready (DTR) 6: Data Set Ready (DSR) 7: Signal Ground 8: Shorted to pin 9 on MicroVAX and VAXstation 2000... 9: ...series systems, otherwise left floating. The BC16E-nn (where -nn indicates the cable length) cable key impliicitly "flips over" (crosses-over) the signal wires, so all DECconnect MMJ connectors are wired the same. // ---- ---- | |---------------------------------------| | ---- ---- \\ The BC16-E-nn cross-over wiring looks like this: Terminal Host MMJ MMJ DTR 1 --->-------------->----------------->--- 6 DSR TXD 2 --->-------------->----------------->--- 5 RXD 3 ---------------------------------------- 4 4 ---------------------------------------- 3 RXD 5 ---<--------------<-----------------<--- 2 TXD DSR 6 ---<--------------<-----------------<--- 1 DTR Also see: http://www.partner.digital.com:9003/public/cheat_sheets/cables/padapters.html http://www.networks.digital.com.au/dr/npgc/opdec-mn.html For adapters and connectors, see MISC4. [Stephen Hoffman] [Mike Thompson] ------------------------------------------------------------ MISC2. Where can I find information on escape and control sequences? Information on escape and control sequences can be found in the OpenVMS I/O User's Reference Manual, in the section on the terminal driver. This section includes details on the general format and content of these sequences. Specific details on the escape and control sequences supported by a particular serial device are typically found in the documentation provided with the specific device. Information on the sequences supported by DECwindows DECterm terminal emulator are included in the DECwindows documentation. Examples of common escape and control sequences -- those typically used by the OpenVMS screen management package -- can be found in the OpenVMS system file SYS$SYSTEM:SMGTERMS.TXT. The following refers to the function keys on the VTxxx series terminals, and compatibles. In the following, is decimal code 155 and can be replaced by the sequence "[" (without the quotes) particularly for seven-bit operations, SS3 is decimal code 143 and can be replaced by "O" particularly for seven-bit operations. Older VT1xx series terminals and any other terminals operating with seven-bit characters should not be sent eight-bit operators such as and . PF1=P PF2=Q PF3=R PF4=S KP0=p KP1=q KP2=r KP3=s KP4=t KP5=u KP6=v KP7=w KP8=x KP9=y KPCOMMA=l KPMINUS=m KPPERIOD=n ENTER=M DNARROW=B UPARROW=A LFARROW=D RTARROW=C FIND=1~ INSERT=2~ REMOVE=3~ SELECT=4~ PREV=5~ NEXT=6~ F6=17~ F7=18~ F8=19~ F9=20~ F10=21~ F11=23~ F12=24~ F13=25~ F14=26~ HELP=28~ DO=29~ F17=31~ F18=32~ F19=33~ F20=34~ An example of working with escape sequences (in DCL) follows: $ esc5m = "*[5m" $ esc5m[0,8] = 27 $ esc0m = "*[0m" $ esc0m[0,8] = 27 $ write sys$output esc5m + "blinking text" + esc0m Also see DECW9. ------------------------------------------------------------ MISC3. Can I reuse old keyboards, mice and monitors with a PC? Older Compaq keyboards (those with the DIGITAL logo and the RJ modular jacks), older Compaq mice (those with the DIGITAL logo and with the RJ modular jacks, or with a DIN connector with pins in a configuration other than the PC-standard DIN connector pin orientation), and older video monitors (with RGB synch-on-green video signaling) all use signaling formats and/or communications protocols that differ from the PC standards, and are not (easily) interchangable nor (easily) compatible with typical PC peripheral device controllers. LK201, LK401, VSXXX, VR260, VR290, etc., are incompatible with most PC systems. Newer Compaq keyboards (those with with PC-style DIN plugs, and Compaq or DIGITAL logo), newer Compaq mice (with PC-pin DIN plugs, and Compaq or DIGITAL logo), and newer video monitors (multi-synch) are often interchangeable with "industry standard" PC systems, and can often be used with most PC peripheral device controllers. LK461, LK471, PC7XS-CA, VRC16, VRC21, etc., are compatible with most PC systems. Rule of thumb: if the peripheral device component was sold for use with the DEC 2000 (DECpc 150 AXP), an AlphaServer series, an AlphaStation series, or more recent Alpha system, it will probably work with a PC peripheral controller. If the peripheral device component was sold for use with an VT420 or older terminal, most VAX, most VAXstation, and most Alpha systems with names in the format `DEC ', it probably won't work on a PC. Note that the above is a general guideline, and should not be read to indicate that any particular peripheral device will or will not work in any particular configuration, save for those specific configurations the device is explicitly supported in. [Stephen Hoffman] Software Integrators sells a video adapter card called Gemini P1 which will drive many of the older Compaq (DIGITAL-logo) fixed-frequency monitors on a PC system: http://www.si87.com/ The Digital part number 29-32540-01 converts the output from the RGB cable (3 BNC, synch-on-green) that comes with the VAXstation 3100 and VAXstation 4000 series to a female SVGA D connector. This will allow PC Multisync monitors with the needed frequency specifications to be used with the VAXstations. It may work with a VAXstation 2000 series, but I have not tried that combination. [John E. Malmberg] Also see MISC10. ------------------------------------------------------------ MISC4. What connectors and wiring adapters are available? The H8571-B converts the (non-2000-series) MicroVAX DB9 to MMJ DECconnect. The MicroVAX 2000 and VAXstation 2000 requires a BCC08 cable (which has the 8-9 short) and the H8571-D for use with DECconnect. More recent Compaq (Compaq or DIGITAL logo) systems will use either the DECconnect MMJ wiring or (on all recent system designs) the PC-compatible DB9 pinout. DECconnect MMJ adapters: Part: Converts BC16E MMJ male to fit into: H8575-A EIA232 25 pin female (common) H8575-B EIA232 9 pin male (MicroVAX II console) H8571-D EIA232 25 pin male (modem-wired) H8571-J PC/AT 9 pin male (PC serial port) H8572-0 0BC16E MMJ male (MMJ extender) BC16E-** MMJ cable, available in various lengths Numerous additional adapters and cables are available from the _OPEN DECconnect Building Wiring Components and Applications Catalog_, as well as descriptions of the above-listed parts. The H8571-A and H8575-A are MMJ to DB25 (female) and are wired as follows: Also see: http://www.partner.digital.com:9003/public/cheat_sheets/cables/padapters.html http://www.networks.digital.com.au/dr/npgc/opdec-mn.html Jameco offers a USB-A to PS/2 Mini DIN 6 Adapter (as part 168751), for those folks wishing to (try to) use PS/2 Keyboards via USB-A connections. For wiring and pinouts, see MISC4. [Stephen Hoffman] [Eric Dittman] ------------------------------------------------------------ MISC5. Where can I find performance info and specs for older systems? See ALPHA5 ------------------------------------------------------------ MISC6. What does "failure on back translate address request" mean? The destination node is running DECnet-Plus, and its naming service cannot locate a name to assocate with the source node's address. In other words, the destination node cannot determine the name of the source node. Use the DECNET_REGISTER mechanism (on the destination node) to register or modify the name(s) and the address(es) of the source node. Check the source node namespace, as well. Typically, the nodes involved are using a LOCAL namespace, and the node name and address settings are not coherent across all nodes. Also check to make sure that the node is entered into its own LOCAL namespace. This can be a problem elsewhere, however. Very rarely, a cache corruption has been known to cause this error. To flush the cache, use the command: NCL> flush session control naming cache entry "*" Also check to see that you are using the latest ECO for DECnet-Plus for the version you are running. DECnet-Plus can use the following namespaces: o DECdns: DECnet-Plus distributed name services. o LocalFile: a local file containing names and addresses. o DNS/Bind: the IP distributed name services. o The UCX local host file. [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ MISC7. How to determine the network hardware address? Most Alpha and VAX systems have a console command that displays the network hardware address. Many systems will also have a sticker identifying the address, either on the enclosure or on the network controller itself. The system console power-up messages on a number of VAX and Alpha systems will display the hardware address, particularly on those systems with an integrated Ethernet network adapter present. If you cannot locate a sticker on the system, if the system powerup message is unavailable or does not display the address, and if the system is at the console prompt, start with the console command: >>> HELP A console command similar to one of the following is typically used to display the hardware address: >>> SHOW DEVICE >>> SHOW ETHER >>> SHOW CONFIG On the oldest VAX Q-bus systems, the following console command can be used to read the address directly off the (DELQA, DESQA, or the not-supported-in-V5.5-and-later DEQNA) Ethernet controller: >>> E/P/W/N:5 20001920 Look at the low byte of the six words displayed by the above command. (The oldest VAX Q-bus systems -- such as the KA630 processor module used on the MicroVAX II and VAXstation II series -- lack a console HELP command, and these systems typically have the primary network controller installed such that the hardware address value is located at the system physical address 20001920.) If the system is a VAX system, and another VAX system on the network is configured to answer Maintenance and Operations Protocol (MOP) bootstrap requests (via DECnet Phase IV, DECnet-Plus, or LANCP), the MOM$SYSTEM:READ_ADDR.EXE tool can be requested: >>> B/R5:100 ddcu Bootfile: READ_ADDR Where ddcu is the name of the Ethernet controller in the above command. The primarly local DELQA, DESQA, and DEQNA Q-bus controllers are usually named XQA0. An attempt to MOP download the READ_ADDR program will ensue, and (if the download is successful) READ_ADDR will display the hardware address. If the system is running, you can use DECnet or TCP/IP to display the hardware address with one of the following commands. $ MCR NCP SHOW KNOWN LINE CHARACTERISTICS ! DECnet Phase IV $ MCR NCL SHOW CSMA-CD STATION * ALL STATUS ! DECnet-Plus $ UCX SHOW INTERFACE/FULL ! TCP/IP versions prior to V5.0 $ TCPIP SHOW INTERFACE/FULL ! TCP/IP versions V5.0 and later A program can be created to display the hardware address, reading the necessary information from the network device drivers. An example C program for reading the Ethernet hardware address (via sys$qio calls to the network device driver(s)) is available at the following URL: http://www.openvms.digital.com/wizard/swdev/ethernVMS.html To use the DECnet Phase IV configurator tool to watch for MOP SYSID activity on the local area network: $ NCP SET MODULE CONFIGURATOR KNOWN CIRCUIT SURVEILLANCE ENABLED Let the DECnet configurator run for at least 20 minutes. Then issue the following commands: $ NCP SHOW MODULE CONFIGURATOR KNOWN CIRCUIT STATUS TO filename.txt $ NCP SET MODULE CONFIGURATOR KNOWN CIRCUIT SURVEILLANCE DISABLED The resulting file (named filename.txt) can now be searched for the information of interest. Most DECnet systems will generate MOP SYSID messages identifying items such as the controller hardware address and the controller type, and these messages are generated and multicast roughly every ten minutes. Information on the DECnet MOP SYSID messages and other parts of the maintenance protocols is included in the DECnet network architecture specifications referenced in section DOC9. ------------------------------------------------------------ MISC8. Why does my system halt when I powercycle the console terminal? Various VAX and Alpha consoles are designed to process the BREAK signal, treating it as a HALT request. A BREAK is a deliberately-generated serial line framing error. When a serial line device such as a terminal powers up (or sometimes when powering down) it can generate framing errors. These framing errors are indistingushable from a BREAK signal. When a BREAK is received on a serial line console for various VAX systems -- including most VAXstation, MicroVAX, and VAX 4000 series -- it is typically interpreted as a HALT. Alpha systems will also often process a BREAK in a similar fashion, halting the system. There is no uniform or generally-available way to disable this behaviour on every VAX or Alpha system. On some systems, BREAK processing can be disabled in favor of [CTRL/P], or [CTRL/P] is the only way to halt the processor. The most common way to avoid these halts is to disable the serial line console or to simply not power-cycle the console terminal. There is certain important system state information that is displayed only on the console, OpenVMS expects to always have access to the system console. [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ MISC9. Why can't I use PPP and RAS to connect to OpenVMS Alpha? OpenVMS Alpha PPP does not presently support authentication, and the Microsoft Windows NT option to disable authentication during a RAS connection apparently doesn't currently work -- RAS connections will require authentication -- and this will thus prevent RAS connections. [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ MISC10. Which video monitor works with which graphics controller? To determine the answer to the "will this monitor work with this graphics controller?" question, please first locate the resolution(s) and the frequencies that are possible/supported at both ends of the video cable (on the monitor and the graphics controller, in other words), and then determine if there are any matching settings available. If there are multiple matches, you will need to determine which one is most appropriate for your needs. You will also need to determine if the video monitor or graphics controller requires the 3 BNC signaling with the synchronization signals on the green wire, or the 5 BNC signalling common on many PCs, or other connections such as the DB15 video connector or USB connector used on various systems. If there are no matches, you will likely need to change the hardware at one or both ends of the "video cable". The refresh frequencies for many devices have been posted to comp.os.vms and/or other newsgroups. Search the archives for details. Also see: http://www.repairfaq.org/ http://plop.phys.cwru.edu/repairfaq/REPAIR/F_monfaq.html http://www.mirage-mmc.com/faq/ Also see MISC3. ------------------------------------------------------------ MISC11. Where can I get information on storage hardware? Information on various Compaq OpenVMS and other disk storage hardware and controllers, and related technical information on SCSI, device jumpers, etc., is available at: http://theref.aquascape.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------ MISC12. Does DECprint (DCPS) work with the LRA0 parallel port? The parallel printing port LRA0: found on many OpenVMS Alpha systems is capable of some bidirectional communications, with enough for basic operations with most parallel printers. DECprint (DCPS) requires more than just the simple handshaking provided by the LRA0: port, therefore DCPS does not work with the LRA0: port. [Paul Anderson] ------------------------------------------------------------ MISC13. How do I check for free space on a (BACKUP) tape? You cannot know for certain, though you can certainly estimate the remaining capacity. Tape media is different than disk media, as disks have a known and pre-determined fixed capacity. Modern disks also appear logically perfect, based on bad block revectoring support and the extra blocks hidden within the disk structure for these bad block replacements. The capacity of tape media is not nearly as pre-determined, and the capacity can vary across different tape media (slightly different media lengths or different foil markers or other variations, for instance) and even on the same media over time (as bad spots in the media arise). Tapes can vary the amount of recording media required, depending on the remaining length of the tape, the numbers of correctable and uncorrectable media errors that might occur, the numbers and sizes of the inter-record gaps and related tape structure overhead, the particular media error recovery chosen, the tape density, the efficiently of any data compression in use, and the storage overhead required by BACKUP, tar, and other similar commands. BACKUP using with the default settings results in approximately 15% overhead, in terms of saveset size. (eg: Assuming a 500 KB input, the total size would be 575 KB.) Assuming no compression: 4 GB media / 575 KB saveset = 7294 savesets Assuming 1:2 compression: 8 GB media / 575 KB saveset = 14588 savesets NB: There are no inter-record gaps on DAT tapes. (When determining media capacity, you have to consider these with nine-track magtape media. Not with DAT (DDS). However, the block structure underneath the variable length record recording is based on a block size of circa 124 KB. Further, writing doubles filemarks and such can cause a loss of up to the underlying block size. Thus even though there are no inter-record gaps on DAT, larger savesets are still usually best. The compression algorithms used on various devices are generally not documented -- further, there is no way to calculate the effective data compression ratio, the tape mark overhead, and similar given just the data to be stored on tape -- short of actually trying it, of course. A typical compression ratio found with "everyday" data is somewhere around 1:1.8 to 1:2. NB: OpenVMS often uses the term COMPACTION for compression control, as in the qualifier /MEDIA_FORMAT=COMPACTION. [Hoffman, Froehlin, Williams] ------------------------------------------------------------ MISC14. So what happened to sys$cmsuper? There is no SYS$CMSUPR service. The typical wisdom for getting into supervisor access mode (from user mode) is to execute a routine in executive mode (via a call to SYS$CMEXEC and the appropriate privilege) and then issue a SYS$DCLAST with the ASTADR parameter pointing to your routine entry point and the ACMODE parameter specified as PSL$C_SUPER. Alternatively, you can reset mode in the call stack return path and unwind from executive or kernel out into supervisor mode. [Brian Schenkenberger] ------------------------------------------------------------ MISC15. How can I send radio pages from my OpenVMS system? There are third-party products available to send messages to radio paging devices (pagers), communicating via various protocols such as TAP (Telocator Alphanumeric Protocol). RamPage (Ergonomic Solutions) is one of the available packages that can generate and transmit messages to radio pagers. Target Alert (Target Systems; formerly the DECalert product) is another. Networking Dynamics Corp has a product called Pager Plus. The System Watchdog package can also send pages. PMDF can route specific email addresses to a paging service, as well. Many commercial paging services provide email contact addresses for their paging customers -- you can simply send email directly to the pager. See SOFT1 for information on the available catalog of products. ------------------------------------------------------------ MISC16. What is flow control and how does it work? XON/XOFF is one kind of flow control. In ASCII, XON is the [CTRL/Q] character, and XOFF is the [CTRL/S]. XON/XOFF flow control is typically associated with asynchronous serial line communications. XON/XOFF is an in-band flow control, meaning that the flow control is mixed in with the data. CTS/RTS is another type of flow control, and is sometimes called hardware flow control. Out-of-band means that seperate lines/pins from the data lines (pins) are used to carry the CTS/RTS signals. Both kinds of flow control are triggered when a threshold is reached in the incoming buffer. The flow control is suppose to reach the transmitter in time to have it stop transmitting before the receiver buffer is full and data is lost. Later, after a sufficient amount of the receiver's buffer is freed up, the resume flow control signal is sent to get the transmitter going again. DECnet Phase IV on OpenVMS VAX supports the use of asynchronous serial communications as a network line. The communication devices (eg. modems, and drivers) *must not* be configured for XON/XOFF flow control. The incidence of these (unexpected) in-band characters will corrupt data packets. Further, the serial line device drivers might normally remove the XON and XOFF characters from the stream for terminal applications, but DECnet configures the driver to pass *all* characters through and requires that all characters be permitted. (The communication devices must pass through not only the XON and XOFF characters, they must pass *all* characters including the 8-bit characters. If data compression is happening, it must reproduce the source stream exactly. No addition or elimination of null characters, and full data transparency. An Ethernet network is rather different than an asynchronous serial line. Ethernet specifies the control of data flow on a shared segment using CSMA/CD (Carrier Sense Multiple Access, with Collision Detect) An Ethernet station that is ready to transmit listens for a clear channel (Carrier Sense). When the channel is clear, the station begins to transmit by asserting a carrier and encoding the packet appropriately. The station concurrently listens to its own signal, to permit the station to detect if another station began to transmit at the same time -- this is called collision detection. (The collision corrupts the signal in a way that can reliably be detected.) Upon detecting the collision, both stations will stop transmitting, and will back off and try again a little later. (You can see a log of this activity in the DECnet NCP network counters.) DECnet provides its own flow control, above and beyond the flow control of the physical layer (if any). The end nodes handshake at the beginning to establish a transmit window size -- and a transmitter will only send that much data before stopping and waiting for an acknowledgement. The acknowledgement is only sent when the receiver has confirmed the packet is valid. (A well-configured DECnet generally avoids triggering any underlying (out-of-band) flow control mechanism.) [David Rabahy] ------------------------------------------------------------ MISC17. How do I reset the LAN (DECnet-Plus NCL) counters? On recent OpenVMS releases: LANCP> SET DEVICE/DEVICE_SPECIFIC=FUNCTION="CCOU" devname ------------------------------------------------------------ MISC18. What are the prefixes for the powers of ten? Power Prefix Abbreviation 10^-18 atto a 10^-15 femto f 10^-12 pico p 10^-09 nano n 10^-06 micro µ 10^-03 milli m 10^-02 centi c 10^-01 deci d 10^+01 deca da 10^+02 hecto h 10^+03 kilo k 10^+06 mega M 10^+09 giga G 10^+12 tera T 10^+15 peta P 10^+18 exa E ------------------------------------------------------------ MISC19. OpenVMS Cluster (SCS) over DECnet? Over IP? The OpenVMS Cluster environment operates over various network protocols, but the core of clustering uses the System Communications Services (SCS) protocols, and SCS-specific network datagrams. Direct (full) connectivity is assumed. An OpenVMS Cluster DOES NOT operate over DECnet, nor over IP. No SCS protocol routers are available. Many folks have suggested operating SCS over DECnet or IP over the years, but SCS is too far down in the layers, and any such project would entail a major or complete rewrite of SCS and of the DECnet or IP drivers. Further, the current DECnet and IP implementations have large tracts of code that operate at the application level, while SCS must operate in the rather more primitive contexts of the system and particularly the bootstrap -- to get SCS to operate over a DECnet or IP connection would require relocating major portions of the DECnet or IP stack into the kernel. (And it is not clear that the result would even meet the bandwidth and latency expectations.) The usual approach for multi-site OpenVMS Cluster configurations involves FDDI, Memory Channel (MC2), or a point-to-point remote bridge, brouter, or switch. The connection must be transparent, and it must operate at 10 megabits per second or better (Ethernet speed), with latency characteristics similar to that of Ethernet or better. Various sites use FDDI, MC2, ATM, or point-to-point T3 link. ------------------------------------------------------------ SOFT1. Where can I find freeware/shareware/software for OpenVMS? Details on many commercial OpenVMS products are available in the catalog located at: http://www.partner.digital.com/www-catalog/ An OpenVMS Freeware CD is distributed with OpenVMS, and is also available seperately as part of the OpenVMS hobbyist program. The OpenVMS Freeware CD is available online at: http://www.openvms.digital.com/freeware/ ftp://ftp.montagar.com/ ftp://mvb.saic.com/freewarev40/ http://freeware.acornsw.com/ and at various other sites. Submissions to the OpenVMS Freeware can be made via: http://www.openvms.digital.com/openvms/freeware/cd.html To order the Freeware, you can order an OpenVMS distribution from Compaq, or you can order the Freeware itself via the OpenVMS hobbyist website: http://www.montagar.com/hobbyist/ The Freeware CD-ROM set contains a large assortment of freeware, and is a good starting point if looking for utilities. Many of the packages listed below are also on the Freeware CD. Some of the most oft-requested OpenVMS tools on the Freeware CD include ZIP and UNZIP, GZIP, MMK (make), PINE, PERL, TAR, UUENCODE and UUDECODE. Many other tools are available on the Freeware. Compaq also has a separate area containing various OpenVMS software tools located at: http://ftp.digital.com/pub/VMS/ Hunter Goatley runs a VMS freeware fileserver: http://www.madgoat.com/ The FILESERV packages are also available via anonymous FTP from: ftp.wku.edu, under [.VMS.FILESERV]. ftp.spc.edu, under [.MACRO32.SAVESETS] and [.MX]. ftp.vms.stacken.kth.se, under [.MIRRORS..WKU.VMS.FILESERV]. ftp.shsu.edu, under pub/vms/mx and pub/vms/utilities. nic.switch.ch, under /mirror/vms/spc. ftp.technion.ac.il, under /pub/unsupported/vms/spc. ftp.riken.go.jp or via e-mail from FILESERV@WKUVX1.WKU.EDU. Send the commands HELP and DIR ALL in the body of a mail message for more information. If you get the packages via WWW or FTP, they're in ZIP format which requires the UNZIP (note: this is not Gnu gunzip!) tool to unpack. You can get ZIP and UNZIP from the following areas: ftp://ftp.wku.edu/vms/unzip.exe ! VAX ftp://ftp.wku.edu/vms/unzip.alpha_exe ! Alpha ftp://ftp.wku.edu/vms/fileserv/UNZIP.ZIP http://www.decus.de:8080/www/vms/sw/zip.htmlx http://home.earthlink.net/~djesys/zip.html http://home.earthlink.net/~djesys/unzip.html or you can request the FILESERV_TOOLS package from the e-mail server. [Beware: The [000TOOLS...] pre-built versions of ZIP on the OpenVMS Freeware V4 CD-ROM will erroneously return BILF errors on OpenVMS V7.2 and later. Use of the source on the Freeware V4 to rebuild the ZIP image(s), or acquiring a pre-built ZIP image from one of the above areas can avoid this. The pre-built version of ZIP on the Freeware V4 kit is older than the included ZIP sources, and it contains a latent bug.] Another source of free software is the vmsnet.sources newsgroup (and the corresponding vmsnet.sources.d discussion group). See the monthly posting "vmsnet.sources archives" for a list of sites which archive submissions to vmsnet.sources. CompuServe users should check out the libraries of the VAXFORUM forum. Arne Vajhøj runs an OpenVMS WWW page, with software and other pointers, at: http://www.levitte.org/~ava/ Kermit is available at: http://www.columbia.edu/kermit/ or ftp://kermit.columbia.edu/ ZMODEM is available at: ftp://ftp.cs.pdx.edu/pub/zmodem See the FILES file in that directory for further details. Note that this freeware version of ZMODEM will interoperate only with ZMODEM software that is licensed from Omen Technology. (Also on Freeware CD) [Steve Lionel] A good source of software for DEC boxes (and anything else pretty much) is the DECUS library. online catalogs are available as well as some software via ftp.decus.org; there's a gopher server gopher://gopher.decus.org/ an FTP server: ftp://ftp.decus.org/ and a WWW server: http://www.decus.org/ Some DECUS library CD-ROMs are available online at: http://www.acornsw.com/www/acorn/cdrom-via-www.html or gopher://gopher.acornsw.com/ [munroe@dmc.com] Phone for orders is 508 841 3502. Lots of good stuff from lots of good folks, and copies on media (tapes, CDs) are cheap. [Everhart@Arisia.gce.com] MPJZ's Hyper-Software-List for OpenVMS is Martin P.J. Zinser's list of additional software. http://axp616.gsi.de:8080/www/vms/sw.html Chris Higgins's VMS Software List II http://csvax1.ucc.ie/www/vms_sw_list/sw_list.html DECUS SIG Tape collections are available on Mark Berryman's system, ftp://mvb.saic.com David Jones's DECthreads-based HTTP_SERVER World-Wide Web server for VMS. http://kcgl1.eng.ohio-state.edu/www/doc/serverinfo.html [goathunter@WKUVX1.WKU.EDU] Secure Shell (SSH) Server for OpenVMS: http://kcgl1.eng.ohio-state.edu/~JONESD/ssh/DOC/ Secure Shell (SSH) Client for OpenVMS: http://www.free.lp.se/fish/ Information on OpenSSL (SSLeay) for OpenVMS: http://www.free.lp.se/openssl/ [Leo Demers] Information on OpenSSL (SSLeay) and OSU Webserver interoperation: http://www.levitte.org/~byerra [Robert Alan Byer] DECwindows Motif V1.2-3 includes NCSA Mosaic 2.4 built for UCX. V1.2-4 includes Spyglass Enhanced Mosaic, which supports many "Netscape" enhancements. Netscape Navigator is also available for OpenVMS. A port of Mosaic 2.7-4 which supports UCX, Multinet and SOCKETSHR/NETLIB is available from: ftp://wvnvms.wvnet.edu/mosaic/ Lynx (a character-cell World-Wide-Web reader) is available from ftp://ftp2.cc.ukans.edu/pub/lynx [Steve Lionel] Netscape Navigator will be available as part of the OpenVMS Internet Product Suite. For further details, see: http://www.openvms.digital.com/openvms/products/ips/index.html PGP (Phil Zimmerman's "Pretty Good Privacy") is available from various distribution sites, including those listed in the PGP FAQ. Information on an OpenVMS download of PGP is available at: http://www.pgpi.com/ http://zone.pspt.fi/pgp/platforms/vms/ http://www.yrl.co.uk/~phil/pds/pds.html An archive of DECwindows and X Windows software can be found at the following sites: http://www2.cenaath.cena.dgac.fr/ftp/index.html http://www2.cenaath.cena.dgac.fr/ftp/decwindows/ ftp://axp.psl.ku.dk/decwindows ftp://ftp2.cnam.fr/decwindows ftp://ftp.et.tudelft.nl/decwindows ftp://ftp.ctrl-c.liu.se/decwindows http://axp616.gsi.de:8080/wwwar/cena/decwindows/cena.html (See also Freeware CD) [Patrick Moreau] ImageMagick is an X11 package for display and interactive manipulation of images. The package includes tools for image conversion, annotation, compositing, animation, and creating montages. ImageMagick can read and write many of the more popular image formats (e.g. JPEG, TIFF, PNM, XPM, Photo CD, etc.). ftp://ftp.x.org/contrib/vms/ImageMagick/ImageMagick-3.3.zip (Also on Freeware CD) [cristy@dupont.com] XV is available from: ftp://ftp.cis.upenn.edu/pub/xv ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/graphics/xv http://www.sanface.com/ GHOSTSCRIPT and GHOSTVIEW are available from: ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/VMS/ghostview Version 2.3 of GhostView-VMS is now available from: ftp://iphthf.physik.uni-mainz.de/pub/vms/ [plass@dipmza.physik.uni-mainz.de] XPDF, a viewer for PDF (Adobe Acrobat) files, is available from: http://www.foolabs.com/xpdf/ [Ki Suk Hahn] Beware: the XPDF on OpenVMS Freeware V4 is somewhat dated. A Java-based PDF viewer is available from Adobe, and is known to operate on recent OpenVMS Alpha releases: http://www.adobe.com/ Various OpenVMS-related tools -- both freeware and shareware -- such as txt2pdf -- are available from at: http://www.sanface.com/ The MPEG library version 1.1 is available for OpenVMS VAX and Alpha at ftp://ftp.x.org/contrib/vms/mpeglib-11-vms.readme ftp://ftp.x.org/contrib/vms/mpeglib-11-vms.zip [Patrick Moreau] List of FTP Mirror Sites for the DECWINDOWS archive: =================================================== AXP.PSL.KU.DK (Multinet) Mirror of CENA DECW archive FTP.ET.TUDELFT.NL (MadGoat) Mirror of CENA DECW archive FTP2.CNAM.FR (MadGoat) Mirror of CENA DECW archive ftp.x.org (in /contrib/vms) not really a mirror, but I try to put all my new ports at this site. List of HTTP Mirror Sites for the DECWINDOWS archive: ==================================================== http://axp616.gsi.de:8080/wwwar/cena/decwindows/cena.html Some X clients from the OpenVMS Freeware CDROM are located in [.DECWINDOWS.CDFREEWARE] directory. [Patrick Moreau] I have written and installed on INFO.CS.PUB.RO an 'Archie' clone for VMS software. Telnet to that machine, and login as VMSARCI. It contains now listings for over 30 ftp servers with >14 GB of VMS software. The most useful commands are LIST, which generates a list of scanned ftp servers, and FIND , whichs looks for a file containing "string" in the name; the search modes are only "substring" [default] and "exact", and regex search is not supported (so FIND EMACS will work, but FIND *EMACS* or FIND *EMACS*.* will not). The search is case-insensitive. Those of you that know other ftp servers with VMS software that I haven't found, please let me know. (The program that build the databases can recursively scan whole servers- as FTP.WKU.EDU, or just some directories- as NIC.SWITCH.CH /pub/vms) Sorry, this service is VERY SLOW [by Western standards], because it runs on a quite-busy oldie-but-goodie VAXStation 3400 with 20Mb and a RF71, and the Internet link is only 256 Kpbs (sometimes unavailable). [stfp@roipb.cs.ipb.ro] Perl 5 (object oriented, blah blah) is available for VMS. The primary development ftp site is: ftp://genetics.upenn.edu/perl5/ But this site is mirrored by more than 47 CPAN sites around the world. Each CPAN site is accesible via a cgi-bin script at the perl homesite: http://www.perl.com/CPAN/ (PERL can also be found on the OpenVMS Freeware CD) Charles Lane maintains a web page on how to write cgi-bin scripts in perl 5 for VMS at: http://duphy4.physics.drexel.edu/duphy4/cgi_info.htmlx and I maintain a web page on how to obtain and compile perl5 for VMS at: http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/~pvhp/perl/VMS.html [pvhp@lns62.lns.cornell.edu] To subscribe to the OpenVMS PERL mailing list, send an email message to majordomo@perl.org containing no subject line, and the text line: subscribe vmsperl MadGoat Software Archives: http://www.madgoat.com/ Western Kentucky University OpenVMS archives: ftp://ftp.wku.edu/vms/fileserv/ The Levitte (extended :-) Family (and OpenVMS) website: http://www.levitte.org/ http://www.levitte.org/~ava/ http://www.levitte.org/~byerra/ CalTech Software Archives: http://seqaxp.bio.caltech.edu/pub/SOFTWARE/AAA_CONTENTS.TXT DJE Systems Website (David J. Dachtera) http://home.earthlink.net/~djesys/freeware/vms/ Web servers: Apache web server: http://www.openvms.digital.com/openvms/products/ips/apache/ http://www.er6.eng.ohio-state.edu/~jonesd/apache/1_3_9/ OSU Webserver http://www.er6.eng.ohio-state.edu/www/doc/serverinfo.html http://www.kjsl.com/archives/ email list: VMS-WEB-daemon-Request@KJSL.COM CD-R (CD-Recordable) media tools: please see FILE7 Grace (WYSIWYG 2D plotting tool) http://plasma-gate.weizmann.ac.il/Grace/ POV-Ray ("Persistance of Vision" Raytracer) ray-tracing graphics package: http://www.lp.se/~byerra/povray/povray_contents.html [Peter Langstoeger] Majordomo mailing list handler: http://www.openvms.digital.com/openvms/products/ips/majordomo/ PINE (OpenVMS tools for sending and receiving MIME mail): ftp://ftp2.kcl.ac.uk/pub/vms/pine-vms/ http://www.agh.cc.kcl.ac.uk/files/vms/pine-vms/ Menufinder (menu-driven system management environment) (currently free on OpenVMS VAX) http://www.itre.com/mf/ (Italian) http://www.itre.com/mf/index_en.html (English) tcgmsg, pvm, mpi, linda: http://v36.chemie.uni-konstanz.de/tcgmsg_vms/tcgmsg_vms.zip ------------------------------------------------------------ SOFT2. Where can I find the UNIX tool for OpenVMS? POSIX: POSIX-compliant, Compaq-supported versions of POSIX routines and utilities: lex, yacc, grep, tar, uuencode, uudecode, rcs, man, cpio, make, awk, ar, mail, etc., the POSIX shell, the POSIX C programming interface, etc. POSIX utilities can be used from within the POSIX shell, and via the DCL `POSIX/RUN POSIX$BIN:tool.' command. POSIX is a separately-installed package, and is licensed with OpenVMS V5.5 later. The POSIX installation kit is included on the consolidated distribution CD-ROM kit, and installation kits are also available separately. The POSIX package is no longer supported on OpenVMS, components of the POSIX standard such as parts of the POSIX API are being added into OpenVMS. Versions of POSIX generally do not operate on V7.x OpenVMS VAX and OpenVMS Alpha releases. C: Common C system and library routines are present in the DEC C run-time library, which is available for V5.5 and later, and is shipped in V6.1 and later. DEC C is the upgrade for VAX C, DEC C and VAX C can coexist on the same system OpenVMS VAX system, and both compilers can be enabled via the "C" license PAK. Also see SYS$EXAMPLES:, and (if either is installed) the DECW$EXAMPLES: and UCX$EXAMPLES: areas. X Windows: Various Compaq X Windows utilities: xwd, xev, mosaic WWW browser, xrdb, bmtoa and atobm, xpr, ico, etc. In DECW$UTILS: in DECwindows Motif V1.2-3 and later. Also see DECW$EXAMPLES: for example X and C programs. Miscellaneous tools and examples: Various unsupported OpenVMS tools and code examples: DWAUTH (X Windows SYSUAF authorize-like tool), various versions of grep, fgrep, yacc, vmstar, uuencode, gawk, etc. html tools, the mx SMTP mail exchange package, X windows flight simulator, the mxrn X windows news reader, the OSU HTTPD WWW server, a WWW gopher browser, etc. are all on the FreeWare V2.0 CD-ROM. IP tools: DEC TCP/IP (UCX) contains tools such as ping, uuencode, smtp, snmp, rcp, nfs, tnfs, etc. OpenVMS V6.2 and UCX V3.3 and later can be used together in support of the /FTP, /RCP, /RLOGIN, /TELNET, and /TN3270 qualifiers on various DCL commands. Also see the various C examples in UCX$EXAMPLES: [Stephen Hoffman] vi clones Both vile and elvis (vi clones) run on OpenVMS. The current version of vile is 7.1 It's available at http://www.clark.net/pub/dickey/vile/vile.html ftp://ftp.clark.net/pub/dickey/vile ftp://id.wing.net/pub/pgf/vile Versions of VILE are also on the OpenVMS Freeware [Thomas Dickey] vim: vi improved http://www.polarfox.com/vim/ [Zoltan Arpadffy] GNU tools: Information on the GNU on VMS Project, which aims to port GNU software to VMS, is available at: http://vms.gnu.ai.mit.edu/ ftp://vms.gnu.ai.mit.edu/gnu-vms/ Software info: http://vms.gnu.ai.mit.edu/software/ Software archive: ftp://vms.gnu.ai.mit.edu/gnu-vms/software/ GCC: The Progis company in Germany has ported GCC (GNU C) to OpenVMS Alpha. You can also find a recent OpenVMS VAX version there. http://www.progis.de/ The latest (known to me) GCC version for VAX/VMS (binaries only) is 2.7.1 from Pat Rankin's site. ftp://ftp.caltech.edu/pub/rankin/ [Jason Armistead] Some of the available console management options for OpenVMS: http://www.robomon.com/robocentral.htm (Heroix) http://www.ki.com/products/clim/ (KI Products) http://www.globalmt.com/ (Global Maintech) http://www.tditx.com/ (TechSys) http://www.cai.com/products/commandit.htm (CA) [Kerry Main] If you need to change the file modification date and are looking for a utility such as the UNIX touch tool, look at DFU on the OpenVMS Freeware (DFU SET or simular), or use an existing DCL commands such as: SET FILE/PROTECT=(current_protection_mask) [...]*.* A table listing translations between UNIX shell and OpenVMS DCL commands was posted to comp.os.vms by Christopher Smith: http://deja.com/getdoc.xp? AN=581596523.1&CONTEXT=953337549.952369155 ------------------------------------------------------------ SOFT3. Where can I get the Netscape Navigator Mozilla.org Web Browser? OpenVMS Engineering is currently porting mozilla.org's browser to OpenVMS -- OpenVMS baselevels are currently available for download. Mozilla.org is the open source organization providing Netscape and other interested parties with a browser. Netscape is expected to commercialize this mozilla.org browser, add additional proprietary features, and release it as Netscape Communicator (version number TBD). This Netscape Communicator will contain the features that the Internet community expected to see in Netscape Communicator V5. Mozilla.org has announced that it will release a beta version of its browser in mid-Autumn 1999. Soon after, Netscape may/will release a beta version of Netscape Communicator based on the mozilla.org browser. We expect the beta version of Netscape Communicator to be available on OpenVMS about 1 month after its release by Netscape. A customer quality version of this browser is scheduled for release by mozilla.org in late December 1999; soon after, Netscape will release a customer quality version of Netscape Communicator. We expect to release a customer quality version of Netscape Communicator on OpenVMS in early 2000. The mozilla.org browser schedule is available at: http://www.mozilla.org/project/ The latest information and current downloads are available at: http://www.openvms.digital.com/openvms/products/ips/ Please be aware that various certificates for V3.003 Netscape Navigator are presently expired, or are starting to expire. This can potentially cause problems for certificate-based access pending the acquisition of new certifcates. [Sue Denham] [Stephen Hoffman] ------------------------------------------------------------ SOFT4. Where can I get Java for OpenVMS? Java is available on and is included with OpenVMS Alpha, starting with the OpenVMS Alpha V7.2 and later releases. Java download kits are available for OpenVMS Alpha V7.1 and later releases. Java is not available on OpenVMS VAX. As for why: the Java language definition requires a floating point format (IEEE) that is not native to VAX, and this would require the emulation of all floating point operations within Java applications. Further, the C source code used to implement for Java itself is heavily dependent on passing IEEE floating point values around among the many internal subroutines, and adding support for VAX would entail changes to the Compaq C compiler for OpenVMS VAX -- and specifically to the VAX VCG code generator that is used by Compaq C on OpenVMS VAX systems -- in order to add support for passing IEEE-format floating point doubles around. Alternatively, extensive changes to the Java source code to remove the assumption that the double is an IEEE floating point value. There are currently no plans to make a version of Java available for OpenVMS VAX. (A prototype version of Java was created for OpenVMS VAX, and performance was found to be inadequate at best.) If Java2 or other environment lifts the requirements for IEEE floating point as part of the language definition, this decision may be revisited. For additional information on Java for Alpha systems, please see the OpenVMS documentation (V7.2 and later), and the following site: http://www.digital.com/java/alpha/index.html ------------------------------------------------------------ SOFT5. VAX C and DEC C, and other OpenVMS C Programming Considerations? VAX C V3.2 was released for OpenVMS VAX systems in 1991. DEC C V4.0 replaced VAX C V3.2 in 1993 as the Compaq C compiler for OpenVMS VAX systems. Compaq C is the AMSI C compiler for OpenVMS Alpha systems. VAX C predates the ANSI C standards, and has various areas that are not compliant with ANSI C requirements. Compaq C is an ANSI C compiler, and can also compile most VAX C code when /STANDARD=VAXC is specified. Versions of this compiler between V3.2 and V6.0 (exclusive) were known as either DEC C or DIGITAL C. Both compilers can be installed at the same time on the same OpenVMS VAX system, allowing a migration from VAX C to DEC C, and allowing the same DEC C code to be used on OpenVMS VAX and OpenVMS Alpha. In 1999, the C compiler version is Compaq C V6.0. The system manager can choose the system default C compiler when Compaq C is installed on a system with VAX C, and a C programmer can explicitly select the required compiler for a any particular compilation. A current "C" license PAK allows access to both VAX C and Compaq C on the same OpenVMS VAX system. Various Compaq C versions can be installed on OpenVMS VAX V5.5-2 and later. OpenVMS VAX releases such as V5.5-2 and V6.0 will require the installation of a Compaq C RTL kit, a kit that is included with the Compaq C compiler. OpenVMS VAX versions V6.1 and later do not require a seperate RTL kit, but Compaq C RTL ECO kits are available to resolve problems found with the C RTL on various OpenVMS releases. Wwith Compaq C, for automatic resolution of the standard C library routines by the LINKER utility, use the /PREFIX qualifier, such as /PREFIX=ALL_ENTRIES. If a particular application program replaces an existing C library routine, use /PREFIX=(ALL_ENTRIES,EXCEPT=(...)). (VAX C required explicit specification of an RTL shareable image or C object library during the link.) When the /PREFIX is requested, the compiler generates a "decc$" prefix on the specified symbols. This prefix allows the LINKER to resolve the external symbols against the symbols present in the DECC$SHR library. The DECC$SHR library is included in the IMAGELIB.OLB shareable image library, and IMAGELIB is searched by default when any program (written in any language) is LINKed. Because the standard C library routine names are very likely to match application routines written in other languages, a prefix "decc$" is added to the C symbol names to assure their uniqueness; to prevent symbol naming conflicts. C programs, however, can sometimes have private libraries for various purposes, and the external routines share the same names as the library routines. (This is not recommended, but there are applications around that use this technique.) Thus the need to explicity specify whether or not the "decc$" prefix should be prepended to the external symbol names by the compiler. The qualifiers, and most (all?) with associated pragmas, that may be of interest when migrating VAX C code to Compaq C include: /PREFIX=ALL_ENTRIES As mentioned above. Failure to specificy this qualifier can cause the compiler to not add the prefixes for the names of the C library routines into the references placed in the object module, which can in turn cause problems resolving the external symbols in the library when the object code is linked. /ASSUME=WRITABLE_STRING_LITERALS Some VAX C programs erroneously write to the string literals. By default, Compaq C does not allow the constants to change. /SHARE_GLOBALS Enables sharing ("shr") of globals and of extern variables. Compaq C sets externs as non-shareable ("noshr"), VAX C as "shr". /EXTERN_MODE=COMMON_BLOCK VAX C assumes common block model for external linkages. /[NO]MEMBER_ALIGNMENT Refers to the padding placed between member elements within a struct. Disabling member alignment packs the data more tightly into memory, but this packaging has performance implications, both on OpenVMS VAX and particularly on OpenVMS Alpha systems. Permit structure members to be naturally aligned whenever possible, and avoid using /NOMEMBER_ALIGNMENT. If you need to disable member alignment, use the equivilent #pragma to designate the specific structures. The alignment of structure members normally only comes into play with specific unaligned data structures -- such as the sys$creprc quota itemlist -- and with data structures that are using data that was organized by a system using byte or other non-member alignment. Versions of Compaq C such as V6.0 include the capability to extract the contents of the standard header libraries into directories such as SYS$SYSROOT:[DECC$LIB...], and provide various logical names that can be defined to control library searches. With Compaq C versions such as V6.0, the default operations of the compiler match the expectations of most OpenVMS programmers, without requiring any definitions of site-specific library-related logical names. (And logical names left from older DEC C versions can sometimes cause the compiler troubles locating header files.) Compaq C V5.6 and later include a backport library, a mechanism by which Compaq C running on older OpenVMS releases can gain access to newer RTL routines added to the RTL in later OpenVMS releases -- the language RTLs ship with OpenVMS itself, and not with the compilers. Example C code is available in SYS$EXAMPLES:, in DECW$EXAMPLES (when the DECwindows examples are installed), in UCX$EXAMPLES (when Compaq TCP/IP Services is installed), on the Freeware CD-ROMs, and at web sites such as http://www.openvms.digital.com/wizard/ ------------------------------------------------------------ SOFT6. Obtaining user input in DCL CGI script? If you choose to use the GET method, then the form data is available in the DCL symbol QUERY_STRING, in URL-encoded format. If you use the POST method, then you need to read the form data from stdin. For a DCL CGI script running under the Netscape FastTrack web server, you can read the data using the following READ command: $ READ SYS$COMMAND postdata to read the information in. [Colin Blake] The following describes the use of DCL command procedures as CGI scripts with the OSU web server: http://www.levitte.org/~ava/cgiscripts_other.htmlx [Leif Jansson] ------------------------------------------------------------ SOFT7. How do I get my own batch entry number? To have a batch procedure retrieve its own batch entry number, use the following: $ Entry = F$GETQUI("DISPLAY_ENTRY", - "entry_number","display_entry","this_job") Remember that the entry numbers issued by the OpenVMS Job Controller are opaque longword values. Don't assume you know the format of the number, nor the range of numbers you might see... [Peter Weaver] ------------------------------------------------------------ SOFT8. How do I convert to new CMS libraries? A change was made to the format of the CMS database for CMS libraries starting with V3.5-03 -- to ensure that earlier versions of CMS are unable to access the database once the "conversion" to V3.5-05 and later is made, you must issue the following two commands when upgrading from V3.5-03 and prior. (The only differences between CMS version V3.5-03 and CMS version V3.5-05 involve changes to ensure that np earlier version of CMS can access the "converted" database.) To perform the "conversion", issue the following commands for each CMS library present: $ RENAME disk:[directory]00CMS.* 01CMS.* $ COPY NLA0: disk:[directory]00CMS.CMS The new file 00CMS.CMS must have the same security settings as the 01CMS.CMS file, and is created solely to ensure continued compatibility with tools that expect to find a 00CMS.CMS file (eg: various versions of the Language-Sensitive text editor LSEDIT). ------------------------------------------------------------ SOFT9. Where can I get new certificates for Netscape Navigator? The URLs that I found for adding/updating root certificates are: http://www.entrust.net/customer/generalinfo/import.htm entrust http://www.equifaxsecure.com/servercert/rollover.html thawte https://www.verisign.com/server/prg/browser/root.html verisign [Ken Chaney] To update certificates in Netscape Navigator V3.03 on OpenVMS, use the following: Here's how to update your Root certificates in Netscape: Thawte Server certificate which expired in 1998: 1) Under the Options Menu choose "Security Preferences..." 2) Select the "Site Certificates" tab 3) Select "Thawte Server CA" in the list of certificates 4) Select "Delete Certificate" and then "OK" 5) Go to http://www.thawte.com/serverbasic.crt 6) Follow the instructions on the popup dialog box to accept the certificate This mostly involves hitting the "Next" button and clicking an accept button and then naming the resulting certificate. I named it the same name as the original. VeriSign/RSA Server certificate which expired Dec 31, 1999: 1) Under the Options Menu choose "Security Preferences..." 2) Select the "Site Certificates" tab 3) Select "Verisign/RSA Secure Server CA" in the list of certificates 4) Select "Delete Certificate" and then "OK" 5) Go to https://www.verisign.com/server/prg/browser/root.html 6) Follow the instructions on the popup dialog box to accept the certificate This mostly involves hitting the "Next" button and clicking an accept button and then naming the resulting certificate. Verisign suggests using the name "VeriSign CA". [Vance Haemmerle] ------------------------------------------------------------ SOFT10. Why doesn't DCL symbol substitution work? The DCL symbol substitution processing occurs only at the DCL prompt, not within data and not within files. If you wish to perform symbol substitution in this environment, you typically write a small file containing the command(s) and data to be invoked -- potentially only the data -- and you then invoke the created procedure or reference the specified data. In this case, use of a file containing nolinemode commands or other techniques might be useful -- you will want to ensure that the text editor you use does not attempt to use screen mode or similar, as this is not generally considered adventageous within a command procedure. Tools such as FTP have alternatives: COPY/FTP. DCL symbol substitution occurs in two passes, using the ampersand and the apostrophe. In most cases, only the apostrophe is necessary. In a few cases -- such as the DCL PIPE command -- you will may need to use the ampersand to get the substitution to work. The following example uses ampersand substitution to transfer the contents of the header into a logical name: $ PIPE CC/VERSION | (READ SYS$PIPE hdr ; DEFINE/JOB/NOLOG hdr &hdr ) A logical name (in the job logical name table; shared by all processes in the current job) was used as DCL symbols cannot be returned back out from a DCL PIPE or other spawned subprocess. [End of Part 4/4] --------------------------- pure personal opinion --------------------------- Hoff (Stephen) Hoffman OpenVMS Engineering hoffman#xdelta.zko.dec.com