VAX SIG Fall 1988 Tapes Initial Documentation ** NOTICE ** NOTICE ** NOTICE ** NOTICE ** NOTICE ** NOTICE ** NOTICE ** Due to publicity about Trojan horse programs, computer viruses, and similar hazards, there may be increased risk that such code may have been submitted for the symposium tapes. Neither your librarian, DECUS, nor DEC has detailed knowledge of the programs herein. The risk of using code here is YOURS and you should consider yourself WARNED that you should test programs yourself to determine what risks they may pose. The cataloging process consists of assembling documentation and files into usable formats, but does NOT involve testing the programs. Your librarian makes use of many programs from symposium tapes, however, and none of this code contains any known problems. We ask that if you notice something suspicious about any DECUS program you attempt to help by reporting the problem to the DECUS office immediately and by diagnosing it as well as you can. In using this code, please be aware that privileged code may contain operating system version dependencies whose effects should be assessed before running it. The system crashes you avoid may be your own. The DECUS library may be contacted at 617-480-3418. Please ask that Marilyn Rosenberg, Betty Cadieux, and Glenn Everhart (your librarian) be informed of the problems. (If possible, leave a phone number.) You can reach your librarian (Glenn Everhart) on ARPAnet at the network address Everhart%Arisia.decnet@GE-CRD.arpa if you wish faster contact or have questions. Thank you. Our greatest security against this kind of nonsense is watching out for each other. ** NOTICE ** NOTICE ** NOTICE ** NOTICE ** NOTICE ** NOTICE ** NOTICE ** This directory contains general documentation for this and previous tapes and an index. It is intended to replace previous distributions of [VAX000...] but there may be some older files you want to keep. The top level description summary to the Fall '88 VAX SIG tapes is contained in ABSTRACT.TXT and VAX88B.BRIEF_SUMMARY in this directory. For a longer description see AAAREADME.88B1, AAAREADME.88B2, AAAREADME.88B3, AAAREADME.88B4, and AAAREADME.88B5, the concatenated AAAREADME.TXT files from the respective submissions. AAAREADME.TXT's back through the Fall 1981 tape are in a sub-directory [.OLD_AAAREADME]. The tapes are in VMS Backup format in six save-sets - one each for [VAX000...], [VAX88B1...], [VAX88B2...], [VAX88B3...], [VAX88B4...], and [VAX88B5...]. The first is the index saveset, comprising around 7500 blocks. The others are the five (!) parts of the Fall 1988 VAX SIG tapes' submissions. These are each about 50K blocks long, and are so divided that each will fit on a single reel of tape at 1600 BPI. As usual, the [VAX000...] saveset fits with the [VAX88B1...] saveset on one 1600BPI tape volume. Distribution requires two TK50 cartridges. The first will contain the savesets: VAX000, VAX88B1, VAX88B2, and VAX88B3. The second will contain savesets: VAX88B4 and VAX88B5. The entire collection fits (with large block sizes, and barely) on a single reel of tape at 6250 BPI density. Because of the large volume of excellent submissions, it was impossible to fit the collection onto smaller media. Very few files are compressed this time, due to the difficulty such compression created. However, the LZDCM and LZCMP files are located with their sources in the [VAX000.TOOLS...] directory. This directory also contains VMS versions of the ARC and ZOO archiving programs (compatible with their PC counterparts), and TAR format reader/writer programs, so that all programs needed to decompose compressed programs are present. These require no privilege to run, and work fine on VMS 4.x. They are believed to work on VMS 5.x also, but some recompilation or relinking could be required. Any files of type .ARC or .ZOO can be read by ARC.EXE or ZOO.EXE respectively. The commands ARC -h or ZOO h will type built-in help messages for those programs (defined as foreign commands). Wherever you find a file of type .*_LZW (usually THIS_DIR.BCK_LZW) it is compressed with LZCMP. Decompress it with LZDCM by a command like $ lzdcm:==${some directory and device}LZDCM $ LZDCM this_dir.BCK_LZW this_dir.BCK The result will be a decompressed file, generally a VMS Backup saveset. Use Backup to pull this apart to original files. Some compression was necessary to make the 3 tape set fit on a TK50. LZDCM.EXE may be found in [VAX000.TOOLS]. You will run accross .ARC files on some directories. For those of you not familiar with ARC it is an excellent file compression and archiving program that is widely used in the microcomputer world for distributing programs via floppy and bulletin boards. You can use [VAX000.TOOLS]VMSSWEEP (or ARC in the same directory) to read these files on a VAX. All areas have ONE AAAREADME.TXT (and possibly many something.DOC or something.1ST or something .MEM or something_else.TXT or *READ*.something). This is so the AAAREADME.TXT's will be short enough to help you find a program without being cluttered up with how to install or how to use the software. If you are making up a submission for the next tape you can make it easier for us to put the tape together if you will follow this convention. Be sure and look through the tapes for all backup sets present. Because the index preparation was somewhat delayed this time, the tapes do not have an index at this point. A version of the index will be released later. As partial compensation, AAAREADME files from fall 1981 on have been included this time. Using the SEARCH utility on them is frequently effective in locating software needed. This tape was put together from submissions at the Fall 1988 DECUS Symposium, Anaheim, California, by Glenn C. Everhart GE Aerospace Technology Operations GE Bldg. 100, Room U3040 230 Goddard Blvd. King of Prussia, PA 19406 215 354 7610 Everhart%Arisia.decnet@crd.ge.com (Alternate via UUCP zone: Everhart@Arisia.GE.Com) (Preferred mailing address: Glenn Everhart 25 Sleigh Ride Rd Glen Mills, PA 19342 215 358 3866) with the able assistance of various volunteers. Al Zirkle, Dave Schmidt, Marilyn Fedele, Jim Neeland, Tony Scandora, and Barton Bruce deserve mention for this tape.