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To:	ARISIA::EVERHART
Subj:	Re: Card Image tapes


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Date: 6 Feb 88 07:30:44 GMT
From: mtune!icus!gil@rutgers.edu  (Gil Kloepfer Jr.)
Organization: Bowne Management Systems, Inc.  Mineola, NY
Subject: Re: Card Image tapes
Message-Id: <250@icus.UUCP>
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In article <8801202140.aa29268@CRDEC-VAX2.CRDEC-VAX2.ARPA> jmleonar@CRDEC-VAX2.ARPA (jle) writes:
>Does anybody have code to create a card-image tape (preferably w/o
>labels) under VMS?  Is there a permutation of the init/mount/copy
>command that would do the trick?
>
>                                  Thanks in advance,
>
>                                             Joe Leonard
>                                        <jmleonar@crdec.arpa>

Sure...here goes:

First, create (using EDIT/FDL) a FDL file that is essentially a SEQuential
file, FIXed length records, of 80 bytes each.  Carriage control: none.

Second, using a new tape, use MOUNT to mount it as a fixed length, 80
byte, unlabelled tape.  The block size should be some multiple of 80, usually
around 400 bytes/block is good for most systems (if it can handle more, by
all means...).
	$ MOUNT tape_device:/RECORD=80/BLOCK=400/NOLABEL

Third, use the CONVERT utility to place your file on tape.  I think in some
instances you can just COPY the file directly to "tape_device:" and it
will work just fine, but CONVERT will always do it correctly.

	$ CONVERT/FDL=that_fdl_file_above your_file.ext tape_device: /PAD=" "

The last qualifier pads the record with spaces (I think, if this is wrong for
some reason, don't flame me...I'm on a UNIX machine doing this right now!).
To pad the record with zeros, you can use /PAD="0".  In any event, I think
that CONVERT complains about short records if you don't do this with variable
record files.

Also note that trying this with files that have record sizes greater than 80
when the tape record size is 80 is something I haven't done!

This is the best and most reliable way I've found to do it.  This is also a nice
way to get card image files FROM tape to disk.  If you just copy the file,
you end up with a file with no carriagecontrol.  In the FDL file, you can
specify CARR as the carriage control, and the card image file will be copied
in an editable form.  Be sure to change the CONVERT command so that the
/PAD qualifier is left off, and the tape and file names are reversed (else you
lose your data if a write ring is on the tape...oops).

This should be of interest to many since card image files are the primary
and most standard way of interchanging data on tape between computers of
different architectures.

+====================================+========================================+
| Gil Kloepfer, Jr.                  | Net-Address:                           |
| Senior Programmer                  | {boulder,ihnp4,talcott}!icus!gil       |
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| Mineola, New York  11501           | Internet: gil@icus.UUCP                | 
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