From: martin@radiogaga.harz.de
Sent: Wednesday, September 26, 2001 11:00 PM
To: Info-VAX@Mvb.Saic.Com
Subject: Re: Announcing ht://Dig 3.1.5 for OpenVMS

Pat Rankin (rankin@eql14.caltech.edu) wrote:
> In article <9os15r$epg1o$1@ID-56200.news.dfncis.de>,\
>  "Martin Vorlaender" <martin.vorlaender@pdv-systeme.de> writes...
> > P.S.: Is there a way to set the LRL attribute *after* writing (i.e.
> >       just before closing) the file?
>
>      If you write the file in record mode instead of using
> stream mode then RMS will do that automatically.

Problem is, I'll have to find all subsequent fopen()s then and modify
them accordingly. But that's probably what I'll do anyway.

> >       A file gets created by one program
> >       (Stream_LF, LRL 32767), and then SOR$ted by another program -
> >       which devours time and disk space. As a workaround, I inserted
> >       a call to CONVERT which renders the file as (LRL less than 100)
> >       which helps the SOR$t (much).
>
>      I don't know how to change the attributes when C or
> C++ still has the file open, but if you get the routine
> LYVMS_FixedLengthRecords() out of the lynx sources, you'll
> find something which does the type of operation you want
> after closing the file. [...]

Which, of course, is as good. Thanks for the hint. I'll have a look.

> I'm sure there are
> umpteen other examples of using the XQP interface to set
> file attributes. 

That's the primary reason why I was asking. I'm not (yet)
very comfortable with handling files at the XQP level.

> Now that I think about it, the RMS
> routine SYS$MODIFY() might be able to handle this simple
> task too.

Errr, beg your pardon? There's no such routine in my copy
of the RMS Services Reference?!

>      If you're processing the data with multiple programs,
> why not just stick a SET FILE /ATTRIBUTE=LRL=xxx command
> in between them?  That's effectively what the code above
> would be doing anyway, but with SET FILE you won't need
> to do any extra coding....

I'd have to code it as a system() call then, because after the
end of the first program, I don't have the correct LRL any more.

But that's effectively what I do now, with a call to CONVERT (plain
simple, without an /FDL).

Thanks,
  Martin
-- 
                       |  Martin Vorlaender  |  VMS & WNT programmer
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