Path: ...!weretis.net!feeder9.news.weretis.net!news.quux.org!eternal-september.org!feeder3.eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail
From: Marc Van Dyck <marc.gr.vandyck@invalid.skynet.be>
Newsgroups: comp.os.vms
Subject: Re: Coding examples (Re: VMS Pascal article)
Date: Mon, 06 Jan 2025 10:50:55 +0100
Organization: A noiseless patient Spider
Lines: 85
Message-ID: <mn.328a7e91a9c4d7a6.104627@invalid.skynet.be>
References: <vl3pi8$2r2sr$1@dont-email.me> <vl8unf$99n$1@reader2.panix.com> <67781447$0$711$14726298@news.sunsite.dk> <vl99jl$rf6$1@reader2.panix.com> <vl9aln$o72$1@dont-email.me> <vl9bjp$eq3$1@reader2.panix.com> <6778415e$0$708$14726298@news.sunsite.dk> <878qrp51vj.fsf_-_@lucy.meyer21c.net> <vler9n$170h4$1@dont-email.me>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-15"; format=flowed
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
Injection-Date: Mon, 06 Jan 2025 10:50:55 +0100 (CET)
Injection-Info: dont-email.me; posting-host="e7894a80eca947dab5020427f03b2f97";
	logging-data="1650134"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org";	posting-account="U2FsdGVkX1+poY6FrdAsUaYhL5dvwvHN"
Cancel-Lock: sha1:E3lGjDLC+mImuHAWLs/U9kfDEJ0=
X-Face: #0?irvdFiM!(Tpl}/tO%_kuSW_^9G5aeIEnY1uNPcd@N_U.B30\*[%N-cnqSC,rEfeq\m:b oR({RM{x03]Iv}^2xc7\J][^MkbL3DYdLevZ$&h0WbH!i:>O1i#FLy/mO2G~xMF<YSj^@q9sRC~iP> *uQnfN4xre8v9%0fqg;i.!ymm~6w2nEx);Q~Q*8&dUO(fn
X-Newsreader: MesNews/1.08.06.00-gb
Bytes: 5442

Stephen Hoffman formulated on Sunday :
> On 2025-01-05 04:19:12 +0000, David Meyer said:
>
>> Arne Vajhøj <arne@vajhoej.dk> writes:
>> 
>>> $ search sys$common:[syshlp.examples.pascal]*.pas varying
>>> $ search sys$common:[syshlp.examples.pascal]*.pas "string("
>> 
>> Wow! That directory and the others around it are a real treasure trove.
>
> While I haven't poked at the Pascal example code specifically (in the past 
> couple of decades), unfortunately most of the other example source code 
> examples included with OpenVMS itself also tended to be old, ill-maintained, 
> insecure, and/or buggy.
>
> Various of the C code examples won't cleanly compile in recent decades, or 
> uses older or outdated APIs.
>
> Decades ago, I tried to fix some of that mess, but other projects and other 
> funding priorities interceded.
>
>> I found answers to questions I had about calling RTL routines from Pascal.
>
> Pascal is the proverbial deep end of the OpenVMS calling standard and 
> argument passing pool.
>
> Usual path for figuring out the more obscure parts of Pascal argument passing 
> is the debugger, combined with the calling standard manual.
>
> Write some code to call Pascal to Pascal for whatever argument-passing you 
> need, and use the debugger to reverse-engineer the descriptors used.
>
>> Is there some introduction to VMS that collects links to resources like 
>> sys$common:[syshlp.examples] where VMS newbies can look to answer their own 
>> questions?
>
> Not that I've ever found. Most newbies don't do that. (And I write that as 
> somebody that worked on the OpenVMS FAQ, a document which was posted here 
> ~monthly in decades past.) You are, however, doing far better than many of 
> the newbies over the decades, in that you're asking for these resources.
>
> https://www.digiater.nl/openvms/freeware/v80/vmsfaq/vmsfaq.txt (with other 
> formats available)
>
> https://web.archive.org/web/20061105000841/http://seqaxp.bio.caltech.edu/www/vms_beginners_faq.html
>
>
> I can assure you that any such FAQ will also routinely be ignored too, as 
> will be the posting archives for this newsgroup, among other resources.
>
> Suggested reading from the OpenVMS manuals: the Users Guide manual, the 
> Programming Concepts manuals, and then either or both the OpenVMS System 
> Manager's Manuals and/or the OpenVMS Pascal docs.
>
> In ancient times, what used to be the DEC "TIMA/STARS" support database were 
> also part of the usual path. Directly, or via llong-gone access paths 
> including the old AskQ site. VSI has a support database with source code 
> examples as well, but AFAIK they don't have that accessible for non-contract 
> customers.
>
> There are source code postings in the archive of this comp.os.vms newsgroup. 
> Google Groups has a fast search of that, but recent years of the Google 
> newsgroup archives are filled with dreck and spam. There are other 
> less-searchable options including https://www.usenetarchives.com
>
> https://www.digiater.nl/openvms/freeware/ (OpenVMS Freeware)
>
> https://www.digiater.nl/openvms/decus/ (DECUS library)
>
> https://www.eight-cubed.com/examples.shtml (C examples)
>
> https://decuserve.org (resource info, "free shell" access to DCL on OpenVMS 
> Alpha, decades of DEC Notes conferences)

There used to be a book from Digital Press named "programming OpenVMS
applications using Pascal" or something like that. Unavailable today
unless you manage to find a used copy, of course. But before its
publication, various versions of this book floated on the Digital
network. It was named "Pastools". I still have a hardcopy of that book,
version 0.9, so very close to the published version. Can electronic
versions of this book still be found somewhere ? It is a very valuable
resource for people who want to call system services from Pascal.

-- 
Marc Van Dyck