Subject: OpenVMS Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
From: [email-masked] (Steve Lionel)
Date: 20 Oct 1995 17:55:31 GMT
Newsgroups: comp.os.vms,comp.sys.dec,vmsnet.alpha,vmsnet.misc,comp.answers,news.answers

Archive-name: dec-faq/vms
Posting-Frequency: monthly
Last-modified: October 19, 1995

Changes since last edition
==========================
Added MAIL8.
Added info on VAXSAT to UTIL2.
Editorial changes to FILE5.
Add UTIL3.

Overview
========
This is 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 below for further details.)  It contains
answers to frequently asked questions about Digital's OpenVMS operating
system and the computer systems on which it runs.

This FAQ is archived in the following locations:
    comp.answers and news.answers newsgroups
    ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/Digital/dec-faq/vms
    ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/dec-faq/vms
    http://www.smartpages.com/faqs/dec-faq/vms/faq.html
    CompuServe VAXFORUM, Library 0, VMSFAQ.TXT

To make suggestions for changes or additions to this Frequently Asked
Questions list, send mail to the editor at [email-masked].  
Answers are especially appreciated.

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 
Digital's Alpha processor architecture.  OpenVMS manual names mentioned are
those as of V6.2 - names may be different in earlier 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 Digital Equipment
Corporation, this posting is not an official statement from Digital 
Equipment Corporation.  

AlphaGeneration, AlphaServer, AlphaStation, Alpha AXP, AXP, DEC, DECstation,
DECsystem, OpenVMS, ULTRIX, VAX and VMS  are trademarks of Digital Equipment
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.

Introduction
========================================
INTRO1.  What is the scope of comp.os.vms?
INTRO2.  What other newsgroups carry VMS-related information?
INTRO3.  What is INFO-VAX?
INTRO4.  How do I subscribe to or unsubscribe from INFO-VAX?
INTRO5.  How do I submit a question or a response?
INTRO6.  What is DECUS?
INTRO7.  What archives of comp.os.vms/INFO-VAX are available?

General questions about OpenVMS
========================================
VMS1.   What is OpenVMS?  What is its history?
VMS2.   What is the difference between VMS and OpenVMS?
VMS3.   How do I port from VMS to OpenVMS?
VMS4.   Which is better - OpenVMS or UNIX?
VMS5.   Is Digital dropping support for OpenVMS?

Alpha and Alpha-based systems
========================================
ALPHA1.   What do the letters AXP stand for?
ALPHA2.   What are the OpenVMS differences between VAX and Alpha?
ALPHA3.   Are there Alpha systems on the net I can try out?
ALPHA4.   How do I join Digital's Independent Software Vendor program?
ALPHA5.   Where can I find performance information about Alpha systems?
ALPHA6.   Where can I get updated console firmware for AlphaServer systems?
ALPHA7.   How do I boot an AlphaStation without monitor or keyboard?

Documentation and other resources
========================================
DOC1.   Where can I find online copies of OpenVMS manuals?
DOC2.   What online information is available from Digital?
DOC3.   What books and publications are available?
DOC4.   How do I extract a HELP topic to a text file?
DOC5.   Does OpenVMS Engineering have an e-mail address?
DOC6.   What OpenVMS-related WWW sites are available?
DOC7.   Where can I find patches for OpenVMS and Digital layered products?
DOC8.   Where can I find info about undocumented OpenVMS features?

System Management
========================================
MGMT1.  What is an installed image?
MGMT2.  Are there any known viruses for OpenVMS?
MGMT3.  How do I mount an ISO-9660 CD on OpenVMS?
MGMT4.  How do I extract the contents of a PCSI kit?
MGMT5.  I've forgotten the SYSTEM password - what can I do?

MAIL
========================================
MAIL1.  How do I send Internet mail?
MAIL2.  How do I get IN% or MX% added automatically to Internet addresses?
MAIL3.  How do I automatically append a signature file to my mail messages?
MAIL4.  Do I have to use VMS MAIL?  I like my Unix mailer better.
MAIL5.  How can I forward my mail?  Can I forward it to an Internet address?
MAIL6.  How can I forward my mail to a list of addresses?
MAIL7.  MAIL keeps saying I have new messages, but I don't.  What do I do?
MAIL8.  How do I extract all of my mail messages to a file?

Other Utilities
========================================
UTIL1.  How do I play an audio CD on my workstation?
UTIL2.  How do I access a MS-DOS floppy disk from OpenVMS?
UTIL3.  How do I play sound files on an AlphaStation?  DECsound doesn't work

DCL and command usage
========================================
DCL1.   How do I run a program with arguments?
DCL2.   How can I redefine control keys in DCL?
DCL3.   How can I clear the screen in DCL?
DCL4.   How do I do a REPLY/LOG in a batch stream?
DCL5.   How do I generate a random number in DCL?

File System and RMS
========================================
FILE1.  How can I undelete a file?
FILE2.  Why does SHOW QUOTA give a different answer than DIR/SIZE?
FILE3.  How do I make sure that my data is safely written to disk?
FILE4.  What are the limits on file specifications and directories?
FILE5.  What is the largest disk volume size OpenVMS can access?

Programming
========================================
PROG1.  How do I call <routine_name> from <language_name>?
PROG2.  How do I get the arguments from the command line?
PROG3.  How do I get a formatted error message in a variable?
PROG4.  How do I link against SYS$SYSTEM:SYS.STB on an Alpha system?
PROG5.  How do I do a SET DEFAULT from inside a program?
PROG6.  How do I create a shareable image transfer vector on an Alpha system?
PROG7.  How do I turn my Fortran COMMON into a shareable image on Alpha?
PROG8.  How do I convert between IEEE and VAX floating data?
PROG9.  How do I get the argument count in a Fortran routine?

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.  Problem - On a DEC2000-300, Motif doesn't start
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?

Miscellaneous
========================================
MISC1.  What is the pinout for the DECconnect DEC-423 MMJ connector?
MISC2.  What are the escape sequences for the VTxxx function keys?

Software
========================================
SOFT1.  Where can I find lots of free software for OpenVMS?
SOFT2.  Where can I find the UNIX <whatever> tool for OpenVMS?

------------------------------------------------------------
INTRO1.  What is the scope of comp.os.vms?

The comp.os.vms newsgroup is the primary newsgroup for discussion of 
Digital's OpenVMS operating system and the computer systems on which it
runs.  Questions about layered products which run on OpenVMS are also
welcome, though many of them (in particular, language compilers and
database systems) have more specific newsgroups.  If a question has
some relationship to OpenVMS, it belongs here.

------------------------------------------------------------
INTRO2.  What other newsgroups carry VMS-related information?

The vmsnet.* hierarchy, run by DECUS, contains several newsgroups of
interest, including vmsnet.misc and vmsnet.alpha, the latter being mostly
devoted to Alpha topics.  There's also vmsnet.sources (and 
vmsnet.sources.d) to which sources for or pointers to freeware are posted.
See the separate "What is VMSNET" monthly posting for further details.

The comp.sys.dec newsgroup carries discussions about all Digital systems
as well as about Digital itself.

------------------------------------------------------------
INTRO3.  What is INFO-VAX?

INFO-VAX is a mailing list which is bidirectionally gatewayed to the
comp.os.vms newsgroup.  This means that postings to comp.os.vms get
automatically sent to INFO-VAX subscribers and messages sent to the INFO-VAX
list are automatically posted to comp.os.vms.  INFO-VAX can be a useful way
to participate in the newsgroup if you can't access the group directly
through a news reader.

An important point to keep in mind is that propagation delays vary, both
within the newsgroup and with INFO-VAX mailings.  It's possible that
postings may not be delivered for several days and some may appear out of
order.

------------------------------------------------------------
INTRO4.  How do I subscribe to or unsubscribe from INFO-VAX?

The address for subscription requests, as well as notes intended for the
moderator, is [email-masked].  Subscription requests are handled
automatically by a mail server.  This mail server ignores the subject line and
processes each line of the message as a command.  The syntax for subscribing
and unsubscribing to this mailing list is as follows:
 
SUBSCRIBE INFO-VAX      (ADD is a valid synonym)
UNSUBSCRIBE INFO-VAX	(REMOVE, SIGNOFF, and SIGN-OFF are valid synonyms)
 
Case is irrelevant and attempts to fetch a copy of the mailing list will be
rejected (I consider the information to be confidential).  Any message not
understood by the mailserver will be forwarded to a human (allegedly) for
manual processing.
				[[email-masked]]

If you are on Bitnet, send a mail message containing the text 
"SUBSCRIBE INFO-VAX" to LISTSERV@(nearest listserv system).  To unsubscribe,
send a message containing the text "SIGNOFF INFO-VAX" to the *SAME* listserv
address. 

If you are on the Internet in the UK, send a message containing the
word SUBSCRIBE (or UNSUBSCRIBE) to [email-masked].

------------------------------------------------------------
INTRO5.  How do I submit a question or a response?

If you are using a news reader, post your question to comp.os.vms.  If you
want to submit through INFO-VAX, send the message to [email-masked].

Before posting, please use available local resources, such as the manuals,
HELP and this FAQ first.  Also make a point of reading the release notes for
the product you're using, generally placed in SYS$HELP.  Often you'll find
the answer and will save time and effort for all concerned.

When posting, please consider the following suggestions:

    1.  Include a valid e-mail address in the text of your posting or
        in a "signature" appended to the end.  Reply-to addresses in
	headers often get garbled.

    2.  If you are submitting a question, please be as specific as you
        can.  Include relevant information such as processor type, product
	versions (OpenVMS and layered products that apply) and a short,
	reproducible example of problems.  Say what you've tried so far,
	so that effort isn't duplicated.  Keep in mind that there's not yet 
	a telepathy protocol for the Internet - the more detailed your
	description, the better people can help you.

    3.  If responding to a posting, include in your reply only as much of
        the original posting as is necessary to establish context.  As
	a guideline, consider that if you've included more text than you've 
	added, you've possibly included too much.  Never include signatures 
	and other irrelevant material.

    4.  Be polite.  If the question isn't worded the way you think is
        correct or doesn't include the information you want, try to
	imagine what the problem might be if viewed from the poster's
	perspective.  Requests for additional information are often
	better sent through mail rather than posted to the newsgroup.

    5.  If you have a problem with Digital (or any vendor's) product,
        use the appropriate support channel.  Don't assume that
	newsgroup postings will get read or responded to by the appropriate
	developers. 

------------------------------------------------------------
INTRO6.  What is DECUS?

DECUS, the Digital Equipment Computer Users Society, is a World Wide
organization of Information Technology professionals interested in the
products, services, and technologies of Digital Equipment Corporation and
related vendors.
   
Membership in the Chapter is free and provides participants with the means
to enhance their professional development, forums for technical training,
mechanisms for obtaining up-to-date information, advocacy programs, and
opportunities for informal disclosure and interaction with professional
colleagues of like interest.

For further information, see the separate monthly "What is DECUS" posting, or
refer to the US DECUS WWW server at http://www.decus.org or the Canadian
DECUS WWW server at http://www.decus.ca .

------------------------------------------------------------
INTRO7.  What archives of comp.os.vms/INFO-VAX are available?

Everything posted since 1990 is archived and available at:
  ftp://crvax.sri.com/info-vax/

The last few months posts can be searched and retrieved via the UGA
LISTSERV.

Send a mail with the content:

DATABASE SEARCH DD=RULES
//RULES DD *
SEARCH sometopic IN INFO-VAX
PRINT
/*

to the address [email-masked]  (the syntax is due to UGA being
an IBM mainframe!)
					[[email-masked]]

------------------------------------------------------------
VMS1.   What is OpenVMS?  What is its history?

OpenVMS, originally called VMS (Virtual Memory System), was first conceived in
1976 as a new operating system for Digital's new, 32-bit, virtual memory line
of computers, eventually named VAX (Virtual Address eXtension).  The first VAX
model, the 11/780, was code-named "Star", hence the code name for the VMS
operating system, "Starlet", a name that remains to this day the name for the
system library files (STARLET.OLB, etc.).  VMS version X0.5 was the first
released to customers, in support of the hardware beta test of the VAX-11/780,
in 1977.  VAX/VMS Version V1.0 shipped in 1978, along with the first
revenue-ship 11/780s.

OpenVMS was designed entirely within Digital Equipment Corporation.  The
principal designers were Dave Cutler and Dick Hustvedt.  OpenVMS was conceived
as a 32-bit, virtual memory successor to Digital's RSX-11M operating system
for the PDP-11.  Many of the original designers and programmers of OpenVMS
had worked previously on RSX-11M, and many concepts from RSX-11M were carried
over to OpenVMS.

OpenVMS is a 32-bit, multitasking, multiprocessing virtual memory operating
system. Current implementations run on Digital's VAX and Alpha computer
systems.
				[[email-masked]]

For more details on OpenVMS and its features, read the OpenVMS Software
Product Description at:

  ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/Digital/info/SPD/41-87-03.txt (OpenVMS Alpha)
  ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/Digital/info/SPD/25-01-41.txt (OpenVMS VAX)

------------------------------------------------------------
VMS2.   What is the difference between VMS and OpenVMS?

VMS and OpenVMS are two names for the same operating system.  Originally,
the operating system was called VAX-11/VMS; it changed to VAX/VMS at
around VAX/VMS V2.0.  When the VMS operating system was ported to the
Alpha platform, it was renamed OpenVMS, for both VAX and Alpha, in part
to signify the high degree of support for industry standards such as
POSIX, which provides many features of UNIX systems.  An OpenVMS license
allows you to install and run POSIX for OpenVMS at no additional charge;
all you need is the media and documentation which can be found on the
Consolidated Distribution and On-Line Documentation CD-ROMs.  For more
information on POSIX for VMS see question SOFT2 and:
  ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/Digital/info/pr-news/92060311FS.txt

What became confusing is that the OpenVMS name was introduced first
for OpenVMS AXP V1.0 causing the widespread misimpression that OpenVMS
was for Alpha AXP only, while "regular VMS" was for VAX.  In fact, Digital
officially changed the name of the VAX operating system as of V5.5,
though the name did not start to be actually used in the product until
V6.0.

The proper names for OpenVMS on the two platforms are now "OpenVMS VAX"
and "OpenVMS Alpha", the latter having superseded "OpenVMS AXP".

------------------------------------------------------------
VMS3.   How do I port from VMS to OpenVMS?

You already did.  Wasn't that easy?  (See question VMS2.)

------------------------------------------------------------
VMS4.   Which is better - OpenVMS or UNIX?

This question comes up periodically, usually asked by new subscribers who are
long-time UNIX users. Sometimes, it is ignored totally; other times, it leads
to a long series of repetitive messages that convince no one and usually carry
little if any new information.  Please do everyone a favor and avoid
re-starting this perpetual, fruitless debate.
					[[email-masked]]

Seriously, OpenVMS and the better implementations of UNIX are all fine
operating systems, each with its strengths and weaknesses.  If you're
in a position where you need to choose, select the one that best fits
your own requirements, considering, for example, whether or not the
layered products or specific OS features you want are available.

See also questions VMS2 and SOFT2 for information on POSIX for OpenVMS which 
provides significant UNIX functionality on OpenVMS.
					[[email-masked]]

------------------------------------------------------------
VMS5.   Is Digital dropping support for OpenVMS?

People who ask this question, most recently, have read about the May 1995
announcement of an association between Digital and Microsoft to provide
greater affinity between OpenVMS and Windows NT.  Some trade publications 
interpreted this announcement as signalling that Digital was going to drop
OpenVMS and move its customers onto Windows NT.  Nothing could be further from
the truth.

What follows is an excerpt from a document describing the plans.  For more
information, see:

    http://www.openvms.digital.com/strategy/winnt-ovms.html

  Digital's OpenVMS systems provide industry-leading scalability, 
  availability, security, integrity, and interoperability for business 
  critical applications in a 24 hour per day, 365 days per year computing 
  environment. Digital is enhancing OpenVMS to ensure that it maintains this 
  market leading position.

  Digital is teaming with Microsoft Corporation to develop an integrated 
  systems environment that creates synergy between the unequaled, 
  bet-your-business capabilities of OpenVMS and the state-of-the-art 
  functionality and growing applications library of Windows NT. This new 
  direction enables OpenVMS users and Digital business partners to capitalize 
  on the enterprise strengths of OpenVMS while dramatically increasing the 
  number of applications available to them.

  Under this strategy, Digital and its software partners will provide the 
  tools and products necessary to ensure a seamless integration between 
  OpenVMS and Windows NT. As a result, application developers will be able to 
  develop their applications once on Windows NT and deploy them on OpenVMS 
  and/or Windows NT. This strategy will provide corporations and application 
  software providers with a tremendous savings in development and maintenance 
  costs. It will also make a very large library of applications available to 
  OpenVMS users.

  In addition to providing OpenVMS users with an integrated systems 
  environment, Digital and its partners will also deliver all of the tools and 
  products necessary for unprecedented interoperability between OpenVMS and 
  Windows NT. All applications developed for Windows NT will be able to take 
  advantage of the benefits of OpenVMS for scalability, availability, 
  security, and integrity. Moreover, OpenVMS will provide interoperability 
  with UNIX systems through industry standards such as POSIX, XPG, DCE, and 
  CORBA.

------------------------------------------------------------
ALPHA1.   What do the letters AXP stand for?

While there are many fanciful "definitions" which have circulated widely,
the truth is that AXP is not an abbreviation nor an acronym; the letters
do not mean anything.  They are just three letters chosen to form a
trademark.

When it came time to chose a "marketing name" for the Alpha AXP line,
Digital was in a quandary.  The internal "code name" for the project,
Alpha, was widely known and would seem the ideal choice, but it was already
in common use by a number of other companies and could not be trademarked.
A well-known "name search" firm was hired and was asked to come up with
two lists of possible names.  The first list was intended to evoke the
feeling of "extension to VAX", while the second list was to suggest
"not a VAX".  Unfortunately, none of the choices offered were any good;
for example, "VAX 2000" was found on the first list while the second list
contained "MONDO" (later to be used for a kids' soft drink).

Shortly before announcement, a decision was made to name the new line ARA,
for Advanced RISC Architecture.  However, a Digital employee in Israel
quickly pointed out that this name, if pronounced in the "obvious" manner,
sounded very much like an Arabic word with decidely unfortunate connotations.
Eventually, AXP was selected; the architecture would be referred to as
"Alpha AXP" whereas products themselves would use just "AXP".

Despite all this, everyone went on calling the new line "Alpha".  Digital
has recognized this by coining a new "AlphaGeneration" trademark to apply
to all products (hardware, software and services) related to the Alpha AXP
line.

Digital is phasing out the use of the AXP name, using Alpha instead.
For example, future releases of OpenVMS AXP will be called "OpenVMS Alpha".

------------------------------------------------------------
ALPHA2.   What are the OpenVMS differences between VAX and Alpha?

Very few.  As of OpenVMS V6.1, the VAX and Alpha platforms are very close
to "feature parity".  Most applications can just be recompiled and
run.  Some differences to be aware of:

    - The default double-precision floating type on OpenVMS Alpha
      is VAX G_float, whereas on VAX it is usually D_float.  D_float
      is available on Alpha, but D_float values are converted to
      G_float for computations and then converted back to D_float
      when stored.  Because the G_float type has three fewer fraction
      bits than D_float, some applications may get different results.
      IEEE float types are also available on OpenVMS Alpha.

    - Data alignment is extremely important for best performance on
      Alpha.  This means that data items should be allocated at
      addresses which are exact multiples of their sizes.  Quadword
      alignment will offer the best performance, especially for
      character values and those smaller than 32 bits.  Compilers
      will naturally align variables where they can and will issue
      warnings if they detect unaligned data items.

    - DEC C is the only C compiler Digital offers on OpenVMS Alpha.
      It is compatible with DEC C on OpenVMS VAX, but is somewhat
      different from the older VAX C compiler most people are familiar with.
      Read up on the /EXTERN_MODEL and /STANDARD qualifiers to avoid
      the most common problems.

    - The page size on Alpha systems is variable, but is at least 8K bytes.
      This can have some effect on applications which use the $CRMPSC
      system service as well as on the display of available memory
      pages.  The page size is available from $GETSYI(SYI$_PAGE_SIZE).

There are also a number of manuals which discuss migration to Alpha.

    - "A Comparison of System Management on OpenVMS AXP and OpenVMS VAX"
    - "Migrating to an OpenVMS AXP System: Planning for Migration"
    - "Migrating to an OpenVMS AXP System: Porting VAX MACRO Code"
    - "Migrating to an OpenVMS AXP System: Recompiling and Relinking"

These are part of the "AXP Migration Kit" (which is part of the "Programming
Kit" - which in turn is part of the "Standard Set" if ordering documentation.)
Check out the "Overview of OpenVMS Documentation" book on the Bookreader-based
doc set included on the OpenVMS AXP V6.1 distribution CD for part numbers of
both assorted "kits" and/or individual manuals.

------------------------------------------------------------
ALPHA3.   Are there Alpha systems on the net I can try out?

Yes.  Two OpenVMS Alpha and two Digital UNIX (DEC OSF/1) Alpha systems are 
available.  Each has a wide variety of layered products installed and they 
can be used to test or port applications or just to "try it out".  The 
systems are:

    OpenVMS:
	    axpvms.pa.dec.com
	    axpvms.cc.utexas.edu

    Digital UNIX:
	    axposf.pa.dec.com
	    axposf.stanford.edu

To apply for a free account, telnet to the system of your choice and
log in as axpguest; no password is required. 

------------------------------------------------------------
ALPHA4.   How do I join Digital's Independent Software Vendor program?

Digital Equipment Corporation is evaluating a new service  for members of our
Independent Software Vendor Program.
             
This potential new service will provide technical assistance  to Independent
Software Vendors who are porting their  applications to the Alpha platform.
             
For more information, send mail to [email-masked]

------------------------------------------------------------
ALPHA5.   Where can I find performance information about Alpha systems?

Digital makes a wide range of performance documents available through
its FTP and WWW Internet servers (see DOC2).  The specific WWW subject page
is http://www.digital.com/info/performance.html, for FTP look in
ftp://ftp.digital.com/info/performance.  Documents with "flash" in their
names are short summaries with performance charts, those with "brief" are
longer documents with more detail on the specific tests and configurations.

------------------------------------------------------------
ALPHA6.  Where can I get updated console firmware for AlphaServer systems?

We are happy to announce the creation of an unrestricted FTP and WWW area for
Alphaservers.  This area is accessible to both internal and external folks. 
The information includes firmware updates, the latest configuration utilities,
software patches, a list of supported options, hardware documentation, and
more.  The area is under construction, so not everything is in place yet.

The files available for FTP are located at:
  ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/Digital/Alpha/

The WWW pages are located at:
  http://www.service.digital.com/alpha/server/

We hope that these pages will be useful.  Please send your comments and
feedback to [email-masked]

------------------------------------------------------------
ALPHA7.   How do I boot an AlphaStation without monitor or keyboard?

The AlphaStation series will boot without a keyboard attached.  To use a
serial terminal as the console, issue the console command SET CONSOLE SERIAL -
after that, it will use the terminal.  Older Alpha workstations generally
can't be booted without a keyboard.

------------------------------------------------------------
DOC1.   Where can I find online copies of OpenVMS manuals?

Digital's OpenVMS documentation is copyrighted and is not freely
available on the net.  Documentation is offered in CD-ROM form
through a subscription to the Consolidated On-Line Documentation (ConOLD)
product.  ConOLD manuals are readable with Bookreader, a viewer that is
supplied with DECwindows Motif.  MGBOOK, a viewer for Bookreader documents
which is usable from character-cell terminals (eg. VTxxx) is available
from the WKU VMS Freeware file server - see question SOFT1 for details.
					[[email-masked]]

We are allowing interactive viewing of the Consolidated Distribution
Documentation CDROMs (NOT copying, just reading).  Currently available
by:
    telnet://[email-masked]/

We're planning to leave this on the network indefinitely, but we MAY
limit access in some way depending upon load.
					[[email-masked]]

Selected OpenVMS manuals are available for browsing through the OpenVMS
WWW server at:

    http://www.openvms.digital.com/

The manuals available at present are:

	Overview of OpenVMS Documentation
	Migrating to an OpenVMS AXP System: Planning for Migration
	OpenVMS DCL Dictionary

------------------------------------------------------------
DOC2.   What online information is available from Digital?

On your OpenVMS system, the HELP command can provide a wealth of information,
not only on DCL commands but on system services (HELP System_Services) and
Run-Time Library routines (HELP RTL_Routines).  The introduction displayed
when you type the HELP command with no additional keywords provides further
pointers.

In SYS$COMMON:[SYSHLP.VMSDOC] (OpenVMS V6.0 or later) you'll find the 
following three files:

	VMSDOC_GLOSSARY.TXT - Glossary of OpenVMS terminology
	VMSDOC_OVERVIEW.TXT - Overview of OpenVMS documentation
	VMSDOC_MASTER_INDEX.TXT - Master index of OpenVMS documentation

These files are optionally installed; some system managers may have selected
not to install them or to put them in another location.  If you cannot
locate them, ask your system manager.

OpenVMS Engineering runs a WWW server at http://www.openvms.digital.com/
Here you'll find sample OpenVMS documentation, strategy documents,
the contents of the latest OpenVMS Freeware CD-ROM and much more.

Product information for just about everything Digital sells is available
from Digital's Internet servers.  If you're using a World-Wide-Web (WWW)
browser, use http://www.digital.com/info.html  For anonymous FTP access,
log in to ftp.digital.com.  Software Product Descriptions, performance
data, product infosheets, release notes and much more are available.

Digital's Multivendor Customer Services organization also hosts an
Internet server.  If you have a software support contract you can obtain
patches from here - even without a contract you can browse through the
"readme" files for correction kits.  The WWW URL is 
  http://www.service.digital.com/ 
For ftp access use 
  ftp://ftp.service.digital.com/

A WWW version of the DECdirect catalog is also available at
  http://www.service.digital.com/ddi/html/ddhome.html

Digital's Electronic Connection, also called "E-store", provides product
information, prices and even lets you order online.  For free access,
TELNET to order.sales.digital.com or connect via modem at 800-234-1998.
If you're on TYMNET, connect to ECONN.  If you need to get pricing for
Digital software licenses for your configuration, this is the place to get
them.

Information on Digital and on Digital hardware, software, products
and services is available through various telephone numbers:

    1-800-DIGITAL	: voice : DECdirect products, books and services
    1-800-PCBYDEC       : voice : Digital PC hardware and software
    1-800-DECINFO	: voice : General Corporate Information
    1-603-884-0924	: voice : (alternate number for above)
    1-800-234-1998	: modem : The Digital Electronic Connection
    1-800-DEC-2717	: voice : The DECchip Hotline
    1-508-568-6868	: voice : (alternate number for above)

------------------------------------------------------------
DOC3.   What books and publications are available?

DEC Professional is alive and well. It's a monthly magazine 
that helps you manage your Digital systems in a multivendor environment. 
Subscriptions are free to qualified Digital sites.

Digital Systems Journal is a bimonthly magazine that contains more 
in-depth, hands-on, how-to information. Subscriptions are paid.

If you're interested in acquiring a subscription to DEC Professional or 
Digital Systems Journal, contact Omeda Communications:

800-306-6332
708-564-1385

They'll send you everything you need.
					[[email-masked]]

------------------------------------------------------------
DOC4.   How do I extract the contents of a HELP topic to a text file?

To extract all the text of a HELP topic (and its subtopics) to a text file
for perusal with a text editor, printing out, etc., use the following
command:

     $ HELP/OUT=filename.txt help-topic [help-subtopic]

If the help text you want is not in the standard help library (for
example, it's help for a utility such as MAIL that has its own help
library), add /LIBRARY=libname after the HELP verb.  To see the names
of help library files, do a directory of SYS$HELP:*.HLB.

------------------------------------------------------------
DOC5.   Does OpenVMS Engineering have an e-mail address?

Yes - if you can't get the answers to questions elsewhere, if you have
comments or complaints about OpenVMS, send mail to [email-masked].
This is NOT a support channel, but an informal method to communicate
with OpenVMS Engineering.  Please be courteous and careful using this
address so that it may continue to be of benefit to all.

------------------------------------------------------------
DOC6.   What OpenVMS-related WWW sites are available?

    http://www.openvms.digital.com/   (Sponsored by OpenVMS Engineering)
    http://www.montagar.com/          (Sponsored by DECUS - DFWLUG)
    http://www.hhs.dk/vms/            (Sponsored by Arne Vajhøj)
    http://www.saiga.com/             (Sponsored by Saiga Systems)

------------------------------------------------------------
DOC7.   Where can I find patches for OpenVMS and Digital layered products?

Digital is now providing many patches (correction kits) for OpenVMS and
layered products on the Internet.  The easiest way to search for and retrieve
the patches is through:

    http://www.service.digital.com/html/patch_service.html

You can also find the patches and the associated README files at:

    ftp://ftp.service.digital.com/public

but you must know what you are looking for.  

------------------------------------------------------------
DOC8.   Where can I find info about undocumented OpenVMS features?

After all this discussion about undocumented VMS features I  started a
collection of some documentation :-)) about them on 

    http://axp616.gsi.de:8080/www/vms/qaa/undoc.htmlx
						[[email-masked]]

------------------------------------------------------------
MGMT1.  What is an installed image?

The term "install" has two distinct meanings in OpenVMS.  The first relates to
"installing a product", which is done with either the SYS$UPDATE:VMSINSTAL.COM
command procedure or the POLYCENTER Software Installation (PCSI) utility 
(PRODUCT command).  The second meaning relates to the use of the INSTALL
utility, which is what concerns us here.

The INSTALL utility is used to identify to OpenVMS a specific copy of an
image, either executable or shareable, which is to be given some set of
enhanced properties.  For example, when you issue the SET PASSWORD command,
the image SYS$SYSTEM:SETP0.EXE is run.  That image needs to have elevated
privileges to perform its function.

The other important attribute is /SHARED.  This means that shareable parts
of the image (typically read-only code and data) are loaded into memory
only once and are shared among all users on a system.  Executable images
can be installed /SHARED as well as shareable library images.  (The term
"shareable" has dual meanings here, too.  See the OpenVMS Programming
Concepts Manual for further details.)

It's important to note that there is no such thing as "installing a shareable
image with privileges".  The INSTALL utility will let you do it, but the
privileges you specify will be ignored.  To have a callable routine run with
enhanced privileges that are not available to its caller, you must construct
your routines as "user-written system services" and install the shareable
image with the /PROTECT qualifier.  See the OpenVMS Programming Concepts
Manual for more information on user-written system services.  Note also
that in many cases the need to grant privileges to an image can be replaced
with the use of the "Protected Subsystems" feature that grants a rights
identifier to an image.  See the OpenVMS Guide to System Security for
information on Protected Subsystems.

------------------------------------------------------------
MGMT2.  Are there any known viruses for OpenVMS?

Viruses are very common on PCs because the PC operating systems such as MS-DOS
and MacOS do not implement any sort of scheme to protect the operating system
or the file system against hostile action by programs.  On these operating
systems, any running program can subvert the operating system and take over
the hardware, at which point it can do anything it wishes, including hiding
copies of itself in other programs or in the file system.

This is unlikely on VMS, Unix, MVS, and Windows NT, for two reasons.
First, the operating system runs in a privileged mode in memory that is
protected against modification by normal user programs.  Any old program
cannot take over the hardware as it can on PC operating systems.  Secondly,
VMS, Unix, MVS, and NT have file systems that can be set up so that
non-privileged programs cannot modify system programs and files on disk.  Both
of these protection schemes mean that traditional PC virus schemes don't work
on these OSes.

It is possible for VMS, etc., to be infected by viruses, but to do so, the
program containing the virus must be run from a user account that has
amplified privileges.  As long as the system administrator is careful that
only trusted applications are run from such accounts (and this is generally
the case), there is no danger from viruses.
					[[email-masked]]

To protect against viruses and other attempts at system interference or
misuse, follow the recommendations in the "OpenVMS Guide to System  Security". 
You may also want to consider optional software products which can monitor
your system for intrusion or infection attempts.  Digital offers the 
following products in this area:

  DECinspect Intrusion Detector
  POLYCENTER Security Reporting Facility
  POLYCENTER Security Compliance Manager

Rocksoft offers the Veracity data integrity tool (for info, send mail to
[email-masked]).

[Contributions to this list welcomed]

------------------------------------------------------------
MGMT3.  How do I mount an ISO-9660 CD on OpenVMS?

ISO-9660 support was added in the following releases:

    OpenVMS VAX V6.0
    OpenVMS AXP V1.5
    OpenVMS VAX V5.5, use F11CD kit from InfoServer CD, or
                      Consolidated Distribution CD under InfoServer, or
		      Digital Customer Support - CSCPAT #1071012

Here's how to do it:

    $ MOUNT/MEDIA_FORMAT=CDROM  device-name[:] [volume-label]

Please refer to the OpenVMS MOUNT Utility Manual, especially the section
regarding the MOUNT qualifier /UNDEFINED_FAT. 

From the OpenVMS release notes:

  Because ISO-9660 media can be mastered from platforms that do not support
  semantics of files containing predefined record formats, you may encounter
  ISO-9660 CD-ROMs with files that contain records for which no record format
  was specified.

An example which works for most CD-ROMs is:

    $ MOUNT/MEDIA_FORMAT=CDROM/UNDEFINED_FAT=STREAM:2048 DUA0: FREEWARE

This /UNDEFINED_FAT qualifier states, "For any file whose file attributes are
'undefined', return file attributes of 'stream', maximum record length 2048".
					[[email-masked]]

------------------------------------------------------------
MGMT4.  How do I extract the contents of a PCSI kit?

A growing number of OpenVMS products are being provided in PCSI
(POLYCENTER Software Installation) kits which are installed using the
PRODUCT INSTALL command.  These are alternatives to or replacement for
VMSINSTAL kits which were BACKUP savesets.  PCSI kits are not BACKUP
savesets and are structured differently from VMSINSTAL kits.

If you want to extract product files from a PCSI kit, create a directory
into which the kit should be expanded and use the following command:

    $ PRODUCT COPY prodname /SOURCE=[where-the-kit-is] -
      /DEST=[destination-directory] /FORMAT=REFERENCE

A PCSI kit file has a file specification of the following form:

    DEC-VAXVMS-FORTRAN-V0603-141-1.PCSI

In this example, "FORTRAN" is the "prodname".  PCSI will expand the kit
files into the directory you specify and subdirectories beneath such
as [SYSEXE], [SYSLIB], etc., reflecting the eventual destination of files
found there.  Most of the actual product files (images, etc.) will be in
the subdirectories.  In the top-level directory will be a file with the
file type PCSI$DESCRIPTION that specifies where various files should go.
For more details, see the POLYCENTER Software Installation Developer's 
Guide for OpenVMS, which can be found in the OpenVMS documentation on
the Consolidated Online Documentation CD-ROM.

------------------------------------------------------------
MGMT5.  I've forgotten the SYSTEM password - what can I do?

If you need to "break in" to an OpenVMS system because you've forgotten
the SYSTEM password, you need to have physical access to the system console
and must be able to reboot the system.  Here are the steps.

  1.  Halt the system (press halt button or ^P on console of some models)
  2.  Boot into the SYSBOOT prompt - the syntax for this varies by
      system - it typically involves a flag of 1, for example:
	B/1
	B/R5:1
	b -flags 0,1     (Recent Alpha systems)
      If your system has a hardware password (some VAXstations have
      this), you will need to know the password and enter it using the
      LOGIN command at the console.  If you get an "Inv cmd" error trying
      to boot with a flag of 1, and can't LOGIN using the hardware password,
      you're stuck - call for hardware service to reset the hardware password.
  3.  At the SYSBOOT> prompt type:
	SET/STARTUP OPA0:
	C
  4.  Wait for the $ prompt.  The system will now be accepting startup
      commands form the console.  Type:
	SPAWN
        @SYS$SYSTEM:STARTUP

      This causes the system to complete the startup, but leaves you
      logged in.  The SPAWN is necessary as without it you'll be logged out
      when the startup finishes.
  5.  Type:
        SET DEFAULT SYS$SYSTEM:  ! or wherever SYSUAF.DAT resides
        RUN SYS$SYSTEM:AUTHORIZE
        MODIFY SYSTEM /PASSWORD=newpassword
	EXIT

      This changes the SYSTEM password to a new value.
  6.  Type:
        RUN SYS$SYSTEM:SYSGEN
        USE CURRENT
        SET/STARTUP @SYS$SYSTEM:STARTUP.COM
        WRITE CURRENT
        EXIT
	@SYS$SYSTEM:SHUTDOWN

      The system will now shut down.

   Reboot the system normally - the SYSTEM password should now be set as
   you specified in step 5.

   Some people will suggest a method using the UAFALTERNATE SYSGEN parameter.
   I don't recommend this as it is not reliable.   

					[[email-masked]]
		Improvements by:	[[email-masked]]

------------------------------------------------------------
MAIL1.  How do I send Internet mail?

There is no one answer to this question.  Internet mail is built upon the
TCP/IP protocols, which are not directly supported by VMS.  A number of
implementations of TCP/IP for VMS are available, from Digital, from a number
of other vendors, and even in a free "support it yourself" form.  The MAIL
program that comes with VMS does not directly support the mail format used on
the Internet, but various programs have been written that use MAIL's "foreign
protocol" facility to provide such support.  To send mail through a foreign
protocol by using an address syntax like IN%"[email-masked]".  You
*must* include the quotation marks  Between them is the address in the format
used by mail programs that support the Internet directly.  The IN% - short for
INternet - names the foreign protocol.  On some systems, you use MX% or SMTP%
instead. (MX is a widely used, free, mail handler; see question  SOFT1. SMTP%
is used by Digital's UCX TCP/IP product)  Other systems may use some other
name.  If none of these prefixes work, ask your system manager for assistance.
					[[email-masked]]

See also MAIL2.

------------------------------------------------------------
MAIL2.  How do I get IN% or MX% added automatically to Internet addresses?

Get the MAILSHR_PATCH package (there's one each for VAX and Alpha) from the 
WKU FILESERV server (see question SOFT1.)

As of OpenVMS V6.2, this will not be necessary - if the address has an @
in it (not in a quoted string), MAIL will look to see if the logical name
MAIL$INTERNET_TRANSPORT is defined.  If it is, it will use the translation
as the transport protocol, otherwise it will use SMTP (as is used by
UCX).  For example, if you wanted IN% added, you'd define 
MAIL$INTERNET_TRANSPORT as "IN".

------------------------------------------------------------
MAIL3.  How do I automatically append a signature file to my mail messages?

The basic MAIL utility which is shipped with VMS does not have an intrinsic
mechanism for adding signature files.  If you're using an enhanced mail
handling package (e.g PMDF), however, it may have provisions for adding
signature files to all messages it handles - check the documentation for
details.  In addition, it's common practice to use an editor to handle
addition of `quotation marks' (e.g. >) and signature files to mail messages
and news postings.  There are several implementations of this for different
editors available on the net; for one example, see the MAIL_EDIT package
available at 
  ftp://narnia.memst.edu/mail_edit_v1-4.zip
					[[email-masked]]

Define the logical MAIL$EDIT to a COM-file, which looks something like
the following:

$ IF P1 .NES. ""
$ THEN
$    COPY 'P1',<signaturefile> 'P2'
$ ELSE
$    COPY <signaturefile> 'P2'
$ ENDIF
$ DEFINE/NOLOG SYS$INPUT SYS$COMMAND
$ <editorname> 'P2'
$ EXIT

Where <signaturefile> is the name of the signature-file (including directory
and disk) and <editorname> is EDIT/EDT or EDIT/TPU (or your favorite editor).
					[[email-masked]]

------------------------------------------------------------
MAIL4.  Do I have to use VMS MAIL?  I like my Unix mailer better.

Several Unix mailers have been ported to VMS, some by the vendors of specific
TCP/IP packages, some by users who have made them freely available.  See the
documentation for your TCP/IP package, and refer to question SOFT1 for
information about the availability of the free ports.
					[[email-masked]]

------------------------------------------------------------
MAIL5.  How can I forward my mail?  Can I forward it to an Internet address?

You can use the SET FORWARD command within MAIL to specify where you want all
your mail forwarded to.  Use SHOW FORWARD to see your current forwarding.  To
cancel all forwarding, type SET NOFORWARD.

You can forward your mail to an Internet address, but you have to be careful
because of the way MAIL handles special characters, such as quotation marks.
First, determine the address you would use to send mail to the place you want
to forward to - say, IN%"[email-masked]".  Take that string and
*double all the quotation marks*, producing IN%""[email-masked]"".
Finally, wrap quotation marks around the outside and use the the result with
SET FORWARD:

	MAIL>SET FORWARD "IN%""[email-masked]"""

If you do SHOW FORWARD, you should now see:

	Your mail is being forwarded to IN%"[email-masked]".
					[[email-masked]]

Note that the MAIL$INTERNET_TRANSPORT feature doesn't yet work with
SET FORWARD in that you'll still have to use the syntax above with the
quotation marks.

------------------------------------------------------------
MAIL6.  How can I forward my mail to a list of addresses?

VMS MAIL does not support forwarding a message to more than one address.
(Older versions of MAIL allowed you to specify such forwarding, but it never
worked correctly.)

Many of the TCP/IP mail packages support forwarding to mailing lists, as does
the free MX mail handling system and the DELIVER mail "extender".  See the
documentation of your TCP/IP package and question SOFT1.
					[[email-masked]]

------------------------------------------------------------
MAIL7.  MAIL keeps saying I have new messages, but I don't.  What do I do?

The count of new mail messages is kept separately from your mail folder
in SYS$SYSTEM:VMSMAIL_PROFILE.DATA.  It sometimes happens that this count
differs from what's in your mail folder.  If this happens, go into MAIL
and repeat the READ/NEW command until you see no new mail messages.  Then
enter the command one more time.  This will resynchronize the counters.

------------------------------------------------------------
MAIL8.  How do I move all of my mail messages to another system?

If you are moving to another OpenVMS system, perhaps the best way is to select
each folder and do (in MAIL) a:

	EXTRACT/APPEND/ALL/MAIL mymail.mai

Move MYMAIL.MAI to the other system, then do this (in MAIL):

	SET FILE mymail.mai
	COPY/ALL foldername MAIL.MAI

This will place a copy of all of your messages in the given folder.  If
you wanted to maintain the separate folders, do separate EXTRACT commands
(above) specifying different .mai files, then repeat the SET FILE, COPY
for each one.

If you are moving to a non-OpenVMS system, the EXTRACT command above can
be used to create a file which you can then copy - how you import it into
your mailer is an exercise left to the reader.

------------------------------------------------------------
UTIL1.  How do I play an audio CD on my workstation?

If you've installed the DECwindows examples, you'll find
DECW$CDPLAYER.C, .DAT, .EXE, .UIL, and .UID.  Copy the .UID and .DAT
files to DECW$USER_DEFAULTS: (typically SYS$LOGIN:), define the logical name
DECW$CD_PLAYER to be the device name of your CD-ROM drive (eg. DKA400:),
give yourself PHY_IO and DIAGNOSE privileges, and run the .EXE.  You can
also install the image with these privileges.  See the source for
additional details - note that the comments regarding the need for
SYSGEN CONNECT are no longer applicable (at least as of VMS V5.5-2).

There's also SYS$EXAMPLES:CDROM_AUDIO.C and .EXE, a non-Motif program.

------------------------------------------------------------
UTIL2.  How do I access a MS-DOS floppy disk from OpenVMS?

The Digital Pathworks for OpenVMS product includes a utility called PCDISK
that can read and write MS-DOS format diskette.  A license for Pathworks
is as little as US$99 (QM-2CLAA-AA, File and Print Access license).

ProGIS in Germany sells a product called VMove which supports DOS files on
many different device types.  For more information, send mail to
[email-masked].

Engineering Software has a product called VAKSAT which will
read/write/erase files on DOS diskettes. Available for both VAX and Alpha.
Contact [email-masked] for more information.

------------------------------------------------------------
UTIL3.  How do I play sound files on an AlphaStation?  DECsound doesn't work

The new AlphaStation systems use a different sound board (Microsoft Sound
System) than the earlier DEC 3000 AXP systems, and DECsound, as supplied by
DECwindows Motif, doesn't support this board.  Digital offers an optional
product, Multimedia Services for OpenVMS (SPD 64.24.00), which provides a
replacement DECsound for this card as well as many other features (an AVI and
MPEG player, video capture support, etc.)

------------------------------------------------------------
DCL1.   How do I run a program with arguments?

The RUN command does not accept arguments.  To pass arguments to a program,
you must use what is called a "foreign command".  For example:

	$ uudecode :== $disk:[dir]uudecode.exe
	$ uudecode filespec

The leading $ in the symbol definition is what makes it a foreign command.
If the device and directory is omitted, SYS$SYSTEM: is assumed.  For more
information on foreign commands, see the OpenVMS User's Manual.

See also question PROG2.

If you want to create a detached process that takes arguments from a command
line, it must be run under the control of a command line interpreter
(typically DCL).  This is done by placing the command line in a file,
specifying SYS$SYSTEM:LOGINOUT.EXE as the image to run and the command file
as the input.  For example:

	$ OPEN/WRITE CMD TEMP_INPUT.COM
	$ WRITE CMD "$ MYCOMMAND arguments"
	$ CLOSE CMD
	$ RUN/DETACHED SYS$SYSTEM:LOGINOUT /INPUT=TEMP_INPUT.COM

------------------------------------------------------------
DCL2.   How can I redefine control keys in DCL?

The DCL DEFINE/KEY command allows you to define function and keypad
keys, but not control keys.  Also, keys you define with DEFINE/KEY are
not recognized inside applications.  Many applications which use the
SMG$ routines for input have a similar DEFINE/KEY feature.

The terminal driver line-editing control keys, including the use of DEL
for delete, are not modifiable.

------------------------------------------------------------
DCL3.   How can I clear the screen in DCL?

The simplest way is TYPE/PAGE NL:

------------------------------------------------------------
DCL4.   How do I do a REPLY/LOG in a batch stream?

Your terminal must be enabled as an operator terminal before doing the
REPLY/LOG, but a batch stream doesn't have a terminal.  To make this
work, use the following sequence to enable the console as the operator
terminal; then the REPLY/LOG will be accepted:

  $ DEFINE SYS$COMMAND _OPA0:
  $ REPLY/ENABLE
  $ REPLY/LOG
						[[email-masked]]

------------------------------------------------------------
DCL5.   How do I generate a random number in DCL?

Here's my random number generator for inclusion into the OVMS FAQ;
just do a GOSUB RAND and the global symbol RANDOM will contain a
randomly generated number.  The user/programmer can feed the generator
a ceiling value (__CEIL) or a new seed (__SEED).

$! RAND - returns a positive random number ("RANDOM") between 0 and 
$!        __CEIL - 1.
$ RAND:
$
$ IF F$TYPE(__SEED) .EQS. ""
$ THEN
$     ! seed the random number generator, ...
$     __NOW = F$CVTIME()
$     __HOUR = 'F$EXTRACT(11,2,__NOW)'
$     __MINUTE = 'F$EXTRACT(14,2,__NOW)'
$     __SECOND = 'F$EXTRACT(17,2,__NOW)'
$     __TICK = 'F$EXTRACT(20,2,__NOW)'
$
$     __SEED == __TICK + (100 * __SECOND) + (6000 * __MINUTE) + -
         (360000 * __HOUR)
$     ! the generator tends to do better with a large, odd seed, ...
$     __SEED == (__SEED .OR. 1)
$     ! clean up, ...
$     DELETEX/SYMBOL __NOW
$     DELETEX/SYMBOL __HOUR
$     DELETEX/SYMBOL __MINUTE
$     DELETEX/SYMBOL __SECOND
$     DELETEX/SYMBOL __TICK
$ ENDIF
$
$ IF F$TYPE(__CEIL) .EQS. "" THEN __CEIL = %X3FFFFFFF
$
$ __SEED == __SEED * 69069 + 1
$
$ RANDOM == (__SEED.AND.%X3FFFFFFF)/(%X40000000/__CEIL)
$
$ RETURN
					[[email-masked]]

------------------------------------------------------------
FILE1.  How can I undelete a file?

OpenVMS doesn't have an "undelete" function.  However, if you are quick
to write-protect the disk (or if you can guarantee that no new files get
created or existing files extended), your data is still on the disk
and it may be possible to retrieve it.  The FLORIAN tool available from
the WKU Fileserver claims to be able to do this (see question SOFT1.)

------------------------------------------------------------
FILE2.  Why does SHOW QUOTA give a different answer than DIR/SIZE?

DIR/SIZE doesn't take into account the size of file headers which are
charged to your quota.  Also, unless you use DIR/SIZE:ALL, you'll see only
the "used" size of the file, not the allocated size which is what gets
charged against your quota.  Also, you may have files in other directories.
					[[email-masked]]

$ DIR/SIZ=ALL/GRAND [username...]

Grand total of D1 directories, F1 files, B1/B2 blocks.

$ DIR/SIZ=ALL/GRAND [-]username.DIR

Grand total of 1 directory, 1 file, B3/B4 blocks.

$ SHOW QUOTA
  User [username] has B5 blocks used, B6 available,
  of B7 authorized and permitted overdraft of B8 blocks on disk

If the user has no files in other directories and all file-headers are
only 1 block, then the following should apply:

  B5=B2+B4+F1+1

If the diskquota is out of synch, then the system-manager can make a rebuild.
					[[email-masked]]

------------------------------------------------------------
FILE3.  How do I make sure that my data is safely written to disk?

If your application must absolutely guarantee that data is available,
no matter what, there's really no substitute for RMS Journalling.  However,
you can achieve a good degree of data integrity by issuing a SYS$FLUSH RMS
call at appropriate times (if you're using RMS, that is.)  If you're
using a high-level language's I/O system, check that language's documentation
to see if you can access the RMS control blocks for the open file.  In
C you can use fflush followed by fsync.  Note that fsync, which was
undocumented for VAX C but is documented for DEC C, takes a file descriptor
as an argument, not a *FILE.

------------------------------------------------------------
FILE4.  What are the limits on file specifications and directories?

A file specification has an aggregate maximum size of 255 characters at
present.  The node and device specification may be up to 255 characters each -
file name and file types may be up to 39 characters each.  File versions are
from 1 through 32767, though 0 (latest version), -0 (oldest version) and -n
(n'th previous version) can be used in most contexts.  A file specification
may not have more than 8 directories and subdirectories - while it is possible
to create subdirectories of greater depth, accessing them is problematic in
most cases and this should be avoided. 

Application developers should use OpenVMS-supplied routines for parsing
file specifications - this ensures that changes in what is allowable will
not tend to break your application.  Consider that various parts of the
file specification may contain quoted strings with embedded spaces and
other punctuation!  Some routines of interest are SYS$FILESCAN, SYS$PARSE
and LIB$TRIM_FILESPEC.  For further information, see the OpenVMS Guide to
File Applications.

------------------------------------------------------------
FILE5.  What is the largest disk volume size OpenVMS can access?

One Terabyte (2**31 blocks of 2**9 bytes).  Prior to the release of V6.0, the
OpenVMS file system was limited to disk volumes of 8.5 GB (2**24 blocks) or
less.

On some systems, there are restrictions in the console program that limit the
size of the OpenVMS system disk.  Note that data disks are not affected by
console program limits.  For example, all members of the VAXstation 3100
series are limited to a system disk to 1.073 GB or less due to the console,
though larger data disks are possible.
					[[email-masked]]

------------------------------------------------------------
PROG1.  How do I call <routine_name> from <language_name>?

Most OpenVMS system services and RTL routines pass string arguments by
descriptor.  Languages which support native string data types create
descriptors automatically; those which do not (eg., C) require that you set
them up explicitly.
					[[email-masked]]

There is a lot of information available on how to call system services
and Run-Time Library routines, including examples in numerous languages.
The best references are:

	Your language's User Manual
	OpenVMS Programming Environment Manual
	OpenVMS Programming Concepts Manual
	OpenVMS Programming Interfaces: Calling a System Routine
	OpenVMS Calling Standard

In addition, if you are a subscriber to the Digital Software Information
Network (available to those with a software support contract), the DSIN
database contains hundreds of worked examples of calling system services
and RTL routines, including the one that seems to trip up almost everyone,
SMG$CREATE_MENU.
					[[email-masked]]

Arne Vajhøj has put together a collection of OpenVMS example programs.
It can be found at:
  ftp://ftp.hhs.dk/
  http://www.hhs.dk/vms/vms_sw_arne.html
					[[email-masked]]
------------------------------------------------------------
PROG2.  How do I get the arguments from the command line?

If you're writing a program and want to accept arguments from a foreign
command, you can use LIB$GET_FOREIGN to get the command line and parse
it yourself, or if you're programming in C, use the normal argc/argv
method.

To write an application which uses the normal DCL verb/qualifier/parameter
syntax for invocation, see the description of the CLI$ routines in the
OpenVMS Callable Utility Routines Reference Manual.

It is possible to write an application which can be used both ways; if a 
DCL verb isn't used to invoke the image, the application parses the command 
line itself.  One way to do this is to call CLI$GET_VALUE for a required
parameter.  If it is not present (or you get an error), call 
LIB$GET_FOREIGN to get the command line and do the manual parse.

See also question DCL1.

------------------------------------------------------------
PROG3.  How do I get a formatted error message in a variable?

Use the SYS$PUTMSG system service with an action routine that stores
the message line(s) in the variable of your choice.  Be sure the action
routine returns a "false" (low bit clear) function value so that SYS$PUTMSG
doesn't then try to display the message (unless you want it to.)  See the
description of $PUTMSG in the System Services Reference Manual for an
example of using an action routine.

------------------------------------------------------------
PROG4.  How do I link against SYS$SYSTEM:SYS.STB on an Alpha system?

LINK/SYSEXE is the OpenVMS Alpha equivalent of linking against SYS.STB.

------------------------------------------------------------
PROG5.  How do I do a SET DEFAULT from inside a program?

The problem is that SYS$SETDDIR only changes the default directory - NOT
the default disk. The default disk is determined by the logical SYS$DISK.
If you want to change the default disk within a program, then call
LIB$SET_LOGICAL to change the logical SYS$DISK. You will need to call both
LIB$SET_LOGICAL and SYS$SETDDIR to change both default disk and the default
directory!
					[[email-masked]]	

------------------------------------------------------------
PROG6.  How do I create a shareable image transfer vector on an Alpha system?

This is something that was greatly simplified for OpenVMS Alpha.  You don't
need to create a separate transfer vector module; just use the SYMBOL_VECTOR
statement in a linker options file.  For example, if your shareable image
has two routines named FOO and BAR, the linker options file should contain
the following line:

	SYMBOL_VECTOR=(FOO=PROCEDURE, BAR=PROCEDURE)

The Linker manual has more details on this.

------------------------------------------------------------
PROG7.  How do I turn my Fortran COMMON into a shareable image on Alpha?

You need to add SYMBOL_VECTOR=(<common-name>=PSECT) to your options file.  On
OpenVMS VAX all OVR/REL/GBL psects were automatically exported into the
shareable image's Global Symbol Table.  On OpenVMS Alpha you have to tell the
linker that you want this done by means of the PSECT keyword in the
SYMBOL_VECTOR options file statement.

This has several advantages over OpenVMS VAX.  First, you don't have to worry 
about the address of the psect when you try to create a new, upwardly 
compatible version of the shareable image. Second, you can control which
psects, if any, are made visible outside the shareable image.

By default, COMMON PSECTs in DEC Fortran for OpenVMS Alpha (as well as most
other OpenVMS Alpha compilers) are NOSHR.  On VAX, the default was SHR which
required you to change the attribute to NOSHR if you wanted your COMMON
to be in a shareable image but not write-shared by all processes on the
system.  If you do want write-sharing, use: 
	CDEC$ PSECT common-name=SHR
in the Fortran source code (the CDEC$ must be begin in column 1) or a linker 
options file PSECT_ATTR statement to set the COMMON PSECT attribute to SHR.

For further information, see the Linker manual.

------------------------------------------------------------
PROG8.  How do I convert between IEEE and VAX floating data?

In OpenVMS V6.1 there is a routine CVT$CONVERT_FLOAT, documented in the
LIB$ Run-Time Library Reference Manual, which can perform conversions
between any two of the following floating datatypes: VAX (F,D,G,H),
little-endian IEEE (single, double, quad), big-endian IEEE (single, double,
quad), CRAY and IBM System\370.

DEC Fortran (all platforms) has a feature which will perform automatic
conversion of unformatted data during input or output.  See the DEC Fortran
documentation for information on "non-native data in I/O" and the
CONVERT= OPEN statement keyword.

------------------------------------------------------------
PROG9.  How do I get the argument count in a Fortran routine?

On VAX, many programmers would use a MACRO routine which accessed the
AP register of the caller to get the address of the argument list and
hence the argument count.  This was not guaranteed to work on VAX, but
usually did.  However, it doesn't work at all on OpenVMS Alpha, as there
is no AP register.  On Alpha systems, you must use a language's built-in
function to retrieve the argument count, if any.  In Fortran this is
IARGCOUNT, which is also available in DEC Fortran on OpenVMS VAX.

Note that omitting arguments to Fortran routines is non-standard and is
unsupported.  It will work in many cases - read the DEC Fortran release
notes for additional information.

------------------------------------------------------------
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.
					[[email-masked]]

> 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 Digital's UCX or a 3rd party vendor's TCP/IP
             product.   If  you're  not,  none of the above will
             help.
				    [[email-masked]]

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.
				    [[email-masked]]

------------------------------------------------------------
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.
					[[email-masked]]

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.
                                        [[email-masked]]

------------------------------------------------------------
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.
					[[email-masked]]

------------------------------------------------------------
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.
					[[email-masked]]

------------------------------------------------------------
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	:		<Key>F11	\n\
 osfLeft	:		<Key>Left	\n\
 osfUp		:		<Key>Up		\n\
 osfRight	:		<Key>Right	\n\
 osfDown	:		<Key>Down	\n\
 osfEndLine	:Alt		<Key>Right	\n\
 osfBeginLine	:Alt		<Key>Left	\n\
 osfPageUp	:		<Key>Prior	\n\
 osfPageDown	:		<Key>Next	\n\
 osfDelete	:Shift		<Key>Delete	\n\
 osfUndo	:Alt		<Key>Delete	\n\
 osfBackSpace	:		<Key>Delete	\n\
 osfAddMode	:Shift		<Key>F8		\n\
 osfHelp	:		<Key>Help	\n\
 osfMenu	:		<Key>F4		\n\
 osfMenuBar	:		<Key>F10	\n\
 osfSelect	:		<Key>Select	\n\
 osfActivate	:		<Key>KP_Enter	\n\
 osfCopy	:Shift		<Key>DRemove	\n\
 osfCut		:		<Key>DRemove	\n\
 osfPaste	:		<Key>Insert

To merge:

	$ xrdb :== $decw$utils:xrdb.exe
	$ xrdb -nocpp -merge decw$xdefaults.dat
					[[email-masked]]

------------------------------------------------------------
DECW6.  Problem - On a DEC2000-300, Motif doesn't start

Check for a GQ device by doing a SHOW DEVICE G at the DCL prompt.  If there is
no GQA0 device:

a) VMS failed to find the appropriate IRQ information for the Compaq QVision
   and did not autoconfigure it.  Run the correct ECU (for OSF and VMS) and
   reboot.

b) You do not have a Compaq QVision video card.  This card should have Compaq
   printed on it, and identifies itself as a CPQ3011 or a CPQ3111.  If it is 
   not one of these 2 devices (as of 7/1/94 and version 6.1) then VMS does not
   support it.

If there is a GQA0 device:

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 sysgen parameter WINDOW_SYSTEM is not set to 1.  This is a common way
   used by system managers to disable server startup.

c) You may not have a valid Motif license.    To check for the Motif license,
   type LICENSE LIST DW-MOTIF/FULL and examine the information displayed.
   Make sure that it is present, valid and active.
					[[email-masked]]

------------------------------------------------------------
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.
					[[email-masked]]

------------------------------------------------------------
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.
					[[email-masked]]
					[[email-masked]]

------------------------------------------------------------
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 <esc> is the ANSI escape code, value decimal 27, and
<text> is what you want to display:

To set the DECterm title, send <esc>]21;<text><esc>\
To set the icon label, send    <esc>]2L;<text><esc>\

For example, DCL to display "My DECterm" in title bar:
$ ESC[0,8]=27
$ WRITE SYS$OUTPUT "``ESC`]21;My DECterm``ESC`\"
					[[email-masked]]

You can also change the title and the icon using the Options-Window...
menu.

------------------------------------------------------------
MISC1.  What is the pinout for the DECconnect DEC-423 MMJ connector?

DECconnect DEC-423 MMJ pinout:

    1 Data Terminal Ready (DTR)
    2 Transmit
    3 Transmit Ground
    4 Receive Ground
    5 Receive
    6 Data Set Ready (DSR)

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.
					[[email-masked]]

------------------------------------------------------------
MISC2.  What are the escape sequences for the VTxxx function keys?

In the following, <CSI> is decimal code 155 and can be replaced by the
sequence "<ESC>[" (without the quotes), SS3 is decimal code 143 and can be
replaced by "<ESC>O".  VT1xx terminals don't accept <CSI> and <SS3>.

PF1=<SS3>P PF2=<SS3>Q PF3=<SS3>R PF4=<SS3>S
KP0=<SS3>p KP1=<SS3>q KP2=<SS3>r KP3=<SS3>s KP4=<SS3>t KP5=<SS3>u
KP6=<SS3>v KP7=<SS3>w KP8=<SS3>x KP9=<SS3>y KPCOMMA=<SS3>l KPMINUS=<SS3>m
KPPERIOD=<SS3>n ENTER=<SS3>M DNARROW=<CSI>B UPARROW=<CSI>A LFARROW=<CSI>D
RTARROW=<CSI>C FIND=<CSI>1~ INSERT=<CSI>2~ REMOVE=<CSI>3~ SELECT=<CSI>4~
PREV=<CSI>5~ NEXT=<CSI>6~ F6=<CSI>17~ F7=<CSI>18~ F8=<CSI>19~ F9=<CSI>20~
F10=<CSI>21~ F11=<CSI>23~ F12=<CSI>24~ F13=<CSI>25~ F14=<CSI>26~
HELP=<CSI>28~ DO=<CSI>29~ F17=<CSI>31~ F18=<CSI>32 F19=<CSI>33~ F20=<CSI>34~

These and other control sequences can be found in SYS$SYSTEM:SMGTERMS.TXT

------------------------------------------------------------
SOFT1.  Where can I find lots of free software for OpenVMS?

An OpenVMS Freeware CD was distributed at US DECUS in
May 1995 - this CD will also be included with future versions of OpenVMS
for VAX and Alpha systems.  The OpenVMS Freeware CD is available online at:

	http://www.openvms.digital.com/software/cd.html
	ftp://ftp.montagar.com/
	http://www.montagar.com/dfwlug/
	ftp://degh.fps.mcw.edu/
	ftp://flash.acornsw.com/
	gopher://gopher.acornsw.com/
	http://www.acornsw.com/
	ftp://ftp.dct.ac.uk/

(Some of these sites may still have the older fall 1994 edition)

This CD 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 often requested tools on the
Freeware CD are: ZIP/UNZIP, MMK (make), PINE, PERL, UUENCODE/UUDECODE.

The montagar.com server, belonging to the DECUS Dallas/Fort Worth LUG, also 
provides "Almost 350,000 blocks of  white papers, OpenVMS rebuttals, good 
articles, engineering information, and  other assorted OpenVMS Positive 
'Stuff'."  You can also telnet to dfwlug.decus.org  and log in as Info
to access an "OpenVMS BBS" system there.

Digital has a WWW page with pointers to freeware (mostly derived from
this FAQ) but which also contains useful information on archive tools needed
for extracting freeware kits.  The URL is:

	http://www.digital.com/info/vms-freeware.html

Hunter Goatley runs a VMS freeware fileserver at Western Kentucky
University.  If you're using a WWW browser, the URL is:

	http://www.wku.edu/www/fileserv/fileserv.html

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 [.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 [email-masked]. 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 this
from:

	ftp://ftp.wku.edu/vms/unzip.exe        ! VAX
	ftp://ftp.wku.edu/vms/unzip.alpha_exe  ! Alpha

or you can request the FILESERV_TOOLS package from the e-mail server.

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.hhs.dk/vms/

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)
				[[email-masked]]

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/
				[[email-masked]]

Phone for orders is 508 841 3502. Lots of good stuff from lots of good
folks, and copies on media (tapes, CDs) are cheap.
				[[email-masked]]

   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

					    [[email-masked]]

NCSA Mosaic 2.4 (requires DECwindows Motif) - The executable images of Mosaic 
require DEC TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS (UCX) V3.0 or later (or a "UCX
compatibility mode" in other TCP/IP products) and OpenVMS VAX V5.5-2 or OpenVMS
AXP V1.5-1H1  or later: 
  ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/Digital/Mosaic/MOSAIC-24A-AXP.EXE
  ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/Digital/Mosaic/MOSAIC-24A-VAX.EXE
  ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/Digital/Mosaic/MOSAIC-2_4A.BCK (sources)

Another VMS port of Mosaic 2.4 is available through Hunter Goatley's
VMS freeware fileserver (see above.)

Mosaic 2.4 (for UCX only) is included with DECwindows Motif V1.2-3.

Lynx (a character-cell World-Wide-Web reader) is available from
  ftp://ftp2.cc.ukans.edu/pub/lynx
					    [[email-masked]]

Netscape is not yet available for OpenVMS, but should be released in
early 1996.

PGP (Phil Zimmerman's "Pretty Good Privacy") is available from the standard
distribution sites as listed in the PGP FAQ.   Information on compiling
PGP for OpenVMS can be found at http://zifi.genetics.utah.edu/

An archive of DECwindows and Xwindows software can be found at the following
sites:

  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)
					    [[email-masked]]

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)
					    [[email-masked]]

XV 3.10 is available from:
  ftp://ftp.cis.upenn.edu/pub/xv
  ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/graphics/xv

GHOSTSCRIPT and GHOSTVIEW are available from:
  ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/VMS/ghostview

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
					    [[email-masked]]

Good news: ada.cenaath.cena.dgac.fr anonymous ftp server is reopen. However, we
always have a rather slow Internet link, but some mirror sites are available
(they are listed in AAA_MIRROR_SITES.TXT file):

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.
						[[email-masked]]

------------------------------------------------------------
SOFT2.  Where can I find the UNIX <whatever> tool for OpenVMS?

POSIX-compliant and Digital-supported versions of utilities commonly-used on
UNIX systems -- utilities such as lex, yacc, grep, tar, uuencode, uudecode, rcs,
man, cpio, make, awk, ar, mail, etc., the POSIX shell, and the POSIX C
programming interface -- are all included in the OpenVMS POSIX package.

The POSIX utilities can be used from within the POSIX shell, and can be used
from outside the shell -- from DCL -- as well.

POSIX is a separately-installed package, and is licensed with OpenVMS V5.5 and
later.  The POSIX installation kit is included on the consolidated distribution
CD-ROM kit, and installation kits are also available separately.

						[[email-masked]]

[End of FAQ]
-- 

Steve Lionel                      Mail: [email-masked]
DEC Fortran Development           WWW:  http://www.digital.com/info/slionel.html
Digital Equipment Corporation     CompuServe: 75263,3001
110 Spit Brook Road, ZKO2-3/N30
Nashua, NH 03062-2698             "Free advice is worth every cent"

For information on DEC Fortran 90, see http://www.digital.com/info/hpc/f90/