Search the FAQ Archives

3 - A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M
N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z
faqs.org - Internet FAQ Archives

OpenVMS Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), Part 7/11

( Part1 - Part2 - Part3 - Part4 - Part5 - Part6 - Part7 - Part8 - Part9 - Part10 - Part11 )
[ Usenet FAQs | Web FAQs | Documents | RFC Index | Sex offenders ]

See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge
Archive-name: dec-faq/vms/part7
Posting-Frequency: quarterly
Last-modified: 02 Sep 2005
Version: VMSFAQ_20050902-07.TXT

 





                   OpenVMS Programming Information




                   older DEC C versions can sometimes cause the compiler
                   troubles locating header files.)

                   HP C V5.6 and later include a backport library, a
                   mechanism by which HP C running on older OpenVMS
                   releases can gain access to newer RTL routines added
                   to the RTL in later OpenVMS releases-the language RTLs
                   ship with OpenVMS itself, and not with the compilers.

                   Example C code is available in SYS$EXAMPLES:, in
                   DECW$EXAMPLES (when the DECwindows examples are
                   installed), in TCPIP$SERVICES (or on older releases,
                   UCX$EXAMPLES) when HP TCP/IP Services is installed), on
                   the Freeware CD-ROMs, and at web sites such as

                   o  http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/wizard/

                   For additional information on the OpenVMS Ask The
                   Wizard (ATW) area and for a pointer to the available
                   ATW Wizard.zip archive, please see Section 3.8.

          _____________________________
          10.22.1  Other common C issues

                   The localtime()  function and various other functions
                   maintain the number of years since 1900 in the "struct
                   tm" structure member tm_year. This field will contain a
                   value of 100 in the year 2000, 101 for 2001, etc., and
                   the yearly incrementation of this field is expected to
                   continue.

                   The C epoch typically uses a longword (known as time_
                   t) to contain the number of seconds since midnight
                   on 1-Jan-1970. At the current rate of consumption of
                   seconds, this longword is expected to overflow (when
                   interpreted as a signed longword) circa 03:14:07 on
                   19-Jan-2038 (GMT), as this time is circa 0x7FFFFFFF
                   seconds since the C base date. (The most common
                   solution is to ensure that time_t is an unsigned.)

                   If C does not correctly handle the display of the
                   local system time, then check the UTC configuration
                   on OpenVMS-the most common symptom of this is a skew of
                   one hour (or whatever the local daylight saving time
                   change might be). This skew can be caused by incorrect
                   handling of the "is_dst" setting in the application

                                                                     10-21

 





                   OpenVMS Programming Information




                   program, or by an incorrect OpenVMS UTC configuration
                   on the local system. (See section Section 4.4.)

                   Floating point is prohibited in OpenVMS Alpha inner-
                   mode (privileged) code, and in any process or other
                   execution context that does not have floating point
                   enabled. C programmers developing and working with
                   OpenVMS Alpha high-IPL kernel-mode code such as device
                   drivers will want to become familiar with the floating
                   point processing available in the environment, and with
                   the C compiler qualifier /INSTRUCTION_SET=[NO]FLOATING_
                   POINT. Device drivers and other similar kernel-mode C
                   code must be compiled with /INSTRUCTION_SET=FLOATING_
                   POINT and /EXTERN_MODEL=STRICT_REFDEF.

                   Additionally, the SYS$LIBRARY:SYS$LIB_C.TLB/LIBRARY
                   parameter will be needed to be appended to the module
                   specification or declared via the C compiler's include
                   library logical name mechanism when the C compiler is
                   resolving kernel-mode data structures and definitions.
                   This library contains OpenVMS kernel-mode and other
                   system declaractions, and particularly a mixture
                   of undocumented definitions and declarations, and
                   particularly definitions and declarations that are
                   subject to change (and that can accordingly lead to
                   requirements for the recompilation of application
                   code).

                   In addition to the user-mode C Run-Time Library (RTL)
                   mentioned in the OpenVMS C RTL documentation and
                   referenced over in Section 3.9, there is a second and
                   parallel kernel-mode RTL accessable to device drivers
                   and other kernel code on OpenVMS Alpha and OpenVMS
                   I64. The most common time this second C library is
                   noticed is when C code is (erroneously) linked with
                   /SYSEXE/SYSLIB, and duplicate symbol errors typically
                   then arise. As code running in supervisor-, executive-
                   or kernel-mode context cannot call out a user-mode
                   RTL or other user-mode library, you will want to
                   respecify the command as LINK /SYSEXE/NOSYSLIB. This
                   will eliminate the duplicate symbol errors, since only
                   the kernel-mode library will be referenced, and it will
                   also avoid calling out into the user-mode libraries.

                   10-22

 





                   OpenVMS Programming Information




                   When sharing variables with other languages, here is
                   some example HP C code...

                         ...
                         #pragma extern_model save
                         #pragma extern_model strict_refdef
                         extern int   VMS$GL_FLAVOR;
                         #pragma extern_model restore
                         ...

                   and here is some associated example Bliss code...

                         ...
                         EXTERNAL
                            VMS$GL_FLAVOR,
                         ....

          _____________________________
          10.22.2  Other common C++ issues

                   HP C++ (a separate compiler from HP C) provides
                   both symbol mangling and symbol decoration. Some
                   of the details of working with longer symbol names
                   and the resulting symbol name mangling in mixed
                   language environments are listed in the shareable
                   image cookbook, and in the C++ documentation. Symbol
                   name decoration permits the overloading of functions
                   (by adding characters to the external symbol for
                   the function to indicate the function return type
                   and the argument data types involved), and mixed-
                   language external references can and often do need to
                   disable this decoration via the extern "C" declaration
                   mechanism:

                         extern "C"
                           {
                           extern int ExternSymbol(void *);
                           extern int OtherExternSymbol(void *);
                           }

                   Also see Section 14.7 for information on /ARCHITECTURE
                   and /OPTIMIZE=TUNE.

                   See Section 10.15 for information on the C system and
                   the lib$spawn call in CAPTIVE environments.

                                                                     10-23

 





                   OpenVMS Programming Information




                   Constructs such as the order of incrementation or
                   decrementation and the order of argument processing
                   within an argument list are all implementation-defined.
                   This means that C coding constructs such as:

                       i = i++;
                       a[i] = i++;
                       foo( i, i++, --i);

                   are undefined and can have (adverse) implications when
                   porting the C code to another C compiler or to another
                   platform. In general, any combination of ++, -, =, +=,
                   -=, *=, etc operators that will cause the same value to
                   be modified multiple times (between what the ANSI/ISO C
                   standard calls "sequence points") produce undefined and
                   implementation-specific results.

                   Within C, the following are the "sequence points":
                   the ";" at the end of a C statment, the ||, &&, ?:,
                   and comma operators, and a call to a function. Note
                   specifically that = is NOT a sequence point, and that
                   the individual arguments contained within a function
                   argument list can be processed from right to left, from
                   left to right, or at any random whim.

                   HP C for OpenVMS VAX (formerly DEC C) and VAX C do
                   differ in the related processing.

                   So you are looking for OpenVMS-specific definitions
                   (include files)?

                   UCBDEF.H, PCBDEF.H and other OpenVMS-specific
                   definitions-these are considered part of OpenVMS and
                   not part of the C compiler kit-are available on all
                   recent OpenVMS Alpha releases.

                   To reference the version-dependent symbol library
                   sys$share:sys$lib_c.tlb, use a command similar to the
                   following for compilation:

                   $ CC sourcea+SYS$LIBRARY:SYS$LIB_C/LIB

                   You can also define DECC$TEXT_LIBRARY to reference the
                   library.

                   You will want to review the Programming Concepts
                   manual, and specifically take a quick look at Chapter
                   21.

                   10-24

 





                   OpenVMS Programming Information




                   And some general background: the STARLET definitions
                   (and thus the sys$starlet_c.tlb library) contain the
                   symbols and the definitions that are independent of
                   the OpenVMS version. The LIB definitions (and thus
                   sys$lib_c) contain symbols and definitions that can
                   be dependent on the OpenVMS version. You won't need to
                   rebuild your code after an OpenVMS upgrade if you have
                   included definitions from STARLET. The same cannot be
                   said for some of the definitions in LIB-you might need
                   to rebuild your code. (The UCB structure can and has
                   changed from release to release, for instance.)

                   Recent versions of C automatically search sys$starlet_
                   c.tlb. Explicit specification of sys$lib_c.tlb is
                   required.

                   Also see the Ask The Wizard website topics (2486),
                   (3803), and (1661):

                   o  http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/wizard/

                   For additional information on the OpenVMS Ask The
                   Wizard (ATW) area and for a pointer to the available
                   ATW Wizard.zip archive, please see Section 3.8.

                   See Section 9.5 for information on the C off_t
                   limitations, resolved in OpenVMS V7.3-1 and later and
                   in ECO kits available for specific OpenVMS releases.
                   The use of a longword for off_t restricts applications
                   using native C I/O to file sizes of two gigabytes or
                   less, or these applications must use native RMS or XQP
                   calls for specific operations.

          __________________________________________________________
          10.23  Status of Programming Tools on OpenVMS VAX?

                   DECthreads V7.3 and the HP C compiler (also known as
                   Compaq C and DEC C) V6.4 are presently expected to
                   be the last updates and the last releases of these
                   development packages for use on OpenVMS VAX. The run-
                   time support for both DECthreads (CMA$RTL) and for C
                   (DECC$CRTL) will continue to be maintained, and will
                   continue to be available on OpenVMS VAX. The VAX C
                   V3.2 compiler is the final VAX C compiler release for
                   OpenVMS VAX, and the VAX C Run-Time Library (VAXCRTL)
                   will also continue to be available.

                                                                     10-25

 





                   OpenVMS Programming Information




                   New development and new features and product
                   enhancements continue for the OpenVMS Alpha and the
                   OpenVMS IA-64 DECthreads and C compilers.

          __________________________________________________________
          10.24  Choosing a Version Number for Application Code?

                   One of the common rules-of-thumb used for choosing a
                   displayed version number string for a new version of a
                   layered product or an application, its implications,
                   and its expected effects on client applications and
                   users, follows:

                   o  No functional and no application-visible changes,
                      bugfixes only-the edit number is incremented.
                      These tend to be very small, very isolated, or ECO-
                      level changes. These can also be distributions for
                      specific hardware configurations or platforms, as
                      is the case with an OpenVMS Limited Hardware Release
                      (LHR). Application rebuilds are not expected, and
                      there is an assumption that general user-provided
                      application-related regression testing will not be
                      required.

                   o  Minimal functional and very few user-visible
                      changes-the maintenance number is incremented. These
                      tend to be very small or even ECO-level changes,
                      though somewhat larger than an edit-level change.
                      Application rebuilds are not expected, and there is
                      an assumption that user-provided application-related
                      regression testing will not be required.

                   o  Various small and upward-compatible functional
                      changes-the minor version number is incremented.
                      The changes are user-visible, and are intended to be
                      user-visible. Application rebuilds are not expected.
                      Some application programmers may choose to perform
                      regression tests.

                   o  Large and/or potentially incompatible changes-
                      the major version number is incremented. Some
                      applications might need to be rebuilt. Various
                      application programmers will choose to perform
                      regression tests of their respective applications.

                   10-26

 





                   OpenVMS Programming Information




                   For additional version-numbering materials and for
                   information on assigning module generation numbers,
                   please see the OpenVMS (POLYCENTER) Software Product
                   Installation Utility-variously refered to by acronyms
                   including PCSI and SPIA-reference manual available
                   within the OpenVMS documentation set.

                   Of course, all of this is obviously subject to
                   interpretation, particularly around the distinction
                   between large and small changes and such. The scale
                   of the application is also a factor, as larger and
                   more complex applications will tend toward smaller
                   increments and will tend to see the maintenance number
                   incremented, while new releases of smaller applications
                   will tend to see the minor version incremented somewhat
                   more frequently.

                   The goal of all this is to provide a guide to relative
                   scale of changes and the associated effort involved
                   in an upgrade for the user and/or for the application
                   programmer.

          __________________________________________________________
          10.25  Selecting a Process Dump Directory?

                   You can customize the device and directory for the
                   process dump by defining the logical names SYS$PROCDMP
                   and SYS$PROTECTED_PROCDMP. The former is for non-
                   privileged dumps, while the latter is the location
                   where privileged image dumps are written, and
                   preferably an area protected against untrusted access.
                   For example:

                   $ define SYS$PROCDMP SYS$ERRORLOG:
                   $ define /exec SYS$PROTECTED_PROCDMP SYS$ERRORLOG:

                   The abouve presumes that the SYS$ERRORLOG logical name
                   points to a valid location.

                   There is presently no means to change the name of the
                   generated dump file from IMAGENAME.DMP to something
                   else. Accordingly, you will want to use different
                   target directories for this purpose, particularly
                   if there is more than one application or process
                   potentially writing process dumps.

                                                                     10-27

 





                   OpenVMS Programming Information



          __________________________________________________________
          10.26  Access to Itanium Assembler?

                   If you are interested in accessing the native
                   Intel Itanium assembler within the OpenVMS I64 GNV
                   environment-and since the iasi64 assembler is a Unix
                   program and GNV is a Unix environment for OpenVMS I64-
                   you can simply copy iasi64.ext into your gnu:[bin]
                   directory in place of "as.", and of "AS.EXE".

                   Alternately and probably also better, you can write an
                   "as." script to invoke the iasi64.exe image from its
                   particular prefered location on the local system.

                   A typical "as." script looks like this:

                   path/iasi64.exe $1 $2 $3 $4 $5

          __________________________________________________________
          10.27  Kernel-mode coding restrictions?

                   Floating point is prohibited in OpenVMS Alpha inner-
                   mode (privileged) code, and within any process or other
                   execution context that does not have floating point
                   enabled and available.

                   Programmers developing and working with OpenVMS Alpha
                   high-IPL kernel-mode code, such as device drivers,
                   will further want to become familiar with the floating-
                   point processing and the instruction set emulation
                   available in the particular target environment (if
                   any). When working with C, inner-mode programmers will
                   want to become familiar with the C compiler qualifier
                   /INSTRUCTION_SET=[NO]FLOATING_POINT.

                   Device drivers and other similar kernel-mode C code
                   must be compiled with /INSTRUCTION_SET=FLOATING_POINT
                   and /EXTERN_MODEL=STRICT_REFDEF.

                   Additionally, inner-mode code cannot call out to the
                   user-mode language run-time libraries nor to any of
                   the OpenVMS system run-time libraries. In particular,
                   this prohibition prevents pages of inner-mode-protected
                   memory from being allocated and interspersed within the
                   user-mode heap or other such user-mode data structures.

                   10-28

 





                   OpenVMS Programming Information




                   The prohibtion on user libraries also generally means
                   that such code must be linked with LINK /NOSYSLIB, and
                   quite probably also with /SYSEXE. The former causes
                   the linker to avoid searching the system shareable
                   image libraries (via IMAGELIB.OLB), while the latter
                   brings in symbols typically only known to or otherwise
                   accessable from the OpenVMS executuve.

                   To include kernel-mode C programming definitions,
                   macros and system constants within a C compilation,
                   include SYS$LIBRARY:SYS$LIB_C.TLB/LIBRARY on the C
                   compilation. (Constructs defined within the system
                   macro library LIB.MLB or within its C equivalent
                   SYS$LIB_C.TLB tend to be version-dependent, or
                   undocumented, or both.) As an example of the
                   compilation, the following is a typical C device driver
                   compilation command:

          $   CC /STANDARD=RELAXED_ANSI89/INSTRUCTION=NOFLOATING_POINT/EXTERN=STRICT -
                  'DEBUG_CC_DQ_OPT' 'ARCH_CC_OPT' 'CHECK_CC_OPT' 'SHOW_CC_OPT' -
                  /LIS=LIS$:xxDRIVER/MACHINE_CODE/OBJ=OBJ$:xxDRIVER -
                  SRC$:xxDRIVER.C+SYS$LIBRARY:SYS$LIB_C.TLB/LIBRARY

                   Additionally, code running in executive mode in an AST
                   or in kernel mode cannot call RMS services, or routines
                   which directly or indirectly call RMS.

                   For related kernel-mode programming materials and
                   driver documentation, please see the Writing OpenVMS
                   Alpha Device Driversin C book, ISBN 1-55558-133-1.

          __________________________________________________________
          10.28  Decoding an Access Violation (ACCVIO) Error?

                   To decode the virtual addresses returned by an access
                   violation or by another similar OpenVMS display, you
                   need to have created and retained a listings file-
                   preferably one with machine code generation enabled-and
                   a full link map.

                   Starting with the virtual address reported by the
                   error, use the link map to find the module that
                   contributed the code that contains the virtual address
                   range. Calculate the offset from the base of the range,
                   by subtracting the base of the range from teh failing
                   virtual address. Then use the compiler listings for

                                                                     10-29

 





                   OpenVMS Programming Information




                   the particular component that contributed the code to
                   locate the offset of the failing instruction.

                   If the map and listings information was not maintained,
                   working backwards is far more difficult-you are left to
                   use the binary instruction data around the failure to
                   locate the associated source code, and this process is
                   far more involved. This usually involves matching up
                   blocks of decoded instructions around the failing code,
                   or the direct analog involving matching up ranges of
                   decoded instructions. Keep the maps and listing files
                   around, in other words.

                   Rather easier than an approach based on virtual address
                   arithmetic and far easier than working backwards from
                   the instruction stream is to use integrated debugging-
                   this inclusion is arguably an essential component of
                   any non-trivial application-and to use the OpenVMS
                   Debugger.

                   The OpenVMS Debugger in particular can be used to
                   examine the source code, to examine the stack, and can
                   even be programmed to wait patiently for the incidence
                   of a particular value or failure or condition, and
                   this is far easier than working backwards from the
                   instruction stream is to use integrated debugging-
                   this inclusion is arguably an essential component of
                   any non-trivial application-and to use the OpenVMS
                   Debugger. The debugger can also be activated from
                   within a signal handler, and commands to generate
                   a traceback can be generated directly, or through
                   the invocation of a procedure containing a series of
                   debugger commands.

                   Details on the debugger are in the OpenVMS Debugger
                   Manual, and also see the discussion of dyanmically
                   activating the Debugger in Section 10.19.







                   10-30

 





                   OpenVMS Programming Information



          __________________________________________________________
          10.29  Generating an AUTODIN-II CRC32?

                   The following code can be used to generate an AUTODIN-
                   II 32-bit Cyclic Redundency Check (CRC32) value from an
                   input string descriptor, similar to that used by the HP
                   C compiler for its /NAMES=SHORTENED mechanism, and by
                   various other applications requiring a CRC32.

                   The routine uses the OpenVMS library routine lib$crc_
                   table to generate a sixteen longword array of data from
                   the specified encoded polynomial coefficient (AUTODIN-
                   II, in this case), and then lib$crc to generate the
                   CRC32 value from the array and the input data.

          static int CreateCRC32( struct dsc$descriptor *InputDataDesc )
            {
            uint32 AUTODIN2;
            uint32 Seed = ~0UL;
            uint32 Coefficient = 0x0EDB88320UL;
            uint32 CRCArray[16];

            lib$establish( lib$sig_to_ret );

            lib$crc_table( (void *) &Coefficient, (void *) CRCArray );
            AUTODIN2 = lib$crc( (void *) CRCArray, (void *) &Seed, InputDataDesc );
            AUTODIN2 ^= Seed;

            return AUTODIN2;
            }

          __________________________________________________________
          10.30  Enabling built-in tracing?

                   $ RUN SYS$SYSTEM:SYSMAN
                   SYSMAN> SYS_LOAD ADD TR$DEBUG TR$DEBUG/LOAD_
          STEP=INIT/LOG
                   SYSMAN> Exit
                   $ @SYS$UPDATE:VMS$SYSTEM_IMAGES.COM

                   To stop it from loading early in boot

                   $  RUN SYS$SYSTEM:SYSMAN
                   SYSMAN> SYS_LOAD REMOVE TR$DEBUG TR$DEBUG/LOG
                   SYSMAN> Exit
                   $ @SYS$UPDATE:VMS$SYSTEM_IMAGES.COM

                                                                     10-31

 





                   OpenVMS Programming Information




                   The first occurance of the name TR$DEBUG within the
                   command is considered the "product" and the second
                   is considered the "image" that should exist within
                   SYS$LOADABLE_IMAGES.

                   When TR$DEBUG loads in the init phase, it will
                   automatically turn on tracing.

                   Also see the SDA TR extension.



































                   10-32

 










                   _______________________________________________________

          11       DECwindows



          __________________________________________________________
          11.1  How do I let someone else display something on my
                workstation?

                   On a workstation, you will want to use the "Customize"
                   menu of the session manager utility and select
                   "Security". When the pop-up box appears, you can
                   select the host node, username, and tranport that will
                   allow you to launch an application that targets the
                   workstation display.

                   If this does not provide you with access to the
                   display, You need a checklist of sorts:

                   o  Make sure that you've specified the X-windows
                      "display" correctly on the remote host. For a
                      DECnet transport, the specification uses two colons,
                      while the TCP/IP transport typically uses one. The
                      X Windows server and the X Windows screen follow
                      the host specification, delimited by a period. For
                      example:

          ________________________________________________________________
          Table 11-1  X Windows Display Commands

                   _______________________________________________________
                   Shell_____Command______________________________________

                   csh

                             # setenv DISPLAY vms.domain:0.0

                   sh and ksh

                             # $ DISPLAY=vms.domain:0.0 ; export DISPLAY

                   DCL

                             $ SET DISPLAY/CREATE/NODE=vms.domain -
          ___________________/TRANSPORT=TCPIP/SERVER=server/SCREEN=screen_

                   o  If you have verified the command is correct and
                      things are still not working, ensure the Security
                      settings on the OpenVMS host side will allow the

                                                                      11-1

 





                   DECwindows




                      incoming connection: Pull down the "Options" menu
                      in the Session Manager, and select "Security...". If
                      you do not find your host and username and transport
                      listed among the authorized users, you will need to
                      add an entry.

                     o  There are various transports available, including
                        LOCAL, DECNET, LAT, and TCPIP. You must Select
                        the transport appropriate to the incoming
                        connection.

                     o  If the transport is "DECnet", do NOT add the
                        double colon (::) to the node name.

                     o  If the transport is "TCPIP", "Username" must
                        be an asterisk (*). Why? Because unlike DECnet,
                        the TCP/IP protocol does not provide the remote
                        username information in the incoming connection.

                     o  If the connection is "TCPIP", it is best to use
                        a full domain name (e.g. Node.Subd.Domain).
                        However, you may have to use the IP address
                        itself, if your host does not have a way to
                        resolve the address via DNS. If you have the
                        luxury of fixed addresses (eg: you are not using
                        DHCP), then it can be helpful to add two entries
                        for each TCP/IP host, one that specifies the host
                        name and one that specifies the host address.

                     o  There are various TCP/IP packages for OpenVMS,
                        and you must use syntax appropriate to the
                        transport installed.

                     o  If a TCP/IP connection is still not working,
                        ensure that the transport you want has been
                        activated for use with DECwindows. See
                        Section 11.14 for details of configuring TCP/IP
                        as a transport.

                   o  There is a log file created in SYS$MANAGER: which
                      can tell you which transports are loaded, and
                      also tell you what connect attempts were rejected,
                      including showing what the presented credentials
                      were. This file is SYS$MANAGER:DECW$SERVER_0_
                      ERROR.LOG, although the 0 could be another number
                      if you have multiple servers on the workstation. I

                   11-2

 





                   DECwindows




                      have found this file to be very useful for tracking
                      down what needs to be put in the Session Manager
                      Security entries.

          __________________________________________________________
          11.2  How do I create a display on another workstation?

                   To create a display from an OpenVMS host to a remote X
                   Windows display, use one of the following DCL commands:

                   $ SET DISPLAY /CREATE /TRANSPORT=net_transport /NODE=remote_node
                   $ SET DISPLAY /CREATE /TRANSPORT=LAT /NODE=remote_node
                   $ SET DISPLAY /CREATE /TRANSPORT=DECnet /NODE=remote_node
                   $ SET DISPLAY /CREATE /TRANSPORT=TCPIP /NODE=remote_node

                   Note that LAT is typically used only for the VXT series
                   X Windows terminals, but it can also be used from
                   OpenVMS to OpenVMS systems on various OpenVMS releases,
                   such as on OpenVMS Alpha V6.1 and later. For details on
                   configuring the TCP/IP transport, see Section 11.14.

                   If you are interested in X Windows terminals and have
                   an older VAXstation system around, please see the EWS
                   package on Freeware V5.0.

          __________________________________________________________
          11.3  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.

                   An example of calling the underlying (and also
                   undocumented) sys$qio programming interface for the
                   WSDRIVER (WSAn:) is available at:

                   http://www.hp.com/go/openvms/freeware/

          Look in the Freeware V4.0 directory /srh_examples/DECUS_UNDOC_
          CLINIC/.


                                                                      11-3

 





                   DECwindows



          __________________________________________________________
          11.4  How do I get a log of a DECterm session?

                   If you are working from a DECwindows DECterm terminal
                   emulator, 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 of the characters and
                   escape sequences are captured, but if you display the
                   resulting log file on a DECterm, then you will see
                   exactly what was originally displayed.

                   You can also use the "Print Screen" screen capture
                   available in the DECwindows session manager menus, if
                   you simply wish to snapshot a particular portion of the
                   X Windows display.

                   If you are using the Freeware VTstar terminal emulator
                   package, you will find a similar logging mechanism is
                   available in the menus.

          __________________________________________________________
          11.5  Why is DECwindows Motif not starting?

                   First check to see if there is a graphics device,
                   usually a G* device. (eg: On a DEC 2000 model 300,
                   use the command SHOW DEVICE GQ) If you do not find a
                   graphics device:

                   o  OpenVMS has failed to find the appropriate IRQ
                      information for an EISA graphics card (on the
                      DEC 2000 series) such as the HP (Compaq) QVision,
                      and did not autoconfigure it. Run the correct ECU
                      (for Tru64 UNIX and OpenVMS) and reboot. This is
                      necessary only on EISA-based systems.

                   o  You have an EISA-based system (such as the DEC
                      2000 model 300) and do not have a HP (Compaq)
                      QVision video card. This EISA graphics card should
                      have Compaq printed on it, and identifies itself
                      as a CPQ3011 or a CPQ3111. If it is not one of
                      these two EISA devices, then OpenVMS does not
                      support it. (There are no other supported EISA
                      graphics controllers, and EISA graphics are normally

                   11-4

 





                   DECwindows




                      used with DECwindows only on the DEC 2000 series
                      systems.)

                   o  You have a PCI-based system, and do not have a
                      supported graphics controller-examples of supported
                      controllers include the following:

                     o  Radeon 7500

                     o  PowerStorm 3D30, PowerStorm 4D20

                     o  3DLabs Oxygen VX1

                      See Section 5.16 for further information on some of
                      these graphics controllers.

                   o  You have booted the system minimally, or have
                      otherwise disabled the device autoconfiguration
                      process.

                   If there is a G* graphics device present:

                   o  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.

                   o  The system parameter WINDOW_SYSTEM is not set to
                      1. While this was a common way for system managers
                      to disable the DECwindows server startup, it is
                      not particularly reliable as DECwindows can now
                      "correct" this setting.

                      If you really do not want an OpenVMS system with
                      workstation hardware to bootstrap and configure
                      itself as a workstation, add the following
                      definition to SYLOGICALS.COM:

                      $ DEFINE/SYSTEM/EXEC DECW$IGNORE_WORKSTATION TRUE

                   o  You may not have a valid DECwindows Motif license
                      loaded. To check for the two most common types of
                      Motif product authorization keys (PAKs), use the
                      following DCL commands:

                      $ LICENSE LIST DW-MOTIF/FULL
                      $ LICENSE LIST NET-APP-SUP*/FULL

                                                                      11-5

 





                   DECwindows




                      and examine the information displayed. Make sure
                      that one of these licenses is present, valid and
                      active.

                      For information on registering software license
                      product authorization keys (PAKs) when you
                      cannot log into the system directly, please see
                      Section 5.6.2.

                   o  Check that the DECW$PRIVATE_SERVER_SETUP.COM is
                      correct for the graphics controller in use. For
                      instance:

                      The following is from the 9FX Vision 330 Owners
                      Guide, EK-V330G-OG pg 2-9. Place the following in
                      DECW$PRIVATE_SERVER_SETUP.COM, creatibng .COM from
                      .TEMPLATE if necessary. Locate the DECW$PRIVATE_
                      SERVER_SETUP.COM file in SYS$SPECIFIC:[SYSMGR] or
                      in SYS$COMMON:[SYSMGR] as appropriate; the former
                      file is used for this system within a cluster
                      configuration, and the latter is used for all
                      systems that do not also have a local copy of this
                      file in SYS$SPECIFIC:[SYSMGR].

                      $ DECW$XSIZE_IN_PIXELS == xvalue
                      $ DECW$YSIZE_IN_PIXELS == yvalue
                      $ DEFINE/SYSTEM DECW$SERVER_REFRESH_RATE rate_in_Hz

                      Also see Section 11.11. Details of the PowerStorm
                      3D30 and 4D20 settings are available in the OpenVMS
                      Ask The Wizard area.

          __________________________________________________________
          11.6  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 label" is
                   what you want to display:

                   To set the DECterm title, send the escape character,
                   then the characters "]21;", then the text label string,
                   and then an escape character followed by a backslash
                   character.

                   11-6

 





                   DECwindows




                   To set the icon label, send the escape character, then
                   the characters "]2L;", then the icon label string,
                   and then an escape character followed by a backslash
                   character.

                   To set both the DECterm title and icon to the full
                   device name, you can use the following DCL commands:

          $  esc[0,7] = 27
          $  fulldevnam = F$Edit(F$GetDVI("TT","FULLDEVNAM"),"UPCASE,COLLAPSE")
          $  write sys$output esc+ "]21;" + fulldevnam + esc + "\"
          $  write sys$output esc+ "]2L;" + fulldevnam + esc + "\"

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

                   Also see Section 12.1 and Section 8.13.

          __________________________________________________________
          11.7  How do I customize DECwindows, including the login screen?

                   To customize various DECwindows Motif characteristics
                   including the defaults used by the SET DISPLAY command,
                   the DECwindows login screen background logo used (the
                   default is the DIGITAL, Compaq, or HP logo), various
                   keymaps (also see Section 11.7.2 and Section 11.7.1),
                   the FileView defaults, session manager defaults,
                   the DECwindows login processing, DECwindows log file
                   processing, and various other DECwindows attributes,
                   see the example file:

                   $ SYS$MANAGER:DECW$PRIVATE_APPS_SETUP.TEMPLATE

                   This example template file is typically copied over to
                   the filename SYS$COMMON:[SYSMGR]DECW$PRIVATE_APPS_
                   SETUP.COM and then modified to meet site-specific
                   requirements.

                   Additionally, various X tools such as xsetroot, bitmap
                   and xrdb-some these can be useful in customizing the
                   appearance of an application or of the DECwindows Motif
                   display-are provided in the DECW$UTILS: area.

                   When using DECwindows V1.2-4 and later on OpenVMS
                   Alpha, the default desktop is the Common Desktop
                   Environment (CDE). You can select your preferred
                   desktop (CDE or DECwindows Motif) when logging in,
                   or you can change the default to the DECwindows

                                                                      11-7

 





                   DECwindows




                   Motif desktop using the DCL symbol decw$start_new_
                   desktop in the DECwindows private application setup
                   command procedure. See SYS$MANAGER:DECW$PRIVATE_APPS_
                   SETUP.TEMPLATE for further details, and how to create
                   DECW$PRIVATE_APPS_SETUP.COM.

                   Note that with DECwindows CDE, the root window is
                   no longer visible by default. The root window is
                   hidden behind the "backdrop" window of the current
                   CDE workspace. To make the root window visible, use the
                   CDE style manager selection "backdrop none", and use
                   information such as that in the OpenVMS FAQ to set the
                   root window.

                   To add a new backdrop to the DECwindows CDE
                   environment, the backdrop must first be in or be
                   converted into X11 pixmap format. (This conversion
                   is often possible using tools such as xv.) Then (if
                   necessary) create the default backdrop directory
                   SYS$COMMON:[CDE$DEFAULTS.USER.BACKDROPS]. Place the
                   X11 pixmap file containing the desired image into the
                   backdrops directory, ensure that it has a filename
                   extension of .PM. (The xv default filename extension
                   for the X11 pixmap file is .XPM, while CDE expects
                   only to see files with .PM.) Now invoke the CDE style
                   manager and select a new backdrop. You will find
                   your image will be placed at the end of the list of
                   backdrops available.

                   If you require a message be included on the initial
                   display-where the start session display and the logo
                   appears-you can use either of the following approaches:

                   o  The simplest approach requires OpenVMS V7.3-2 or
                      later, and the corresponding DECwindows V1.3-
                      1 kit or later. You will want to create a file
                      named SYS$COMMON:[SYSMGR]DECW$GREET.TXT, and this
                      will be displayed in a popup-with an OK button-
                      when the login box is displayed. This is intended
                      specifically for applications requiring such a
                      display.



                   11-8

 





                   DECwindows




                   o  The second approach involves copying the file
                      XRESOURCES.DAT from

                      SYS$SYSDEVICE:[VMS$COMMON.CDE$DEFAULTS.SYSTEM.CONFIG.C]

          into the directory

                      SYS$SYSDEVICE:[VMS$COMMON.CDE$DEFAULTS.USER.CONFIG.C]

          and editing the copy. Specifically, look for the following:

                      Dtlogin*greeting.labelString:

                      The line is normally commented out, and by default
                      contains the string:

                      Welcome to %localhost%

                      You can change this text to something akin to the
                      following:

          Dtlogin*greeting.labelString:  Welcome to Heck \n\
          This is a Trusted System owned by the Rulers of the planet Zark\n\
          \n\
          We Come In Peace\n\
          \n
          If you want Privacy, you've come to the wrong place\n\
          \n

                      The lines of text will be centered for you.

                      In most DECwindows versions, you will be able to
                      onbtain only about eight (8) lines of text. Changes
                      have been implemented in DECwindows V1.3 and later
                      that permit up to about twenty-five (25) lines of
                      text.

                   The login logo is stored as an XPM bitmap image in the
                   text file SYS$SYSROOT:[SYSCOMMON.CDE$DEFAULTS.SYSTEM.APPCONFIG.ICONS.C]DECDTLOGO.PM,
                   and it can be changed. Copy the file to SYS$SYSROOT:[SYSCOMMON.CDE$DEFAULTS.USER.APPCONFIG.ICONS.C]DECDTLOGO.PM,
                   as DECwindows upgrades can replace the system version
                   of this file.

                   On DECwindows V1.3-1 and later (and possibly on V1.3),
                   both DECwindows CDE and DECwindows Motif displays use
                   this logo file. On older releases, only the DECwindows
                   CDE displays used this logo file, while the logo
                   used for the Motif login display was hard-coded into
                   the package and the only available override is the

                                                                      11-9

 





                   DECwindows




                   DECW$LOGINLOGO command procedure mechanism within the
                   customized, site-specific DECW$PRIVATE_APPS_SETUP.COM
                   file.

                   Look at the contents of the DECDTLOGO.PM file and at
                   other *.XPM files and tools for additional details.

          _____________________________
          11.7.1  How do I customize DECwindows keymapping?

                   Various keymaps can be implemented on OpenVMS and other
                   X Windows systems, allowing the implementation of
                   a Dvorak-style or other alternate keymappings. For
                   details, see the available X Windows documentation
                   (this is the documentation associated with X Windows
                   itself, and not the product documentation for the
                   OpenVMS operating system nor for the DECwindows
                   X Windows implementation) and see the DECwindows
                   *.DECW$KEYMAP (text-format) files found in the
                   DECwindows DECW$KEYMAP: directory.

                   For other keymapping information, see Section 11.7.2.

          _____________________________
          11.7.2  Why does the DELETE key delete forward instead of
                  backward?

                   See the SET TERMINAL/BACKSPACE command on OpenVMS V8.2
                   and later.

                   This behaviour involves the Motif virtual key bindings.
                   When a Motif application starts, 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.





                   11-10

 





                   DECwindows




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

                   To merge:

                   $ xrdb :== $decw$utils:xrdb.exe
                   $ xrdb -nocpp -merge decw$xdefaults.dat

                   Also note that the DECW$UTILS:DECW$DEFINE_UTILS.COM
                   procedure can be used to establish the xrdb and other
                   symbols.

                   Also see the DECxterm directory of Freeware V5.0 for
                   details on connecting to OpenVMS from various UNIX
                   platforms.

                   For other keymapping information, see Section 11.7.1.







                                                                     11-11

 





                   DECwindows



          __________________________________________________________
          11.8  Why doesn't XtAppAddInput() work on OpenVMS?

                   Yes, XtAppAddInput()  does work on OpenVMS. The MIT
                   definition of the X Windows call XtAppAddInput()
                   includes platform-specific arguments.

                   On platforms where C is the typically the primary
                   programming language for the platform, the file
                   descriptor mask is one of the arguments to the
                   XtAppAddInput()  call.

                   On OpenVMS, the platform-specific arguments to this
                   call include an event flag and an IOSB, as these are
                   the traditional OpenVMS constructs used to synchronize
                   the completion of asynchronous operations. While it
                   would be easier to port non-OpenVMS C code that calls
                   XtAppAddInput()  over to OpenVMS if the arguments
                   included the C file descriptor, this would make the
                   call unusable from other OpenVMS languages, and would
                   make it extremely difficult to use OpenVMS features
                   such as ASTs and sys$qio calls.

                   One restriction on the event flag: the event flag
                   chosen must be from event flag cluster zero. When using
                   the traditional lib$get_ef and lib$free_ef calls to
                   allocate and deallocate event flags, you must first
                   explicitly call lib$free_ef to free up some event flags
                   in event flag cluster zero. Please see the event flag
                   documentation for specific details on these calls and
                   for specific event flags that can be freed in event
                   flag cluster zero.

                   Here is some example code that covers calling this
                   routine on OpenVMS:










                   11-12

 





                   DECwindows




                       m->InputID = XtAppAddInput(
                           m->AppCtx,
                           m->InputEF,
                           m->InputIosb,
                           the_callback, 1 );
                       if ( !((int) m->InputID ))
                           {
                           XtAppErrorMsg(
                               m->AppCtx,
                               "invalidDevice",
                               "XtAppAddInput",
                               "XtToolkitError",
                               "Can't Access Device",
                               (String *) NULL,
                               (Cardinal *) NULL );
                           ...

          __________________________________________________________
          11.9  Why do the keyboard arrow keys move the DECwindows cursor?

                   Congratulations, you have just stumbled into "dead
                   rodent" mode. This DECwindows environment-where the
                   keyboard arrow keys move the mouse cursor and where
                   the [SELECT], [PREV], and [NEXT] keys emulate the three
                   mouse buttons-allows rudimentary system operations when
                   the mouse is among the casualties.

                   To enter or exit "dead rodent" mode, enter the
                   following: <CTRL/SHIFT/F3>

          __________________________________________________________
          11.10  Why does half my DECwindows display blank?

                   This is likely a result of receiving an OPCOM or other
                   console message on a system that shares the system
                   console with the DECwindows graphics workstation
                   display.

                   You can toggle off the console display window using
                   <CTRL/F2> and you can enable a serial console per
                   Section 14.3.6 or Section 14.3.3.3.



                                                                     11-13

 





                   DECwindows




                   Also see the console message window application
                   available with recent DECwindows versions-DECwindows
                   versions V1.2-3 and later will enable this window
                   by default. For details on this console message
                   window, see the DECW$CONSOLE_SELECTION option in
                   SYS$STARTUP:DECW$PRIVATE_APPS_SETUP.TEMPLATE.

                   On older releases, you can disable output using the
                   following:

                   $ SET TERMINAL/PERMANENT/NOBROADCAST OPA0:
                   $ DEFINE/USER SYS$COMMAND OPA0:
                   $ REPLY/DISABLE

                   Also see Section 14.3.3.2, Section 14.17, and Also see
                   Section 8.4,

          __________________________________________________________
          11.11  %DECW-W-NODEVICE, No graphics device found on this
                 system?

                   To resolve the following error:

                   %DECW-W-NODEVICE, No graphics device found on this system
                   -DECW-I-NODECW, DECwindows graphics drivers will not be loaded

                   o  Ensure that the system parameter WINDOW_SYSTEM is
                      set to 1. If it is not set to a value of 1, issue
                      the commands:

                      $ run sys$system:sysgen
                      USE CURRENT
                      SET WINDOW_SYSTEM 1
                      WRITE ACTIVE
                      WRITE CURRENT
                      EXIT

                      Then reboot the system.

                   o  On OpenVMS Alpha, ensure the SYSMAN IO PREFIX LIST
                      is set correctly, and specifically ensure the DECW$
                      prefix is included in the existing list. If it is
                      not, you will need to add it:

                   11-14

 





                   DECwindows




          $ run sys$system:sysman
          IO SHOW PREFIX
          IO SET PREFIX=(DECW$,*)   * = list returned by the show command
          IO AUTO/LOG
          EXIT

                   o  Ensure that the image SYS$SHARE:DECW$ICBM.EXE is
                      installed in memory. If it is not installed, then
                      install it:

          $ INSTALL LIST/FULL SYS$SHARE:DECW$ICBM
          $ INSTALL REPLACE SYS$SHARE:DECW$ICBM
          $ EDIT SYS$MANAGER:SYCONFIG.COM

          $! The following line was added to install
          $! support for the Mach64 Graphics Card
          $!
          $ INSTALL REPLACE SYS$SHARE:DECW$ICBM
          $ ^Z

                      Then reboot the system.

                      The ICBM mechanism is not used on and not needed by
                      more recent DECwindows versions.

                   o  If the system still complains "%DECW-W-NODEVICE, No
                      graphics device found on this system", then:

                     o  Boot the system as normal

                     o  Login as SYSTEM.

                     o  Create the file SYS$COMMON:[SYSMGR]DECW$USER_
                        AUTOCONFIG.DAT. Protection must permit world read
                        access.

                     o  Add the following string on the very first line:

          CLEAR_PFLAG = ISA_4BYTE

                     o  Save the file

                     o  Set the file protections

          $ SET PROTECTION=W:RE SYS$MANAGER:DECW$USER_AUTOCONFIG.DAT

                     o  Reboot the system

                   Also see Section 11.5.

                                                                     11-15

 





                   DECwindows



          __________________________________________________________
          11.12  How can I reset the warning bell volume?

                   With DECwindows CDE drivers and ECOs starting with ECOs
                   for the DECwindows keyboard driver SYS$IKBDRIVER.EXE
                   in OpenVMS Alpha V7.1-2 and V7.2-1 and with the
                   SYS$IKBDRIVER.EXE included in OpenVMS V7.2-1H1 and
                   later, the DECwindows CDE controls will now correctly
                   manage the setting of the warning bell volume.

                   Unfortunately, the equivalent controls in the older
                   DECwindows Motif interface are not compatible and can
                   no longer manage the warning bell volume.

                   If you need to manage the volume with DECwindows Motif,
                   consider using the following approach:

                   $ @decw$utils:decw$define_utils
                   $ xset b 1 100 100

                   The numerics are the volume, pitch, and duration,
                   respectively.

                   Why? When OpenVMS first started supporting the PC-style
                   keyboards, the X Windows Server and the keyboard driver
                   interface did not support the pitch and duration, and
                   neither did DECwindows Motif. The DECwindows keyboard
                   driver was accordingly changed to use the volume from
                   the keyclick setting (keyclick is not available in
                   a PC-style keyboard) and the bell volume setting to
                   control the pitch and duration.

                   DECwindows CDE does provide sliders for setting pitch
                   and duration, so the keyboard driver and X Windows
                   Server were modified to provide all of the information,
                   and now the DECwindows CDE sliders work. This change is
                   unfortunately incompatible with the old scheme used on
                   the pre-CDE desktops, and the volume controls are now
                   incompatible with the current keyboard drivers. Hence
                   the use of xset.





                   11-16

 





                   DECwindows



          __________________________________________________________
          11.13  How can I alter the DECwindows CDE backdrop?

                   To select a separate backdrop to be displayed on each
                   screen using DECwindows CDE:

                   o  Click on the Application Manager. This is the drawer
                      icon on the CDE toolbar.

                   o  Click on Desktop Tools

                   o  Click on Set Default Screen and select the required
                      screen

                   o  Click on the Style Manager. This is the one
                      containing the mouse and ttt on the CDE toolbar

                   o  Now change the background.

          __________________________________________________________
          11.14  How can I enable the DECwindows TCP/IP Transport

                   To configure the TCP/IP transport for DECwindows,
                   first ensure that a TCP/IP package is installed and
                   configured. Then set the DCL symbol DECW$SERVER_
                   TRANSPORTS in SYS$MANAGER:DECW$PRIVATE_SERVER_
                   SETUP.COM to the appropriate local value, based on
                   the comments in that file. If you do not have a copy of
                   SYS$STARTUP:DECW$PRIVATE_SERVER_SETUP.COM, the use the
                   following COPY command to create this file based on the
                   provided template file:

          $ COPY SYS$MANAGER:DECW$PRIVATE_SERVER_SETUP.TEMPLATE -
          $_ SYS$COMMON:[SYSMGR]DECW$PRIVATE_SERVER_SETUP.COM

          __________________________________________________________
          11.15  Can I use DECwindows 1.2-* on OpenVMS V7.3-2 or later?

                   The short answer is no.

                   OpenVMS Alpha V7.3-2 only supports DECwindows Motif
                   V1.3 and later. If you require DECwindows V1.2-6 or
                   earlier, then you are limited to operations on OpenVMS
                   Alpha V7.3-1 and earlier releases.

                   The central technical reason involves depdendencies
                   among the parts of the X11 subsystem that are delivered
                   with the base OpenVMS operating system including the X
                   Windows display server and the transport images, and

                                                                     11-17

 





                   DECwindows




                   the parts of the DECwindows product that are delivered
                   within the DECwindows installation kits including the
                   client libraries and the DECwindows applications.

                   DECwindows V1.3 and later made substantial changes to
                   the transport layer, and these required corresponding
                   changes to both the associated client and server code.
                   OpenVMS Alpha V7.3-2 includes the server and transport
                   with the V1.3 modifications. These changes were in
                   support of the upgrade of Xlib from X11R5 to X11R6.6,
                   and transport-level changes associated with support of
                   the Kerberos and LBX features.

                   If you attempt to load DECwindows V1.2-6 images onto an
                   OpenVMS Alpha V7.3-2 or later system, the DECwindows
                   libraries will not function with with system images
                   and will particularly not function with the transport
                   layer.

          __________________________________________________________
          11.16  How to add Fonts into DECwindows?

                   The following assumes DECwindows V1.3-1 and OpenVMS
                   Alpha V7.3-2 and later unless stated otherwise, and can
                   permit fonts of various formats to be added into the
                   DECwindows environment.

                   The recommended location for user font files is to
                   place them in the directories which are reserved
                   for this purpose, typically located below the
                   SYS$COMMON:[SYSFONT.DECW] directory.

                   SYS$COMMON:[SYSFONT.DECW.USER_100DPI]
                   SYS$COMMON:[SYSFONT.DECW.USER_75DPI]

                   The above are recommended for PCF files of 100 Dots Per
                   Inch (DPI) and of 75 DPI resolution, respectively.

                   SYS$COMMON:[SYSFONT.DECW.USER_COMMON]

                   The above is recommended for other PCF files, such
                   as terminal (character cell) fonts, and fonts used by
                   specific applications.

                   SYS$COMMON:[SYSFONT.DECW.USER_CURSOR16]
                   SYS$COMMON:[SYSFONT.DECW.USER_CURSOR32]

                   11-18

 





                   DECwindows




                   The above are recommended for cursors.

                   SYS$COMMON:[SYSFONT.DECW.USER_SPEEDO]

                   SPEEDO is recommended for SPD files.

                   SYS$COMMON:[SYSFONT.DECW.USER_TRUETYPE]

                   USER_TRUETYPE is recommended for TrueType (TTF)
                   fonts. Fonts placed in this directory should be in
                   the "Windows / Linux" format.

                   The directory will contain the font files themselves,
                   and a data file that describes each font in the
                   directory. This file is named DECW$FONT_DIRECTORY.DAT
                   or DECW$FONT_DIRECTORY_extension.DAT, where "extension"
                   is replaced by the type of font (100DPI, SPEEDO,
                   TRUETYPE, TYPE1, etc.)

                   Make sure that the file protection on the font files is
                   set to allow world access to the fonts.

                   For example: to add TrueType fonts to DECwindows,
                   place the font files in SYS$COMMON:[SYSFONT.DECW.USER_
                   TRUETYPE]

                   A directory listing might look like this:

          Directory SYS$COMMON:[SYSFONT.DECW.USER_TRUETYPE]

          ARKOI8N.TTF;1                            46KB/48KB        5-MAR-1995 04:00:00.00
          backstage.ttf;1                          55KB/56KB       19-JUL-2004 09:42:20.92
          IDAutomationHC39M_Free.ttf;1             27KB/32KB       29-JUL-2003 11:25:48.00
          ...
          texsi.ttf;1                             133KB/136KB      25-MAY-2003 15:31:11.00
          texw.ttf;1                              150KB/152KB      25-MAY-2003 15:32:33.00

          Total of 37 files, 3.09MB/3.23MB

                   The case of the filename is not important.

                   TrueType fonts should be in Stream_LF file format.

                   To generate the appropriate DECW$FONT_DIRECTORY.DAT
                   file for most font formats, issue the command:

                   $ FONTCOMPILER /DIRECTORY

                                                                     11-19

 





                   DECwindows




                   The above may or may not operate with TrueType files,
                   and you will likely have to generate the DECW$FONT_
                   DIRECTORY_TRUETYPE.DAT file manually. A sample file
                   follows:

          37
          BACKSTAGE.ttf -Grfonts-Backstage-bold-r-normal--0-0-0-0-p-0-iso8859-1
          IDAutomationHC39M_Free.ttf -IDAutomation-HC39M-medium-r-normal--0-0-0-0-m-0-misc-Barcode39
          SUSESerif-Bold.ttf -Suse-Suse-bold-r-normal--0-0-0-0-p-0-iso8859-1
          SUSESerif-Roman.ttf -Suse-Suse-medium-r-normal--0-0-0-0-p-0-iso8859-1
          SUSESans-Bold.ttf -Suse-Suse-bold-r-normal-sans-0-0-0-0-p-0-iso8859-1
          SUSESans-BoldOblique.ttf -Suse-Suse-bold-o-normal-sans-0-0-0-0-p-0-iso8859-1
          SUSESans-Oblique.ttf -Suse-Suse-medium-o-normal-sans-0-0-0-0-p-0-iso8859-1
          SUSESans-Roman.ttf -Suse-Suse-medium-r-normal-sans-0-0-0-0-p-0-iso8859-1
          SUSESansMono-Bold.ttf -Suse-Suse Mono-bold-r-normal-sans-0-0-0-0-m-0-iso8859-1
          ...
          MCTIMEBI.TTF -UOregon-MAC C Times-bold-i-normal--0-0-0-0-p-0-macedonian-0
          MCTIMEI.TTF -UOregon-MAC C Times-medium-i-normal--0-0-0-0-p-0-macedonian-0

                   The first line of this data file is the number of
                   font file entries which follow. Each entry consists
                   of the font file name, and a font description. There
                   are fourteen fields in the description, separated by
                   hyphens (dashes, "-"). Fields may contain embedded
                   spaces. The fields are

                   o  Foundry: the name of the company or person which
                      produced the font.

                   o  Family: the name of the Typeface (what most people
                      will call the "font").

                   o  Weight: How "heavy" the type appears. Normal fonts
                      are "medium" or "regular", variations include
                      "bold", "demi", "light", etc.

                   o  Slant: "r" for regular, "i" for italic, or "o" for
                      oblique.

                   o  Width: "normal", "wide", "narrow", "condensed", etc.

                   o  Style: normally left empty, it can also identify
                      variations on a basic family such as "sans" (sans
                      serifs; without the serif, the ending and usually
                      pointed portion of the stroke). Fonts of different
                      styles can be grouped in the same family.

                   11-20

 





                   DECwindows




                   o  Sizes: the next four fields identify the size and
                      scale of individual characters for fonts that have
                      fixed point sizes. For fonts which scale (such as
                      TrueType), the four fields are all zero.

                   o  Spacing: "p" for proportional, "m" for monospaced,
                      or "c" for character cell.

                      Note: although DECwindows can identify different
                      spacings within a family, the author has found that
                      mixing monospaced and proportional fonts in the same
                      family may cause some proportional font options to
                      not appear in a font selection menu within Notepad
                      (only). (A fix for this is expected in DECwindows
                      V1.5 and later.)

                   o  The next field is always zero for TrueType fonts.

                   o  Character Set: the last two fields identify the name
                      and version number of the character set represented
                      within the font. For many applications, these fields
                      are informational only.

                   The next step is to update the list of fonts known to
                   DECwindows, using the xset utility.

                   $ mc decw$utils:xset fp rehash

                   It is also possible to reset the font list to the
                   default:

                   $ mc decw$utils:xset fp default

                   This is useful if you need to recover from errors.

                   The Notepad utility, normally available through the
                   "Applications" menu in Session Manager, is a convenient
                   way to see if the font is available. Start the
                   application, select "Options", then select "Font...".
                   In the "Family (Foundry)" window, you will see the
                   list of fonts available. User-added TrueType fonts will
                   normally be at the end of this list. Select the desired
                   font family, then select the Size (dpi) (which will
                   always be 0(0) for TrueType fonts), and the various
                   font options (Weight, Slant, Width, etc.) should appear
                   in the next window. You should then be able to select
                   the desired font and click <OK> or <Apply> to use it,
                   or <Cancel> to exit without changing the font.

                                                                     11-21

 





                   DECwindows




                   If you don't see all of the fonts you added, check to
                   see that the number at the beginning of the DECW$FONT_
                   DIRECTORY*.DAT file is correct, that the files are set
                   to world (or appropriate) access, and that TrueType
                   fonts are in Stream_LF format.

                   Some applications require entering a full font name,
                   which will look like the font description entry.

                   Please keep in mind that not all applications can use
                   every font which may be available on your system.
                   For example, DECterm is designed to use families
                   of fonts specifically designed for character cell
                   applications. Other fonts (specifically TrueType)
                   may work erratically, and may result in an unusable
                   display. It is best to use only monospaced fonts
                   specifically intended for DECterm with DECterm.

                   The SYS$COMMON:[SYSFONT.DECW.USER_TRUETYPE] doesn't
                   exist on OpenVMS VAX V7.3 with DECwindows V1.2-6,
                   but the procedure above does appear to work if the
                   directory is created and the instructions above are
                   followed.





















                   11-22

 










                   _______________________________________________________

          12       Miscellaneous Information



          __________________________________________________________
          12.1  Where can I find information on escape and control
                sequences?

                   Information on escape and control sequences can be
                   found in the OpenVMS I/O User's Reference Manual, in
                   the chapter on the terminal driver. The chapter also
                   includes details on the general format and content of
                   these sequences.

                   Specific details on the escape and control sequences
                   supported by a particular serial device are typically
                   found in the documentation provided with the specific
                   device. Information on the sequences supported by
                   DECwindows DECterm terminal emulator are included in
                   the DECwindows documentation.

                   Examples of common escape and control sequences-
                   those typically used by the OpenVMS screen management
                   package-can be found in the OpenVMS system file
                   SYS$SYSTEM:SMGTERMS.TXT. (This file can be queried
                   under program control using SMG$GET_TERM_DATA, and you
                   don't need to use all of SMG to use this call.)

                   The following refers to the function keys on the LK-
                   series keyboards found on the VT-series terminals such
                   as the VT220 and VT510, and the LK-series keyboards
                   found on the OpenVMS workstations, and the keyboards
                   found on compatible terminals. (Though note that the
                   keyboard itself does not generate the sequence, the
                   terminal or terminal emulator generates the sequence
                   in response to user input.) In the following, {CSI} is
                   decimal code 155 and can be replaced by the sequence
                   "{ESC}[" (without the quotes) particularly for seven-
                   bit operations, SS3 is decimal code 143 and can be
                   replaced by "{ESC}O" particularly for seven-bit
                   operations. Older VT1xx series terminals and any
                   other terminals operating with seven-bit characters

                                                                      12-1

 





                   Miscellaneous Information




                   should not be sent eight-bit operators such as {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~

                   An example of working with escape sequences (in DCL)
                   follows:

                   $ esc5m = "*[5m"
                   $ esc5m[0,8] = 27
                   $ esc0m = "*[0m"
                   $ esc0m[0,8] = 27
                   $ write sys$output esc5m + "blinking text" + esc0m

                   Documentation on an ANSI terminal relatively similar to
                   the VT525 series is available at:

                   o  ftp://ftp.boundless.com/pub/text/adds/docs/260_prog/

                   o  ftp://ftp.boundless.com/pub/text/adds/docs/260_user/

                   Also see the various documentation and manuals
                   available at:

                   o  http://www.vt100.net/

                   Information on the ReGIS graphics character set is
                   available at:

                   o  http://www.cs.utk.edu/~shuford/terminal/dec_regis_
                      news.txt

                   Also:

                   o  http://www.boundless.com/Text_Terminals/VT/

                   Also see Section 11.6, Section 8.13.

                   12-2

 





                   Miscellaneous Information



          __________________________________________________________
          12.2  Does DECprint (DCPS) work with the LRA0 parallel port?

                   No.

                   The parallel printing port LRA0: found on many
                   OpenVMS Alpha systems is capable of some bidirectional
                   communications, with enough for basic operations with
                   most parallel printers.

                   DECprint (DCPS) requires more than just the simple
                   handshaking provided by the LRA0: port, therefore DCPS
                   does not work with the LRA0: port.

          __________________________________________________________
          12.3  How do I check for free space on a (BACKUP) tape?

                   You cannot know for certain, though you can certainly
                   estimate the remaining capacity.

                   Tape media is different than disk media, as disks
                   have a known and pre-determined fixed capacity. Modern
                   disks also appear logically perfect, based on bad block
                   revectoring support and the extra blocks hidden within
                   the disk structure for these bad block replacements.

                   The capacity of tape media is not nearly as pre-
                   determined, and the capacity can vary across different
                   tape media (slightly different media lengths or
                   different foil markers or other variations, for
                   instance) and even on the same media over time (as bad
                   spots in the media arise). Tapes can vary the amount of
                   recording media required, depending on the remaining
                   length of the tape, the numbers of correctable and
                   uncorrectable media errors that might occur, the
                   numbers and sizes of the inter-record gaps and related
                   tape structure overhead, the particular media error
                   recovery chosen, the tape density, the efficiently of
                   any data compression in use, and the storage overhead
                   required by BACKUP, tar, and other similar commands.

                   BACKUP using with the default settings results in
                   approximately 15% overhead, in terms of saveset size.
                   (eg: Assuming a 500 KB input, the total size would be
                   575 KB.)

                   Assuming no compression:
                   4 GB media / 575 KB saveset = 7294 savesets

                                                                      12-3

 





                   Miscellaneous Information




                   Assuming 1:2 compression:
                   8 GB media / 575 KB saveset = 14588 savesets

                                             Note

                      There are no inter-record gaps on DAT tapes. When
                      determining media capacity, you have to consider
                      these gaps with nine-track magtape media and
                      other formats with gaps. This is not the case
                      with DAT (DDS), as the format has no recording
                      gaps. However, the block structure underneath
                      the variable length record recording is based on
                      a block size of circa 124 KB. Further, writing
                      doubles filemarks and such can cause a loss of
                      up to the underlying block size. Thus even though
                      there are no inter-record gaps on DAT, larger
                      savesets are still usually best.

                   The compression algorithms used on various devices are
                   generally not documented-further, there is no way to
                   calculate the effective data compression ratio, the
                   tape mark overhead, and similar given just the data
                   to be stored on tape-short of actually trying it, of
                   course.

                   A typical compression ratio found with "everyday" data
                   is somewhere around 1:1.8 to 1:2.

                                             Note

                      OpenVMS often uses the term COMPACTION for
                      compression control, as in the qualifier /MEDIA_
                      FORMAT=COMPACTION.

          __________________________________________________________
          12.4  Correctly using license PAKs and LMF?

                   If you have multiple LMF$LICENSE.LDB databases in
                   your OpenVMS Cluster, then each and every PAK must
                   be installed in each and every license database present
                   in an OpenVMS Cluster. Even if you use /EXCLUDE or
                   /INCLUDE, you need to have a consistent set of PAKs
                   registered across all licensing databases present in
                   the OpenVMS Cluster.

                   12-4

 





                   Miscellaneous Information




                   If your software license permits it, you can use the
                   following two commands to transfer license PAKs:

                   $ LICENSE COPY...
                   $ LICENSE ISSUE/PROCEDURE/OUTPUT=file product,...

                   To display the particular license(s) required (such as
                   when you receive a NOLICENSE error), use the following
                   DCL sequence:

                   $ SET PROCESS/PRIVILEGE=ALL
                   $ REPLY/ENABLE
                   $ DEFINE/SYSTEM/EXECUTIVE LMF$DISPLAY_OPCOM_MESSAGE

                   This logical name will cause all license failures
                   to generate OPCOM messages, and this will hopefully
                   show which license(s) you need- there may well also
                   be additional license failures displayed, as various
                   products can check for and can be enabled by multiple
                   license PAKs. You will want to deassign this logical
                   name when done.

                   Some of the more common license PAKs:

            DECnet Phase IV:   DVNETRTG, DVNETEND, DVNETEXT, or NET-APP-SUP*
            DECnet-Plus:       DVNETRTG, DVNETEND, DVNETEXT, or NET-APP-SUP*
            TCP/IP Services:   UCX, or NET-APP-SUP*
            OpenVMS Alpha:     OPENVMS-ALPHA and OPENVMS-ALPHA-USER
            OpenVMS VAX:       VAX-VMS
            OpenVMS Galaxy:    OPENVMS-GALAXY
            Cluster (Alpha):   VMSCLUSTER, NET-APP-SUP*
            Cluster (VAX):     VAXCLUSTER, NET-APP-SUP*

                   Various NET-APP-SUP (NAS) license packages are
                   available, each with differing collections of products
                   authorized. See the various NAS Software Product
                   Description (SPD) documents for specific details.

                   o  http://h18000.www1.hp.com/info/spd/

                      OpenVMS typically uses SPD 25.01.xx, SPD 41.87.xx,
                      and SPD 82.35.xx.

                   To determine which license PAK is failing (via a
                   license check failure OPCOM message), use the command:

                   $ DEFINE/SYSTEM/EXECUTIVE LMF$DISPLAY_OPCOM_MESSAGE TRUE

                                                                      12-5


 ---------------------------- #include <rtfaq.h> -----------------------------
    For additional, please see the OpenVMS FAQ -- www.hp.com/go/openvms/faq
 --------------------------- pure personal opinion ---------------------------
        Hoff (Stephen) Hoffman   OpenVMS Engineering   hoff[at]hp.com

User Contributions:

Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic:




Part1 - Part2 - Part3 - Part4 - Part5 - Part6 - Part7 - Part8 - Part9 - Part10 - Part11

[ Usenet FAQs | Web FAQs | Documents | RFC Index ]

Send corrections/additions to the FAQ Maintainer:
hoff@hp.nospam





Last Update March 27 2014 @ 02:11 PM