[Info-vax] Copying VMS SaveSet Under Windows

[Roger Ivie]

On 2010-11-21, JF Mezei <jfmezei.spamnot at vaxination.ca> wrote:
> Aren't VMS tapes created with ANSI standards ? Shouldn't even Windows or
> a Unix be able to read the header followed by the saveset files from the
> VMS tape ?

Nice theory, but now.

Years ago, I was involved in a project for which we wanted to distribute
software and data files to PC-class machines using 8mm tape. Being of
the VMS bent, I broke out the RT-11 Software Support Manual and did
a fixed blocksize ANSI magtape implementation like RT-11 does. I could
manipulate the tapes using my PC software and VMS.

The customer for the project, however, was a Unix shop. Their sole idea
of tapes involved tar. It took me quite some poking about to find a Unix
program that could deal with labelled tapes. I suppose it goes without
saying that the software I found could not deal with multi-volume tape
sets.

I never did find a Windows solution for manipulating ANSI tapes. As far
as I can tell, Windows' concept of tapes was started by some proprietary
backup program early in Windows history and never changed.

It's been a good decade and a half, so things may have improved. But as
far as I know, ANSI tapes are still foreign concepts to both Unix and Windows.
-- 
roger ivie
rivie at ridgenet.net