[Info-vax] SET DEF and Other Questions Regarding DIR on a Different Hard

[Paul Sture]

In article <51082069$0$6361$e4fe514c at dreader35.news.xs4all.nl>,
 MG <marcogbNO at SPAMxs4all.nl> wrote:

> On 28-jan-2013 16:10, Bob Koehler wrote:
> >     Classic DECWindows, or CDE?
> 
> Good that you asked, I meant the "New Desktop"/CDE DECwindows.
> 
> 
> >     Classic DECWindows File Manager thinks it knows too much about file
> >     name syntax, it does not work entirely well with ODS-5.  When using
> >     extended file names with both user files and directories, it has a
> >     habit of showing the correct file names, but thinks the directory
> >     name is invalid.  Should have been coded to accept whatever file
> >     names Files-11 is returning.
> 
> Actually, also the "New Desktop"/CDE DECwindows suffers from poor
> ODS-5 interaction (in my experience at least).  Certain file names,
> certain file name lengths, etc. seem to even make the "File Manager"
> (e.g. "DTFILE") program crash, when I last messed around with it on
> VMS I64.
> 
> Because of those poor experiences --- but also, because I always
> found the excellent DCL CLI far more useful and interesting --- I
> barely saw the need to use any GUI much under VMS.

To be honest I never used the Motif or CDE File Manager programs for 
anything apart from showing other folks that the functionality was 
there, but I started with VMS V2.1 before such things existed and was 
quite happy with the command line.

> I found it magical, at first, to see CDE (as I was used to seeing
> it in UNIX/-derived environments) but then with the fileSpec, file
> versions and so forth.  It's sad that the 'desktop' barely evolved,
> or didn't improve much in recent years.

Likewise with a VMS background I could navigate Ultrix/Tru64 without any 
problems.  Yes it's a shame it didn't evolve, but if my colleagues and I 
could manage perfectly well without, there was probably little demand.

-- 
Paul Sture