[Info-vax] Learning VMS application programming

[mcleanjoh at gmail.com]

On Wednesday, September 3, 2014 6:27:30 AM UTC+10, wend... at yahoo.com wrote:
> I've been looking for a tutorial book on VMS programming, something akin to Rochkind's _Advanced Unix Programming_. I haven't found anything online, but I've seen mention of these two books. Could anyone comment on their contents and/or recommend something else?
> 
>     Writing VAX/VMS Applications Using Pascal (Theo de Klerk, 1991)
> 
>     Software Implementation Techniques: Writing Software in OpenVMS, OS/2, UNIX and Windows NT (Donald Merusi, 1995)
> 
> Coming from Unix, I'm used to designing around the interaction of small, modular tools and using flat text files as a common interchange format. I need a thorough explanation of how to best design around VMS's heavier process model and relative complexity of the RMS.
> 
> I have looked through much of the docs available from HP, but they are not suitable tutorial material.


Wend... (?)

1. If you describe the concept of some program that you want to write then maybe folk here will point you at very relevant material.

2. No-one has mentioned anything about using the VMS editor.  Some people here prefer TPU, others prefer EDT and there are more editors than those.

3. You mentioned flat files as "a common interchange format".  If you mean to communicate between processes running in parallel then maybe see the Programming Concepts chapter on that.  If the programs are run sequentially then using files might be fine.

4. Perhaps some sessions at the forthcoming Boot Camp will interest you.  It would be a chance to mix with VMS people, learn from the sessions and ask questions.

5.  A few days spent crawling before trying to walk would be time well spent.