[Info-vax] VMS Features I Wish Linux Had

[Johnny Billquist]

On 2016-06-14 12:42, VAXman- at SendSpamHere.ORG wrote:
> In article <njoifi$lv7$3 at Iltempo.Update.UU.SE>, Johnny Billquist <bqt at softjar.se> writes:
>> On 2016-06-13 23:20, VAXman- at SendSpamHere.ORG wrote:
>>> In article <e90cca68-697e-448b-9515-bfc6999612d0 at googlegroups.com>, lawrencedo99 at gmail.com writes:
>>>> On Tuesday, June 14, 2016 at 7:36:19 AM UTC+12, VAXman- wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> In VMS, what do you think processes command lines?  Assuming you're using=
>>>> =20
>>>>> the VMS CLI callback in yor program(s).  If it's just stupid unix-line -X
>>>>> switches, etc., then you're on your own.
>>>>
>>>> I remember, in my limited attempts to create custom command-line tools for =
>>>> VMS, I looked at the DCL CLD thing, and decided it was just simpler to defi=
>>>> ne a foreign command and use LIB$TPARSE.
>>>
>>> Huh?  You thought LIB$TPARSE was simpler than CLI/CLD?  I've done some extensive
>>> programming around LIB$T(ABLE_)PARSE (thousands of $STATEs/$TRANs statements) but
>>> I can tell you that when it comes to a having VMS command syntax in a program, it
>>> is CLI/CLD for me.
>>
>> And CLI/CLD is totally missing the point I was making. I'm not talking
>> about command line parsing. I'm talking about my own program doing
>> terminal I/O. I want line editing under those circumstances as well. How
>> will CLI command line editing help me there???
>
> Well, think about it.  Do you use an editor?  EDT and TPU take input from the
> terminal (keyboard input/terminal display) and both have never failed me when
> I needed to move about and edit that input.  Why should the terminal driver be
> the place to buffer all of your input to be corrected/edited because you make
> a mistake or wish to shorten your typing effort with recall and reuse of prior
> input?

I don't think an editor, or other special tool for a terminal is a valid 
source for an argument here.

There are always special tools that falls outside of the general case. 
Trying to make an argument based on that is just not meaningful. You 
could just as well claim that you don't need interactive terminals at 
all, as batch operations don't use them.

	Johnny