[Info-vax] iomacs.mlb

[gezelter at rlgsc.com]

On Monday, January 21, 2019 at 3:56:18 PM UTC-5, Emilio Moreno wrote:
> On Monday, January 21, 2019 at 2:45:23 PM UTC-5, Stephen Hoffman wrote:
> > On 2019-01-21 15:24:06 +0000, emilioaxp at gmail.com said:
> > 
> > > Does anyone have this library?
> > > It's for compiling mar.
> > 
> > Not visible to DDG nor Google nor Google Groups search, so certainly 
> > not a commonly-referenced file, as you've probably already (not) found.
> > 
> > "mar" is not a package name that I recognize, though that is a common 
> > file extension used with VAX Macro32 assembler source code.
> > 
> > Are you sure that Macro32 library isn't local to whatever Macro32 code 
> > you're working with?
> > 
> > That library may well be populated from Macro32 code by some local 
> > build procedure, for instance.
> > 
> > What (presumably) OpenVMS open source package are you working with?
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > -- 
> > Pure Personal Opinion | HoffmanLabs LLC
> 
> it's a program I wrote for school a while back.
> I have the .lis file and it used iomacs.mlb
> I asked the school but they no longer have vaxes and these stuff is gone.

Emilio,

It was a common practice for instructors to develop packages of macros to make the housekeeping of writing assembler programs easier for students (Assembly language programming was typically the second term course in a Computer Science undergraduate major). The goal of such packages was to allow students to concentrate on the mechanics of assembler programming without getting mired in the details of IO interfacing with the operating system.

I have seen such packages implemented on a number of platforms, including RSX-11, OpenVMS, OS/360, unix, and Windows.

Best suggestion: reverse engineer the interface from the calls. As a shortcut, implement the needed subroutines in C, FORTRAN, or some other language.

- Bob Gezelter, http://www.rlgsc.com