[Info-vax] Stupid question of the day, re: OpenVMS process names

[Chris Scheers]

Stephen Hoffman wrote:
> On 2020-03-13 13:55:51 +0000, Tim Lovern said:
> 
>> ...So what is actually happening behind the curtain?
> 
> Others have answered the immediate question.
> 
> Pragmatically, process names are best considered nice labels for the 
> SHOW SYSTEM display.
> 
> Process names are something I'd avoid for most other uses.
> 
> They're a less-than-entirely-robust means of target identification, when 
> used for process management.
> 
> I'd avoid them when working within an application.
> 
> Use another means of identifying the target, such as a lock.
> 
> I've seen cases of duplicate process names in the same group.
> 
> Whether that was a race condition, or otherwise?
> 
> They're best considered semi-useful display artifacts.

I have done it by setting the process name the same for two processes in 
different groups and then changing the UIC of one of the processes.

Nothing in the low level VMS internals prohibits it.  It just makes it 
problematic to identify the process by name.

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Chris Scheers, Applied Synergy, Inc.

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