[Info-vax] VMS enhancement suggestion: Add a "read regardless" file open option.

[Simon Clubley]

On 2020-11-09, Dave Froble <davef at tsoft-inc.com> wrote:
> On 11/9/2020 8:30 AM, Simon Clubley wrote:
>> On RSTS/E, you can view the contents of a file opened for write by
>> specifying mode 4096 as in:
>>
>> pip filename.dat/mo:4096
>>
>> What would be involved in adding a "read regardless" file open option
>> to VMS which would allow the opening of files for read only even if
>> they are already open for write, and then adding a qualifier to $ TYPE
>> to use this new option ?
>>
>> How useful would others here find this capability ?
>>
>> Simon.
>>
>
> Hmmm ....
>
> Seems like VAX Basic has a "read regardless" lock qualifier ...
>

I wasn't aware of that. Does it allow you to open a sequential file for
reading while the file is also in the process of being created by another
program ? You can clearly do it for batch log files but what about programs
that don't specify that writing mode when creating a sequential file ?

> Might that be helpful?
>
> And of course RMS would have the capability.
>

Interesting. One of the issues that was raised when I moved from RSTS/E
to VMS in the early 1990s was that a VMS version of mode 4096 didn't
exist and I wasn't aware it had been added in the meantime.

> As for the TYPE utility, haven't looked ...
>

I just did in case I missed something there as well and couldn't find
anything. If that capability does exist in RMS, then I change my
request to adding a qualifier to TYPE to use it. That should be something
that would be very easy to add in that case.

Simon.

-- 
Simon Clubley, clubley at remove_me.eisner.decus.org-Earth.UFP
Walking destinations on a map are further away than they appear.