[Info-vax] Extending nested directory search syntax

[Simon Clubley]

On 2021-07-08, Arne Vajhøj <arne at vajhoej.dk> wrote:
> On 7/8/2021 1:51 PM, Simon Clubley wrote:
>> If you want to search all directories under sys$examples: (for example),
>> it would be nice if the following syntax worked instead of giving
>> an error:
>> 
>> $ dir sys$examples:[...]
>> %DIRECT-E-OPENIN, error opening SYS$EXAMPLES:[...] as input
>> -RMS-F-DIR, error in directory name
>> 
>> Would anyone else find such syntax to be useful ?
>
> Would you also expect:
>
> $ dir SYS$SYSROOT:[SYSHLP.EXAMPLES][...]
>
> to work?
>

Yes. I don't see any way in which that would break existing behaviour.

You would still get one directory specification if you use f$parse()
or any of the other lower level parsing routines; it's just that the
VMS filename parser would combine it into one directory specification
before returning it to the user.

As far as I can see, my suggestion is backwards compatible with the
existing syntax and just introduces additional functionality that
does not break existing functionality.

It's annoying not being able to search subdirectories in this way
using logical names when the VMS designers have gone to the effort
to add such detailed logical name functionality and it seems more like
an artificial limitation in the filename specification parser.

Simon.

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