[Info-vax] How much of VMS is still in MACRO-32?

[Stephen Hoffman]

On 2021-05-31 03:19:39 +0000, Dave Froble said:

> I'm curious.  Do you have any tools that can pinpoint all references to 
> a particular field or argument?  If not, did you attempt to produce 
> such a tool?

A combination of compiler symbol tables and linker maps can usually 
spot symbol references, though pointer use can obviously bypass that.

At run-time, debugger watchpoints can be useful, though that can be 
less than inclusive, assuming incomplete code coverage for testing.

When handed similar problems for longer-term work, maybe start by 
creating APIs and then encapsulating the data and data access.

Which is a common path toward component replacements, and can be used 
for platform migrations; toward app refactoring.

This retrofitting and refactoring work is an investment that can 
require months or years to pay off, within any complex app.

Writing a refactoring-focused presentation for OpenVMS apps would be an 
interesting project in itself.\

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