[Info-vax] OpenVMS development tooling (was: Re: VSI strategy for OpenVMS)

[Stephen Hoffman]

On 2021-09-29 04:18:49 +0000, Lawrence D’Oliveiro said:

> On Wednesday, September 29, 2021 at 9:52:33 AM UTC+13, Stephen Hoffman wrote:
>> Using GUIDs—as some platforms do—avoids that whole UIC/UID/GID mess.
>> (Who really cares about the actual numeric values?
> 
> If nobody cares about numeric values, why use them? Why not use names instead?

You're going to be re-inventing GUIDs on the path you're on.

As for the small numeric values used, that's largely tradition.

Users don't like and shouldn't even be looking at GUIDs.

OpenVMS switched to showing names for UIC group and member values a 
very long time ago, but the numbers are still there and still waiting 
to trip up developers and admins.

>> Same for app-specific usernames. Who cares?
> 
> You have to use something for identification purposes, and that 
> something has to be either a number or a name.

As soon as a user or a developer creates a traditional fixed name or a 
traditional UIC/UID/GID value or the ever-popular fixed filenames for 
log files or such, there are opportunities for collisions.

(OpenVMS uses conventions and once had a facility registrar, most of 
which is unenforced, and more than a few of the details have been 
forgotten or ignored. And SYS$SCRATCH is problematic for various 
reasons.)

The registrar can be replaced by a GUID, temporary filenames generated 
in a GUID-defined private path, etc. Generated file paths also cuts 
down on cross-app shenanigans.

This change unfortunately breaks the code with dependencies on 
UICs/UIDs/GIDs and usernames and temporary file paths, and which gets 
back to the installed base and maintaining compatibility.

Some platforms have gone to GUIDs, and have been providing ways to 
avoid these collisions and better to isolate apps, whether through app 
bundles and related, or through containers.

But it's work. And app disruption. And it's not something I'd expect to 
find on OpenVMS, though a UIC and username (RH IdM-ish) and job 
controller subsystem would be a nice update.

-- 
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