[Info-vax] Suggestion: Adding a /SORT option to DIRECTORY and F$SEARCH ?

[Arne Vajhøj]

On 1/27/2022 11:25 AM, John Reagan wrote:
> On Thursday, January 27, 2022 at 3:39:38 AM UTC-5, Dave Froble wrote:
>> On 1/26/2022 9:51 PM, dthi... at gmail.com wrote:
>>>
>>>> It would be nice to be able to see the output from a DIRECTORY command
>>>> optionally sorted by one of largest size, smallest size, oldest date,
>>>> newest date, etc.
>>>
>>> This sounds like a good opportunity for some community-contributed software (like the old DECUS Library). :-))
>>> IIRC, there have been modified directory-like program submissions in the past.
>> Nah, today's users want the vendor to do all the work ...
>>> Write a new program, DIRECTORY2 and a CLD file to do what you'd like the modified DIRECTORY to do, either using:
>>> 1) Existing DIRECTORY source code from VSI, in whatever language it's written in, and enhance it the way you want, OR
>>> 2) Create new program code in C, calling system routines to do the work.
>> Why C, when there are better languages?
> 
> If you are about to use the B-word, better is relative.

Obviously.

But not everybody is in love with C.

Personally I consider C a fine language for OS kernel development
but not so great a language for more regular applications. And
DIR is really an application.

I am not good at VMS Basic, so I would prefer VMS Pascal.

:-)

> And if there was such an important tool in BASIC, would have needed
> Macro, C, BLISS AND BASIC compilers (and their nightmare RTLs) in the
> development path.  I don't want another critical, proprietary tool in
> the system.
Is that current VSI policy: VMS build should only depend on Macro-32,
Macro-native, Bliss and C?

Arne