[Info-vax] What is a section file? How is it helpful? Is a TPU$SECTION file a section file?

[Hein RMS van den Heuvel]

On Thursday, September 1, 2022 at 8:37:00 PM UTC-4, Arne Vajhøj wrote:
> On 9/1/2022 12:53 PM, Stephen Hoffman wrote:

> > It's a section of virtual memory with backing (and sharable) storage,
> > with the salient difference being whether it uses static
> > mapping—Fortran, BASIC, C, etc., common storage involving the linker—or
> > use dynamic mapping—run-time calls to $crmpsc, etc.
> ????
>
> A Fortran common block does not share data between processes
> and does not map data to disk.

I posted a knee-jerk reaction after reading that first line, which I 'deleted' but may have made it out there.

It suggested to Arne to  please read more carefully (and more manuals) as Stephen wrote "involving the linker".
A Fortran common block _can_ be used to share data between processes and _can_ map to disk.
It just requires a good bit of linker involvement, more than most remember how to do.

Reading on I see Arne does know all this:

Arne> Or a bit more old fashioned. Use the common block in  a block data and build that to a shareable installed  writeable image. 

Cheers,
Hein