[Info-vax] Search for folders

[Fred. Zwarts]

Op 28.jan.2024 om 00:28 schreef Dave Froble:
> On 1/27/2024 1:48 PM, Single Stage to Orbit wrote:
>> On Sat, 2024-01-27 at 00:32 -0500, Dave Froble wrote:
>>> On 1/26/2024 3:32 PM, Single Stage to Orbit wrote:
>>>> Unix has some great tools for searching for folders and files. Are
>>>> there similar ones in VMS like `grep` or `find`?
>>>>
>>>> THe folder structure in OpenVMS is wierd... what's the root folder
>>>> equivalent is it [000000] or is it cleverer than that?
>>
>> [ snip ]
>>
>>> Each disk has what you are calling a root directory.  Within it are
>>> top level  directorys.  The "ROOT" can be addressed as [0,0],
>>> [000000], or [000,000].  Don't ask me why more than one method.  I
>>> don't know.
>>
>> Looks like some form of octal?
>>
>>> Do note that one should never, well almost never, place anything in
>>> that directory.  I've been guilty of doing so, when the disk is
>>> temporary, and will be re-inited sometime.  Usually some OS
>>> distribution files.
>>>
>>> What is your specific question(s)?
>>
>> All is good, I understand now what the folder structure is like for
>> each disk.
>>
>> In my system account when I log in and run the dir command it shows me
>> this:
>>
>> $ dir/page
>>
>> Directory SYS$SYSROOT:[SYSMGR]
>>
>> ACCOUNTNG.DAT;1     CLUE$STARTUP_KAKAPO.LOG;28
>> CLUE$STARTUP_KAKAPO.LOG;27
>> CLUE$STARTUP_KAKAPO.LOG;26        IOGEN$PREFIX.DAT;1
>> LAN$ACP.LOG;28
>> LAN$ACP.LOG;27        LAN$ACP.LOG;26    MAIN.TPU$JOURNAL;1
>> NET$INSTALL_IDENTIFIERS.LOG;1
>> OPERATOR.LOG;30     OPERATOR.LOG;29    OPERATOR.LOG;28     ssh.DIR;1
>> SSHD_CONFIG_.TPU$JOURNAL;1        SSH_CONFIG_.TPU$JOURNAL;2
>> SYS$DUMP_CONFIG.DAT;1            SYS$SMHANDLER.LOG;28
>> SYS$SMHANDLER.LOG;27            SYS$SMHANDLER.LOG;26
>> SYSTARTUP_VMS.JOU;1 TCPIP$CONFIG_CONVERSION.FLG;1
>> TCPIP$V51_CONVERSION.FLG;1
>> VMSIMAGES.DAT;1     X86Community-20240401.txt;1
>>
>> Total of 25 files.
>>
>> Directory SYS$COMMON:[SYSMGR]
>>
>> ACME$START.COM;1    ACME$START.TEMPLATE;1
>> AGEN$NEW_NODE_DEFAULTS.TEMPLATE;1
>> AGEN$NEW_SATELLITE_DEFAULTS.TEMPLATE;1    AMDS$DIAGNOSTICS.COM;1
>> AMDS$DRIVER_ACCESS.DAT;1        AMDS$DRIVER_ACCESS.TEMPLATE;1
>> [ snip ]
>>
>> Why does it shows me two directories?
>>
> 
> It can be a bit confusing until you understand the rather neat thing 
> that was done with VMS.
> 
> I guess there was the desire to allow for multiple copies of the OS on 
> the system disk.  Thus SYS0, SYS1, SYS2, ...
> 

No that was not the primary reason. Each Sys0, SYS1, SYS2, etc had a 
syscommon directory, which usually was a link to [VMS$COMMON], as Arne 
explained.
The reason that SYS0, SYS1, etc was needed is that even systems booting 
with the same OS (in [SYSCOMMON]) need specific data, such as system 
parameters and sometimes specific DCL procedures.
By having SYS$SYSROOT defined as a search list to SYS$SPECIFIC, 
SYS$COMMON, automatically first the specific data for that node was 
selected and if not present, then the common data. Log files were 
written in the SYS$SPECIFIC part.

When we were running a 25 node cluster with multiple system disks, we 
even expanded that idea by defining a CLUSTERCOMMON name which was added 
at the end of the search list. Some DCL procedures were common to all 
nodes, even those booted from different system disks.