[Info-vax] SFF problem with VSI on Integrity?

[Arne Vajhøj]

On 8/7/2024 10:06 AM, Arne Vajhøj wrote:
> On 8/6/2024 3:49 PM, Richard Jordan wrote:
>> Integrity server, VMS V8.4-2L1, TCPIP V5.7 eco 5 with any later 
>> hotfixes as of June 2023 applied.
>>
>> V8.4-2L3 is coming but I can't install it to check for a while.
>>
>> We use the 'sendmail.com' freeware to send email with binary 
>> attachments (mostly PDFs) with customized SMTP headers.  On this VSI 
>> system we get a single error every time we run SFF from the command 
>> procedure.
>>
>> Exact same procedure on a V8.3 Alpha and an HP V8.4 Integrity run 
>> without error so we're tentatively calling it a VSI issue.
>>
>> Every run using symbol form via
>>
>>       sff :== $SYS$SYSTEM:TCPIP$SMTP_SFF.EXE
>>
>> (as defined within sendmail.com)
>>
>> generates the following error, but also still creates the email 
>> successfully:
>>
>>       %LIB-F-INVNBDS, invalid numeric byte data string
>>
>> Happens with any normal or priv'd account, regardless of the body text 
>> file, presence or absence of attachments, who the recipient is, 
>> presence or absence of a subject line.
> 
> Some LIB$ functions can return that (I looked at LIB$CVT_DX_DX).
> 
> <quote>
> LIB$_INVNBDS
> 
> Invalid NBDS. There is an invalid character in the input, or the value 
> is outside the range that can be represented by the destination, or the 
> NMDS descriptor is invalid. This error is also signaled when the array 
> size of an NBDS is larger than 65,535 bytes or the array is multi- 
> dimensional.
> </quote>
> 
> But the relevance for email is not obvious to me.

Let us assume that VSI did not make any changes to SFF between
HPE 8.4 and VSI 8.4-2L1.

Then it must be a difference in systems not in SFF.

Within the content of a SMTP email, then I think Date header
is by far the most likely to cause problem.

So are there any difference in anything time or timezone related
on the systems that works vs those that does not?

How does the Date header look on the systems that works vs
those that does not?

NB: all this is pure speculation.

Arne