Table of Contents
From the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RST-1
Letter(s) to the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . RST-2
DCL Trick of the Month. . . . . . . . . . . . RST-2
Software Performance Report (SPR) Log . . . . RST-4
Questionnaire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RST-5
Session abstracts for Fall Symposium. . . . . RST-5
Wishlist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RST-13
Ethernet programming. . . . . . . . . . . . . RST-14
===============================================================
From the Editor
Terry Kennedy
Well, the promised DECNET issue is here - not all of it,
but enough to make things worthwhile. Many of you have
responded to the questionnaire in the back of the Newsletter
stating that you use DECNET/E between RSTS machines, as well as
between RSTS and VMS systems. I'm going to take the rest of my
editorial space this month to say a few things to both you, the
users, and to DEC.
Digital's literature has stated that networking is the
wave of the future, and that Digital plans to be a big part of
that future. Digital has also stated that PDP-11's and RSTS/E
are a part of the company's future as well.
DEC has spent a good deal of effort in the last few years
to bring RSTS 'up-to-date', with enhancements which make it
more compatible with VMS, adding Ethernet support to DECNET/E,
etc. As a user and as Newsletter Editor, I appreciate the
amount of effort DEC has put into the product. DEC has also
indicated, both in the Software Dispatch and in individual SPR
answers, that more effort will be expended in the future.
This makes me all the more confused when I see that for
all of this effort, RSTS does not yet have full functionality
for simple operations such as network file copies, SET HOST,
LAT support, and PBS operations across the network. Not all of
this is the fault of the RSTS development group. A change to
the way VMS handles DECNET operations broke some COPY
operations from VMS systems to RSTS systems. The strange
thing, from my personal point of view, is that most of the hard
work has already been done - implementation of Ethernet support
and DECNET Phase IV is complete. What is left is mostly some
loose ends, although a full implementation of the DEC standard
'SET HOST' protocol, known as CTERM, is not a trivial matter.
I have seen a system configured with a MicroVAX 2000
simply to act as a load server for a network of DECServer 200's
used to connect terminals to RSTS/E machines. Twice the number
of servers was needed because RSTS does not currently support
LAT access except indirectly through another DECserver.
It is certainly unrealistic to expect all of this software
support to simply spring into being. Wishing alone won't make
it happen. However, several of you who I have spoken with have
indicated that you are abandoning RSTS, and sometimes DEC,
because you feel that the pace of development is too slow. If
you are currently using DECNET/E, and you feel the same way,
submit an 'Informational' SPR, or contact your DEC
representative. Development cannot exist in a vacuum without
user input.
On a related topic, several of you have sent me messages
saying 'here is a bug - submit a SPR if you want to, but I
won't because I've given up'. All I can say is that my
personal experience with the SPR service has been better
lately. Remember - if you don't SPR a problem, you have only
yourself to blame if it is still in the next release.
===============================================================
Letter(s) to the Editor
There aren't any letters this month. As a matter of fact,
there aren't any articles from users either (hint, hint). How
long do you think I'm going to write the whole darned thing
myself? If you have anything of interest, send it in!
===============================================================
DCL Trick of the Month
This month's DCL trick isn't really about DCL at all, but
it implements a feature which many of you have asked for in
DCL. VMS has an option to notify you when your batch job is
complete. This has been a frequent request at the Wishlist
sessions.
The way to do this involves modifying the PBS server task,
similarly to the way we modified the DCL tables last month.
NOTE: THE FOLLOWING PROCEDURE IS DANGEROUS. IF YOU ARE NOT
FAMILIAR WITH RSTS, DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS. ALL MODIFICATIONS
MADE ARE AT YOUR OWN RISK. DON'T BLAME ME!
We want to replace the string '$_LOGOUT/BRIEF' in
PBS$:PBS.TSK with another command. Probably the best thing to
do would be to invoke a .COM file. Oddly enough, the string
'$_@$BATFIN.COM' is exactly the same length, so that is what we
will replace it with. Let's use SCAN from last month's issue
to find the correct place:
$ run scan
Binary file search 1.10 - 14-Jul-87 TMK
File? pbs$:pbs.tsk
Search string? $_LOGOU
Found in block 99 (000142), offset 504 (000767).
Done...
We can compute the address used by ODT as follows:
Disk block (in octal): 000142
+ Offset (in octal): 000767
---------
000142767 (or 142767 for short)
Now that we know the ODT address, we will need to know the
octal values for the replacement text. As we did last month,
we can determine these values from the chart in HELP ADVANCED
ASCII. Now we will run the ODT program to actually modify the
text in our copy of the PBS task.. The text in BOLD ITALICS is
what you type.
$ run auxlib$:odt
ODT V9.4-01 RSTS V9.4-05 Newsletter Sys.
File<MEMORY>? pbs$:pbs.tsk<LF>
*142767/ 044 " $ <LF>
142770\ 137 " _ <LF>
142771\ 114 " L <LF>
[look at the data to make sure we're in the right spot]
*142771\ 114 100 <LF>
142772\ 117 044 <LF>
142773\ 107 102 <LF>
142774\ 117 101 <LF>
142775\ 125 124 <LF>
142776\ 124 106 <LF>
142777\ 057 111 <LF>
143000\ 102 116 <LF>
143001\ 122 056 <LF>
143002\ 111 103 <LF>
143003\ 105 117 <LF>
143004\ 106 115 <LF>
143005\ 015 <CR>
[enter the new text]
*142770/ 040137 " _@ <LF>
142772/ 041044 " $B <LF>
142774/ 052101 " AT <LF>
142776/ 044506 " FI <LF>
143000/ 027116 " N. <LF>
143002/ 047503 " CO <LF>
143004/ 006515 " M<LF>
[verify changes]
*^Z
Now, make SURE that you have only changed the bytes that
you wanted to change. ANY extraneous changes will cause SEVERE
problems sooner or later. If you have any problems with PBS
because of this change, simply restore PBS$:PBS.TSK from your
most recent backup (you do have one, don't you?).
Next, we will need to create the .COM file in the $
account. Remember that this file will be executed by users who
may not have requisite privileges for some operations. However,
with some deviousness, you can work around this. You could
also write a program privileged <232> to accomplish the same
thing. Make sure that the .COM file is protected <104> so
users can execute it. Below is a sample .COM file:
$_SET NOVERIFY
$_SET NOON
$WHO = F$USER
$WHICH = F$JOB
$_IF F$PRIV("NOSEND") THEN _GOTO CANT
$_BROADCAST/BELL 'WHO' "Batch job ''WHICH' has completed"
$_GOTO DONE
$CANT:
$_IF F$SEAR("MAIL$:MAIL.HLP") .EQS. "" THEN _GOTO NOMAIL
$_SET DATA
$_CCL SEND "Batch job ''WHICH' has completed" TO I
Y
$EOD
$_GOTO DONE
$NOMAIL:
$_WRITE 0 "Couldn't notify user!"
$DONE:
$_LOGOUT/BRIEF
$ ! Sample .COM file to notify user of batch completion. If the
$ ! batch job has SEND priv, then we simply send a message.
$ ! Otherwise, if the system has DECMAIL, we will MAIL ourself
$ ! a message. Failing in that, we write a comment to the batch
$ ! logfile saying we can't notify the user.
===============================================================
Software Problem Report (SPR) Log
Please send the newsletter editor copies of any SPR's (and
Digital's answer) on RSTS/E, DECNET/E, or RSTS layered
products. We will print any that are of general interest. The
reason for this is that many SPR's are answered with a patch or
a notice of restriction, but due to space considerations, they
are not published in the Software Dispatch. Since we're
desperate for material, this should be useful information and
we will print it.
We have received several SPR's from users. However, most
of the ones of general interest should have patches available
by the time you read this. There is a lag of about a month
between the time that I write this and when you read it in the
Newsletter.
The Newsletter system will be expanded in the near future
to allow bulletin-board style messages to be posted for users
to exchange this information, which should make it much more
timely.
===============================================================
Questionnaire
In the back of this newsletter, you will find a
questionnaire. Please fill it out and return it to the editor,
if you have not already done so. This will help us serve you
better by defining the areas you're interested in. There is a
section for your comments, as well.
===============================================================
Anaheim Session Abstracts
As usual, the RSTS SIG will be sponsoring many sessions at
the Anaheim Fall Symposium. The SIG will also have a
campground where you can meet other users, the SIG officers,
and DEC personnel. If you haven't been to a Symposium yet, you
don't know what you're missing. This is where the SIG really
gets going. It's been said before, but I'll repeat it for
those who are new to this - if you can't get your company to
pay for the trip, consider taking the time as vacation and go
anyway - you'll come back with enough material, information,
and gossip that they'll ASK you to go next time.
Following is the short-form session list and also the
abstracts which were available at press time. As this is late-
breaking news and subject to change, don't take the following
list as the exact schedule, but it should be very close:
Monday
12:00 to 12:30 RSTS Roadmap
12:30 to 1:30 RSTS Announcements
1:30 to 3:00 RSTS - VMS Compatibility
6:00 to 7:00 Intro to Decnet
7:00 to 8:00 Intro to DCL
8:00 to 9:00 Intro to RSTS Optimization
9:00 to 11:00 RSTS Performance Tuning
Tuesday
1:30 to 2:30 RSTS/E 9.4 Technical Changes
2:30 to 3:30 VMS System Management Concepts for RSTS
System Managers
3:30 to 4:30 File Transfer from RSTS to VMS
4:30 to 6:00 V9 Upgrade - The Real World
Wednesday
10:00 to 11:00 RSTS Tech Tips (SPRs, Bits & Bytes)
Thursday
9:00 to 10:00 Async I/O from BP2
10:00 to 11:30 Advanced DCL
11:30 to 12:30 OPSER Futures
1:00 to 1:30 RSTS SIG Tape
2:00 to 3:00 RSTS EMTs from BP2
3:00 to 5:00 Converting Basic Plus & BP2 to VAX Basic
5:00 to 6:00 RSTS/VMS Tech Q & A
6:00 to 7:00 RSTS Interprocessor Link
Friday
12:00 to 1:00 RSTS V9.2 & V9.3 Internals Update
1:30 to 2:30 Decnet System Management
2:30 to 3:30 Print/Batch Overview
4:00 to 5:00 RSTS Wishlist
RSTS SIG OPENING SESSION AND ROADMAP
An overview of the RSTS (and related) sessions will be
presented. In addition the session provides assistance in
planning for and surviving the week. Introductions of the
RSTS SIG Steering Committee members and the
representatives from RSTS Digital Product Engineering are
made.
Attendees also have a chance to interact with the SIG
leadership on matters of concern involving the current and
future directions of the SIG. An open discussion follows
as time permits. All RSTS oriented attendees are
encouraged to attend this session.
Orientation: Novice/General
RSTS ANNOUNCEMENTS
This session reviews what is new in RSTS since the last
DECUS symposium, and discusses what will be happening in
the near future. It also presents changes to policies and
programs, and provides attendees with the look at
Digital's long-term priorities for RSTS development.
Orientation: Novice/General
INTRODUCTION TO DECNET/E
With the proliferation of low-cost micros and Ethernet,
Digital Network Architecture (DNA) networks are quickly
becoming the most cost effective means of distributing
business processing needs. While DECnet/E is by no means a
new product, it's marketplace is quickly expanding in this
new environment.
The purpose of this session is to introduce to the new or
potential user, and to recap for the experienced, the
various ways in which DECnet/E can help meet the needs of
day-to-day computing. Discussion range from selection of
hardware to use of software. Examples include not only the
use of Digital supplied utilities, but additionally, how
user written applications can take advantage of the power
available through networking. A question and answer
session will follow the presentation.
Orientation: Novice/General
INTRODUCTION TO RSTS DCL COMMAND PROCEDURES
This "primer" session is intended for users interested in
learning how to write DCL command procedures for
interactive or batch use. All of the major DCL commands
and functions used in command procedures will be reviewed.
Several sample command files will be used to illustrate
how DCL command files can be used to use and manage tasks
easier. A question and answer session will follow the
presentation.
Orientation: Intermediate/Technical
INTRODUCTION TO RSTS/E OPTIMIZATION
This session is oriented toward first time or beginning
system managers. It addresses optimization of RSTS, and
applications on RSTS from a very elementary view. It
covers material which is scattered through the various
manuals, and puts it together in one place. The discussion
also includes some of the folklore of optimization, and an
introduction to the statistics. This session does NOT
cover advanced optimization. If you already know how to
optimize your system, then this session is NOT for you. A
question and answer session will follow the presentation.
Orientation: Intermediate/Technical
RSTS/E PERFORMANCE OPTIMIZATION AND TUNING
RSTS/E systems are highly susceptible to performance
improvements through system tuning. A properly tuned
RSTS/E can be many times faster than an untuned system.
This session discusses the techniques used to properly
tune a RSTS/E system for optimum performance. Available
tools and their use for determining problem areas in
system performance are explained. A set of goals is
provided for determining efficient use of system
resources.
Orientation: Intermediate/Technical
RSTS/E V9.4 AND LATER TECHNICAL CHANGES
This session will look at some of the changes that have
taken place in the RSTS/E software since the last DECUS
symposium.
RSTS/E V9.4 and its following release will be considered.
This session will take the overview from the announcement
session, and add some of the technical detail that is of
interest to RSTS user community. A question and answer
session will follow the presentation.
Orientation: Intermediate/Technical
VAX/VMS SYSTEM MANAGEMENT CONCEPTS FOR RSTS/E SYSTEM MANAGERS
This session is designed to acquaint a RSTS/E System
Manager with the equivalent VMS system management
functions.
Some of the topics to be discussed are:
o Account management
o Terminal management
o System security
o System generations
o Layered product installations.
This session is geared toward the RSTS users who are con-
sidering migrating from RSTS to VMS.
Orientation: Intermediate/Technical
FILE TRANSFER FROM RSTS TO VMS
This session will provide an overview of the methods and
tools currently available to transfer files from RSTS to
VMS. Topics to be discussed include
o tape transfers using RSTS/BACKUP to VMS/BACKUP
o or RSTS/PIP to VMS/EXCHANGE
o disk transfers using RSTS/FLEX to VMS/EXCHANGE
o or RSTS/PIP to VMS/EXCHANGE
o network transfers using DECNET.
Orientation: Intermediate/Technical
RSTS/E V9 UPGRADE - THE REAL WORLD
RSTS/E V9 has been called "VMS for the 11s"; but upgrading
from prior versions has some glitches and other issues,
such as
o How do I convert from OPSER to PBS?
o Where are the major bugs?
o What are the performance issues?
o What are the hardware problems?
The discussion includes upgrading from pre-V9 and also
"point" releases within V9. The speaker has performed many
upgrades and relates his experiences. Plenty of time for
questions will be allowed.
Orientation: Intermediate/Technical
RSTS TECHNICAL TIPS (SOFTWARE PERFORMANCE & BITS & BYTES)
At each symposium the RSTS SIG sponsors Technical Tips
sessions. The purpose of these sessions is to provide a
forum for users with problems and/or questions to ask a
panel of knowledgeable users and Digital Developers.
This Technical Tips session is a combination of our normal
Tech Tips I and Tech Tips II. As such, it will cover both
Software Performance Reporting (questions addressed to the
developers) and Bits and Byte (highly technical) issues.
Both Digital Development and users in the audience may
respond. (Users often encounter the same, or similar,
problems and have already found an answer, or workaround.)
Orientation: Intermediate/Technical
USING ASYNCHRONOUS I/O FROM BASIC-PLUS-2
Asynchronous I/O allows programs to continue processing
without waiting for I/O operations to complete. This
allows significant performance improvement for certain
types of programs. However, use of asynchronous I/O
requires knowledge of assembly language which makes it
difficult or impossible to use for many people.
This session describes several routines that were written
to provide asynchronous I/O capability from BASIC-PLUS-2.
These routines provide access to most of the asynchronous
I/O capabilities of RSTS.
This session includes an overview of the use of
asynchronous I/O. The source code for the routines is
provided as well as a discussion of how they work. A
sample program that uses these routines to copy files is
provided. The routines and sample program will be avail-
able on the RSTS SIG tape.
Orientation: Intermediate/Technical
ADVANCED RSTS/E DCL COMMAND PROCEDURES
This session is intended for users already familiar with
writing DCL command procedures on RSTS, but wanting more
information on how to develop more effective and creative
procedures. The focus will be on "hints and kinks," and
will provide, through examples, ways to better utilize the
many features of DCL command processing, and ways to work
around some of the package's current restrictions. special
attention will be given to these topics:
o Handling errors
o Controlling terminal I/O
o Communicating with a program
o Writing secure command files
o Optimizing command files for speed
You will be invited to share their own ideas and exper-
iences with others in the session. A question and answer
will follow the presentation.
Orientation: Advanced/Technical
OPERATOR SERVICES ON RSTS (A MODEL)
This session will review the operator features provided by
the older OPerator SERvices (OPSER) package on RSTS, and
compare them to those under consideration as part of a
possible future Operator Message Services (OMS) package.
The presentation will focus on the differences between the
two packages, and the extended features offered by the
proposed OMS package. A question and answer session will
follow the presentation.
Orientation: Intermediate/Technical
RSTS SIG TAPE/LIBRARY SESSION
This session reviews past RSTS SIG tapes. It also previews
submittals for the current symposium. A question and
answer session follows.
Orientation: Novice/General
RSTS EMT CALLS FROM BASIC-PLUS-2
This session is designed for someone who has an inter-
mediate working knowledge of RSTS Basic-Plus-2 and an
novice working knowledge of RSTS SYS calls. Through the
use of some very simple Map statements and Task Builder
options it is possible to execute all the RSTS System
Directives (Emulator Trap, or EMT calls). Without these
techniques a Basic-Plus-2 programmer can only execute the
Undefined User Operation (UUO) system directives
(SYS(CHR$(6%)+).
This session will cover the basic techniques of executing
RSTS system directives from BASIC-PLUS-2. It will cover
some simple examples, such as changing the programs name
during execution. It will cover how to work with a Job's
User Logical Name Table (LNT). You can have more than the
3-4 User Logicals RSTS allows. Finally, it will cover the
usage of the .PLAS directives. Using the .PLAS directives
you can have 171KW programs.
The functions that will be used in this session will be
submitted to the DECUS library before the symposium. They
will have the title "RSTS EMT Tool Kit". They will also
be published in the RSTS Newsletter.
After the initial presentation the remainder of the
session will be a question-and-answer workshop.
Orientation: Intermediate/Technical
CONVERTING RSTS/E BASIC-PLUS & BASIC-PLUS-2 TO VAX BASIC
This session is designed for RSTS/E system managers and
programmers who will be migrating from RSTS (BASIC-PLUS
and BASIC-PLUS-2) to VAX BASIC.
Orientation: Advanced/Technical
RSTS/VMS TECHNICAL Q&A
This session provides an open forum for current RSTS users
who are coexisting with or migrating to VMS. RSTS and VMS
representatives will be present to answer questions and
provide "how to" hints.
Orientation: Intermediate/Technical
RSTS DISK SHARING WITH AN INTERPROCESSOR LINK
This session describes the design, implementation, and use
of an interprocessor link for RSTS/E which provides trans-
parent sharing of disk data between two processors. The
use of DR11 parallel Direct Memory Access (DMA) interfaces
to connect the systems will be described as well as per-
formance and usage issues.
Although this session describes the development and use of
a commercially available product, no pricing, availabil-
ity, or other commercial information will be discussed.
Orientation: Intermediate/Technical
RSTS/E MONITOR INTERNALS, V9.2 AND V9.3 UPDATE
This session describes the RSTS/E monitor data structures
that have been changed in RSTS V9.2 and V9.3. Included in
the discussion are the Job Data Block (JDB), Job Control
Region (JCR), Memory Control Sub-Blocks (MCBs), and fixed
memory locations.
Attendees are assumed to be knowledgeable of previous
monitor data structures from the "RSTS/E V9 Internals and
Data Structures" manual from Digital or the "RSTS/E
Monitor Internals" manual by Michael Mayfield.
Orientation: Advanced/Technical
DECNET/E SYSTEM MANAGEMENT
Version 4.0 of DECnet/E has introduced several new con-
cepts in RSTS/E network management, due to Phase IV
architectural changes and Ethernet concepts. The purpose
of this session, however, will not be simply to focus on
these new areas, but additionally, to take a general over-
view of network management for the RSTS/E system manager.
Several of the more obscure techniques and tools will be
discussed and tips will be given as to how to tune your
network to suit your needs. A question and answer session
will follow the presentation.
Orientation: Advanced/Technical
RSTS PRINT/BATCH SERVICES (PBS) OVERVIEW
This session looks at Print/Batch Services (PBS) from the
perspective of a new V9.x user or system manager. It exam-
ines what features are available, and what features are
missing (when compared to OPSER). It is hoped that this
information will aid users of earlier versions of RSTS to
plan their upgrades to RSTS/E V9.x. A question and answer
session will follow the presentation.
Orientation: Intermediate/Technical
RSTS SIG WISHLIST SESSION
One of the unique advantages of the DECUS symposium is
that it provides the user community and Digital personnel
with the opportunity to exchange ideas. This wishlist
session is sponsored by the RSTS SIG as one method for
ideas to be heard. A form is provided for users to submit
their wishes. The wishlist form is used to submit ideas
for new features which might be added to RSTS, or for
suggestions for improvements to existing features. Good
wishlist items provide:
o the user's objective,
o the reasons for adding this feature, and
o a suggested implementation.
When submitting a wish the user should avoid making the
implementation the objective.
A box, labeled 'RSTS/E WISHLIST BOX', and a supply of
forms are provided near the meeting room area.
Orientation: Intermediate/Technical
===============================================================
Wishlist
As mentioned in the abstract for the Wishlist session, the
RSTS SIG sponsors a session at each Symposium where attendees
are able to submit requests for enhancements of RSTS/E directly
to the RSTS developers. The developers then rate each request
in three categories: How well the suggestion fits with DEC's
goals for RSTS/E, how hard it would be to do, and how much fun
it would be to do it. The developers frequently make witty
comments about some of the suggestions as well. This session
has been a lot of fun in the past. I feel that it is much more
useful than the complicated voting systems some other SIGs use,
since it is guaranteed that the RSTS developers will see your
suggestion.
This year, for the first time, RSTS users not attending
the Symposium will be able to submit wishes as well. There is a
form at the back of this issue. Make as many copies as you
like and send in your wishes to the address on the form. Your
wishes MUST arrive by December 1st in order to be processed.
DEC's responses to the wishes will be published in the
newsletter after the Symposium is over.
===============================================================
Ethernet Programming
David Miller of RSTS Development has made available the
text and listings from his talk at Nashville. His session dealt
with programming the Ethernet interfaces directly without using
DECNET/E. This is a new feature of RSTS/E, and is only
available in version 9.4 and newer.
The listings are available on the Newsletter dialup system
at (201) 435-2546. It was felt that the length of the listings
would take too much space in the Newsletter, and those that
wanted them would rather download them than type them in. They
will also be available on the combined Spring/Fall 1987 RSTS
SIG Tape Copy tape when it is released. So, without further
delay, here is David's article...
<PASTE-UP STAFF - INSERT PAGES 1-19
OF THE ETHERNET PROGRAMMING ARTICLE
HERE, RENUMBERING TO RST-XX AS NEC-
CESSARY. THANK YOU>
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