RSX SIG Tape Distribution - Spring 1982 This is the RSX/IAS SIG Symposium Tape from the 1982 Spring DECUS meeting in Atlanta. The tape contains material submitted by the user community to the SIG at that meeting. The programs on this tape are from user submissions. The DECUS staff, the RSX/IAS SIG staff, and DEC are all in relative ignorance of the contents of the tapes. No warranty of any kind is implied in the distribution of these tapes. The programs may or may not be well documented, they may or may not work, they may even crash your system. If you have a problem with the contents of the tape, contact the author of the program. Do not contact DECUS, DEC, or the RSX/IAS SIG. The tape contains approximately 52,400 blocks of software in 2771 files. Since this will fit on a single 2400 foot tape in BRU format only at 1600 bpi, it will be distributed as such, as an RK07 image, the smallest DEC disk on which it will fit (and barely that). UIC account [300,1] contains several files of interest. The file RSXS82.DIR contains a directory of the contents of the tape (BRU does not produce nice directories). The file RSXS82TPE.DOC contains an abstract of the contents of the tape by UIC. The file README.ALL contains a concatenated list of all the README files on the collection. The file SUBMIT.DOC contains the guidelines for submissions to the RSX/IAS sig tape collection. This is must reading for everyone who desires to submit a program to the SIG tape. A copy of this letter appears in the file BEGINS82.TXT in the same account. The file UICSETS82.CMD contains the UFD commands to create all the needed UIC's on device XX:. Edit it to match your needs before using BRU to extract the tape contents. Note that a partial extraction can be achieved by only creating the desired UIC's. Also, a word of caution: under at least some circumstances, 11M V4.0 BRU's /UFD switch creates directories even when it doesn't put anything in them). The UIC account [300,2] contains the program that is used to copy this and other tapes, BIGTPC. This is a still newer version of TPC than that on the Fall 81 tape. See the .DOC file also in [300,2] for further information. The source for this version has been supplied courtesy of Glen Everhart, UIC [312,315] this tape. There is also a BIGTPC.EXE in [300,2] for those who would like to use BIGTPC on a VAX (has been tested under VMS 2.5 only). To use TPC with the distribution one needs a disk with at least 55,000 blocks of free space, not necessarily contiguous. To extract BIGTPC from the tape do the following: >UFD SY:[300,2] >BRU /NOINI/DENS:1600 MM:[300,2] SY: To read in a copy of the master tape onto your disk, one enters the following command: RUN [300,2]BIGTPC TPC>DN:RSXF81.BRU=MT:/HD NOTE The /HD switch is for High Density (1600 bpi). See the .DOC file for optional /BL:nnnn and /SA:mmmm switches for better performance in transferring to disk. To make a copy of the tape for someone, one enters the following command line: RUN [300,2]BIGTPC TPC>MT:=DN:RSXF81.BRU/HD Again, don't forget the /HD switch, or you'll be generating an 800 bpi copy, which WON'T FIT. And no, BIGTPC doesn't have the vaguest idea how to do a two-volume copy. If you are a VAX site and cannot use BRU, I have included a copy of BIGTPC.EXE as the next file on the tape, after the BRU container file. You can retrieve it by MOUnting the tape (it's ANSI labelled), then doing: COPY MTA0:BIGTPC.* *.* (There's also a BIGTPC.OBJ in case you need to rebuild it for VMS 3.0). Don't forget to remount the tape /FOReign before running BIGTPC. If you need to use BRU instead of BIGTPC for making copies, please try to keep the VAX-usable files on the tape (BRU won't see them). To do so, MOUnt the distribution tape, use PIP to copy BIGTPC.* onto a disk, and after creating your output tape(s) with BRU, MOUnt them and use PIP to copy the BIGTPC files out. If you don't have 1600 bpi capability yourself, PLEASE try to locate someone in your area who can make the necessary copy(s), at least enough to continue the distribution tree. It will make life very difficult indeed otherwise, particularly trying to preserve the VAX-related stuff at the end. Thus, if you cannot handle 1600 bpi in any fashion, try to arrange with your parent node to bypass you for further tree distribution. I'll be available to help out after my vacation (I return July 18th). If you must make local copies at 800 bpi, you will have to read the tape onto a disk with BRU, and copy out with BRU. I would suggest using the /LEN:2000 switch, so that the output tapes can be copied (very hard to do if your original goes all the way to the EOT marker). A reminder: The SIG is relying on each node to contact the next higher node for necessary tape-transfer arrangements. Since this is a volunteer operation, sincere interest on the part of all participants is very helpful in assuring a timely distribution. Remember, since this is a volunteer operation, DECUS is NOT paying for postage or free copies of magnetic tapes. Make arrangements so that this does not cost anybody a lot of money or magnetic tapes. The Tape Copy tree has been mailed in advance to all nodes with one post card included. This first post card has hopefully been returned, to acknowledge continued willingness and ability to participate. With each master tape I am sending, I have included postcards and copies of these instructions for all lower child nodes. Be sure that you also send on the appropriate cards and documentation for all lower nodes that each of your children will handle. I am trying this approach in the hope that everyone will be reminded to return their second postcard as soon as they have the tape (I still haven't heard from several nodes about the Fall tape, which I shipped in February). The RSX SIG Tape Working Group is continuing to create a document listing the most popular programs from past sig tapes. From this we will be able to create a "Best of the RSX/IAS Sig Tapes" tape, which we can keep updated. The problem is how do we determine the most popular programs. If you have taken a program off the SIG tape and used it, write me (Jim Neeland) a letter and let me know. This be a start anyway. Let me know about things that did not work also. Be sure to tell me which tape and what uic. The following people burned the midnight (4 A.M.) oil to create the Spring 1982 RSX/IAS sig tape: Glen Everhart, Bruce Zielinski, Paul Tompkins, Tony Scandora, the people at our host site (Dataflo Systems), and myself. Jim Neeland RSX-IAS SIG Tape Copy Coordinator Hughes Research Labs 3011 Malibu Canyon Rd. Malibu, California 90265 (213) 456-6411 ext. 333