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HP OpenVMS Systemsask the wizard |
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The Question is: I have read the two questions posed to the wizard regarding the difference between the DEC and VAX COBOL ACCEPT/DISPLAY statements. Maybe the questions asked before were not clear. I am still unfulfilled! So here goes... Compaq (formerly DEC) Cobol v2.6 on an Alpha ES40?, O/S=7.2.1 VAX Cobol v 5.4? on a Vax 4700?, O/S=6.?.? 1) Can you make the DEC ACCEPT/DISPLAY work exactly like the VAX version? Yes, I still need to use the extensions. No I don't have manuals yet, see question 4. 2) Will it ever be fixed to allow full VAX compatibility? Soon? I've looked at various compile and link options. Even /Standard=V3 doesn't work. I would think it should. But then I think it shouldn't have changed to begin with. 3) Why did the functionality change? It seems unreasonable to require everyone to modify all of their code because of this. It worked fine for 15 years, why the change? I know I alone have 150 + programs to change. At about half a day each, that's 75 days work, or should I say MAKE-WORK. 4) I would like to get a copy of the manuals but my Compaq rep sent me to www.openvms.digital.com to get the product number of the Cobol manuals. I could not find them anywhere on this site, but then I only spent two hours looking. You know, for keywords like COBOL, manuals, product id. What is the product ID of the manuals? Can they be purchased separately? Are they available in HTML format like OpenVMS? Why doesn't the Compaq rep know this info? Sounds like a real commitment by Compaq to me. Let's just let the greatest O/S and computers drop off the face of the Earth by providing useless reps to service our clientele. (Unix people don't know what a good O/S is - yes I work in both, and NT, a VAX wannabe). ...john The Answer is :
If you are finding some difficulties in understanding the answers you
are receiving, that is not particularly surprising -- the OpenVMS Wizard
is certainly not an expert on COBOL, and may not be answering the question
that you intended to ask, or may not understand the particular question
you are asking. If you are encountering trouble with COBOL, please
directly contact the Compaq Customer Support Center for assistance.
That said, without knowing the symptoms of your problem(s), it is very
difficult to give specific answers. But here is an attempt:
Q: Why did the functionality change?
Previous versions of COBOL implemented the screen/terminal based
extensions for ACCEPT/DISPLAY directly. The latest version uses the
OpenVMS SMG RTL, which means the COBOL RTL no longer needs to "know"
anything about terminal devices, which means it is easy to support
new terminal devices without having to modify the compiler or RTL.
Q: Can you make the DEC ACCEPT/DISPLAY work exactly like the VAX version?
The difference is that with the new RTL, the screen will be cleared
prior to the first accept or display statement being executed. For most
programs this is not an issue, however, for those programs which depend
on output from previous images remaining on the screen, there is a
problem. One possible approach would be to create a terminal device
definition which exactly matches the actual device type you are using,
except that the "screen clear" function is NOOPed. This assumes you
don't need to clear the screen! See the "OpenVMS Screen Management
(SMG$) Manual" for details.
Q: I would like to get a copy of the manuals but my Compaq rep sent
me to www.openvms.digital.com to get the product number of the Cobol
manuals.
Unfortunately, your Compaq representative apparently sent you in a
direction that is, um, somewhat less than optimal. You will want to
contact the regional support line or your local reseller, or you will
want to check the Software Product Description (SPD) for the particular
software product in question. That said, most (all?) OpenVMS software
documentation is available on CD-ROM, and in hardcopy.
Here is the ordering information for Compaq COBOL from the Software
Product Description (SPD):
Compaq COBOL for OpenVMS Alpha Systems
Software Licenses:
Personal Use: QL-099AA-2B
Concurrent Use: QL-099A*-3*
Unlimited System Use: QL-0JUA*-**
Software Media/Documentation (CD-ROM):
QA-0JUAA-H8
Software Documentation (Hard Copy): QA-0JUA*-GZ
To acquire information from the Software Product Descriptions (SPDs),
please visit the following URL:
http://www.digital.com/info/SPHOME/
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