[rescue] VMS for VAXstation

[Carl R. Friend]

    On Fri, 9 Aug 2013, Steve Sandau wrote:

> I'm still struggling with the overall logic of the file structure though. I 
> was thinking it was like DOS in that there's a device and directories below 
> it, and that's how you get to things. But I can't sort out things like how 
> SYS$ROOT[SYSMGR] and SYS$COMMON:[SYSMGR] relate. In short, the file system 
> confuses me. Does this have to do with aliases or something like that?

    The SYS${foo} bits are logicals and you can show them by (I think)
invoking "SHOW LOGICAL *"; they should wind up referring to your boot
drive (e.g. DKA0:) and a top-level directory thereupon.  Descending
into subdirectories is done using periods, so to get to the "BAR"
directory in DKA0:[FOO] do a "SET DEFAULT DKA0:[FOO.BAR]".  I don't
recall off the top of my head how deeply they can nest as it's been
years (decades, actually) since I've been a VAXherder.

> I think I'm missing some basic information that I have not been able to glean 
> from the manuals. Does anyone have pointers to basic info that might answer 
> these questions, or am I just being really obtuse and the answers are right 
> in front of me?

    The "HELP" command is always your friend.  You probably don't have
a "grey" or "orange wall" (the moniker applied to the very voluminous
VMS doco) but hints are likely available via the Google oracle.

> Thanks for any help here. This is fun so far.

    VMS is actually a very nice environment once one gets used to it.
It's very verbose compared to UNIX (and assorted UNIX-like systems)
but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

    What I want to find is a DG 32-bitter that I can run AOS/VS on
and not break the bank on electricity bills (or burn the house down).

    Cheers!

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| Carl Richard Friend (UNIX Sysadmin)            | West Boylston       |
| Minicomputer Collector / Enthusiast            | Massachusetts, USA  |
| mailto:crfriend at rcn.com                        +---------------------+
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