Category : Miscellaneous Language Source Code
Archive   : ZVMS160.ZIP
Filename : INSTALL.DOC

INSTALLATION NOTES
FOR VAX/VMS


The following instructions should be carefully followed to install zoo
correctly on your VAX/VMS system.

Do not upload the archive directly to your VAX/VMS system. Even if you have
Vooz, the zoo extractor for VAX/VMS, you will probably NOT be able to
correctly extract the contents of the supplied archive, because they are in
executable format.

Decide which executable files you wish to transfer, and then follow the
instructions below. The executable files supplied are:

o zoo.exe -- zoo archiver for VAX/VMS, linked with shareable library;
may not work under all versions of VAX/VMS

o zoobig.exe -- like zoo.exe but linked without shareable library;
should work under most versions of VAX/VMS, but is about twice as
big as zoo.exe

o bilf.exe -- file conversion program required to permit transfers
of zoo archives between VAX/VMS and microcomputers; linked with
shareable library, so may not work under all versions of VAX/VMS

o bilfbig.exe -- like bilf.exe but linked without shareable
library; should work under most versions of VAX/VMS, but
is much bigger than bilf.exe

Also supplied is the source code for bilf.exe:

o bilf.c -- source code for bilf.exe and bilfbig.exe; compile
and link on your VMS system as follows:

$ cc bilf.c
$ link bilf

Extract the needed files using zoo on your microcomputer system. Your first
choice should be to transfer only zoobig.exe and bilfbig.exe. These files
are bigger in size than zoo.exe and bilf.exe, but there is a better chance
that they will work on your system.

Upload the chosen .EXE files in fixed-length record binary format, using
VAX/VMS Kermit. Before uploading these files, you must give the command
"set file type fixed" to VMS Kermit. Also tell your local Kermit that you
are transferring binary files. If you are using MS-Kermit on your
microcomputer, it should suffice to say "set eof noctrl-z".

In addition, tell Kermit at both ends to use a 16-bit cyclic checksum for
better error detection. The command to do this is "set block 3". (Some
implementations of Kermit will automatically do this if possible, but not all
will, so use this command if your Kermit accepts it.)

The uploaded .EXE files should end up on your VMS system in "fixed-length
512-byte records" format. You can confirm this with the command "dir /full",
which will list the format of all files.

If they do not end up in this format, there may still be hope; upload bilf.c,
compile it, and use it to convert zoobig.exe into fixed-length binary format,
as described below for C-Kermit uploads.

C-KERMIT
If you are using C-Kermit on your VMS system, the command "set file type
fixed" will probably not be available. In that case, simply upload the .EXE
files as binary files and see if they will run.

If C-Kermit uploads them as stream-LF files, they should execute normally,
but it's difficult to guarantee this. If they don't run when uploaded as
stream-LF files, you will have to find a way of converting them to
fixed-length record format. The easiest way of doing this is probably to
upload bilf.c as a text file, compile it, and use it to convert uploaded .EXE
files to fixed-length binary format. The syntax is:

$ bilf b filename.ext

where "filename.ext" is the name of the file you want to convert to
fixed-length binary format. Bilf creates a new version of the file if the
above command format is used.

If after this conversion the files will not execute properly, they may have
been accidentally uploaded as text files. Try again.

EXECUTING UPLOADED FILES

Once the executable files you uploaded are ready for execution, set up two
symbols by giving command similar to the following:

$ zoo:== $ user$disk:[userdir]zoobig.exe
$ bilf:== $ user$disk:[userdir]bilf.exe

In place of "user$disk" use the logical name representing your own device,
and in place of "userdir" give the name of the directory in which you have
placed the executable files. The above commands define a symbol "zoo" which,
when typed at the VMS prompt, will cause the execution of zoobig.exe, and the
symbol "bilf" which will cause the execution of bilf.exe.

Once you have things working you can place these commands in your LOGIN.COM
file so the symbols are automatically defined each time you log in.

TEST RUN

Now at the VMS prompt, give the command:

$ zoo h

If all went well, you should see a help screen from zoo. If not, and if you
defined the symbol "zoo" correctly, mostly likely a file format went wrong
somewhere, or a file got uploaded as a text file when it should have been a
binary file. You may want to try the entire sequence again.

Use the usual zoo commands to create some archives and then test them with
the -test command. While doing this, remember that due to VMS restrictions,
any argument in which you want to preserve uppercase characters (e.g. "P" to
pack an archive) must be enclosed in double quotes.

Now turn to vmszoo.doc for more VMS-specific information.

-- Rahul Dhesi 1987/08/01