PIPE AHELP BLOCK tells me:
To turn a tape reel into an file that can be downloaded:
/* CMS2AWS REXX -- Build downloadable tape. */
'addpipe *.output:|block 4096 awstape |> maint 181 a'
Do until records=0 /* Two TMs are EOT */
'callpipe (end ? name CMS2AWS)',
'?tape', /* Read real tape */
'|c: count lines', /* count number of blocks */
'|*:', /* Pass a file on */
'?c:',
'|var records' /* Number of blocks in physical file */
'output' /* Null record for tape mark */
end
I feel very uneasy about the "'output' /* Null record for tape mark */":
1) PIPE AHELP DEBLOCK says:
? AWSTAPE Reconstruct tape blocks from an emulated
tape. The input is considered a byte stream.
If the input is considered a byte stream, the Null record will vanish,
and tape marks will be lost.
2) The example writes to a disk file. Null records can not be written to
disk files.
The passage above is the entire description of DEBLOCK AWSTAPE. I'd need
some more instruction and perhaps an example to know how to reconstruct
a real tape, including imbedded tape marks, from an AWSTAPE archive.
I doubt that it's as simple as:
PIPE < MAINT 181 A | TAPE
.. or is it?
Also, I'm struggling to understand (apprentice plumber) how to archive a
labelled tape in which two consecutive tape marks do not necessarily denote
EOT.
Thanks,
gil
--
StorageTek
INFORMATION made POWERFUL
