[HECnet] installing LPs on RSX

[Johnny Billquist]

On 2015-04-28 20:10, Mark Matlock wrote:
>
>
>> On Apr 27, 2015, at 5:31 PM, Johnny Billquist <bqt at softjar.se> wrote:
>>
>>> On 2015-04-28 02:15, Mark Matlock wrote:
>>>     BP2 with I/D space would be worth some effort to bring back from extinction. With the high speed of Simh and E11 with modern CPUs, if one could figure out a way to reassemble the tape blocks in the various combinations the see if BRU could read it successfully or not in some automated way, then just let the CPU have at it. It can't be worse than breaking the Enigma code in World War II.
>>
>> A few thousand blocks. The number of permutations can be interesting... Also, it is not totally trivial to see if you got it all right...
>
> The process to see if you got the right combination of blocks is the key to whether an automated process could be used. I guess you would have BRU try to read a virtual tape and produce a listing, but the listing could be correct, but still have some blocks out of order in some small file stored on the tape.

The BP2 tape is not a BRU tape. Had it been, I already have a fix.
It's a plain DOS tape. DOS tapes are extremely stupid. Basically, 
anything goes. There is nothing telling you if the data comes out right 
or not. It's essentially implied just by being able to read the block.
(. Why would you ever get blocks in a different order than written? .)

>>>      Also, I meant to say that the PDP-11 C V1.2 is corrupt but the V1.1 is okay as I recall. Also, DECUS C works quite well, but I don't recall which DECUS tape it is on.
>>
>> I did some changes/improvements to DECUS C many years ago. I believe my changed version should be available with ftp from Update.
>
> I will need to look for your updated DECUS C on the Update ftp. Part of the challenge from the DECUS tapes is determining if you have the latest version of a particular software. Thanks for bringing your version of C to my attention.

No worries. My fixes included making it all work correctly in I/D space, 
and then I did a half-hearted attempt at adding a void datatype.

>> I should probably make a kit disk or something available from MIM/Madame as well. If I only had time...
>>
>> Too bad noone is willing to pay for me doing this kind of work. I could spend full time just fixing things for years... :-)
>>
> That is too bad. There are a number of things in RSX that I'm sure you could improve. I really do appreciate what you've done on TCP/IP.   Thanks!

Plenty of work to do... So little time. :-)
Anyway, it's great that people find TCP/IP useful...
I think the FTP code is good enough to be left for a while now. Next for 
proper telnet both in and out...

	Johnny

>
> Mark
>
>
>>     Johnny
>>
>>>
>>> Mark
>>>
>>>>> On Apr 27, 2015, at 4:02 PM, Johnny Billquist <bqt at softjar.se> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> On 2015-04-28 00:48, Mark Matlock wrote:
>>>>> Dave,
>>>>>     If you are using the RSX11M+ V4.6 distribution tape, there is a copy of F77 (V5.4 I think) on it already. Look in [246,246]. Also, that tape has DECnet on it as well that works fine with Johnny's TCP/IP software.
>>>>
>>>> Cool. Did the person setting that up also include the layered product patches that are included with RSX?
>>>>
>>>>>     Unfortunately, the DECnet on that tape is for non routing nodes, so that complicates direct connection to HECnet. I have not found a RSX11M+ V4.6 routing DECNet distribution.
>>>>
>>>> It don't really complicate any connection to HECnet. You do not need a routing node for that, and unless you have some very specific needs, routing nodes just means it requires way more CPU and memory usage.
>>>>
>>>>>     You are right on BP2 V2.7 being corrupted. The V2.5 is good though. On the PDP-11 the latest one is corrupt but the earliest one is ok.
>>>>
>>>> V2.7 have some improvements that would be really nice to have, such as split I/D space capability...
>>>>
>>>> I have been trying to repair the tape on trailing edge, but there is a big library file in there which is just way complicated to figure out...
>>>>
>>>>     Johnny
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Mark
>>>>>
>>>>>> On Apr 27, 2015, at 3:22 PM, Dave McGuire <mcguire at neurotica.com> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On 04/27/2015 06:04 PM, Johnny Billquist wrote:
>>>>>>>>    Uh-oh...That "HDR1" business looks like part of an ANSI tape label,
>>>>>>>> not a filename.  What do you think?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Definitely a corrupted tape.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>   Yup...After testing several other images from the trailing-edge
>>>>>> archive, I'm finding the same sort of mess.  I knew the BP2 v2.7 image
>>>>>> was trashed, but it looks like quite a few others are as well.  The
>>>>>> f77_v5_4.tpc one is corrupt too.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>   What a mess.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>   Thanks for your help in diagnosing this.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>   At least some earlier releases are intact, but do you know if any of
>>>>>> those newer ones have been archived intact anywhere?  Do you have them?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>                -Dave
>>>>>>
>>>>>> --
>>>>>> Dave McGuire, AK4HZ
>>>>>> New Kensington, PA
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Johnny Billquist                  || "I'm on a bus
>>>>                                   ||  on a psychedelic trip
>>>> email: bqt at softjar.se             ||  Reading murder books
>>>> pdp is alive!                     ||  tryin' to stay hip" - B. Idol
>>
>>
>> --
>> Johnny Billquist                  || "I'm on a bus
>>                                   ||  on a psychedelic trip
>> email: bqt at softjar.se             ||  Reading murder books
>> pdp is alive!                     ||  tryin' to stay hip" - B. Idol