Re: V7: VMS or UNIX ?

Jon-Theodosiou_at_psion.com (Jonathan Theodosiou) wrote:

> Unix you change directory using cd nextdirectorydown. In VMS this
> translates to:
> set def [HIGHLEVELDIR.THISDIRECTORY.NEXTDIRECTORYDOWN]
> WHY? What is a def anyway?

This probably belongs in comp.os.vms, but as I went from Unix to VMS and back again...

The unix command

$ cd nextdirdown

*does* have a VMS equivalent...

$ set def [.nextdirdown]

(note the full stop after the first square bracket).

"set def" stands for SET DEFAULT. The general idea is a subtle difference from the Unix way of thinking. In Unix "cd" means "change directory" or "move me from where I am now into another direcory". In VMS "set def" means "set default" or "tell the O/S where to look for files if I don't stick a path on the front.

It's a subtle distinction and the only real "difference" is that if you SET DEF to a non-existent directory, you will only get an error message if you try to access a file in that directory.

Well, I hope that this is clearer than it looks to me! :-)

Pete

--
Peter Moore.
DBA, IS Ops,
Sequent Computer Systems Ltd, Weybridge, UK.