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Ask the Wizard Questions

How can I direct output of an active session to a file?

The Question is:

Dear Wizards,

How can I direct output of an active session to a file? I need to have the output continue to appear on sys$output (a terminal). I have seen responses to this question on the vms list, but they all require a user logging on twice, either via a set host 0/log= or via a multinet telnet/log=. I have also seen references to some freeware utilitites, but they so not seem to fit the bill either.

Can you provide any help in answering what should be a trivial task? I guess I'm just too thick-headed to figure this out on my own.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide,

p.s. The reason I need to do this is because we want to replace a number of LA120s that are being used to run batch jobs. However, there are many times that the output needs to be reviewed for accuracy.


The Answer is:

Sorry, there is no easy answer - VMS doesn't have the inherent capability of splitting output to multiple destinations. SET HOST/LOG is the most straightforward way of doing this.

Review the batch log files via the terminal or via a print-out. Both the commands and the output will be present in the batch log file.

I gather you want to be able to review the commands which launched the batch jobs. If you just want to review the output from the batch jobs themselves, then .2 has it right.

Perhaps you could simply replace the LA120s with standard video terminals with attached printers. For example, the VT420 will duplicate all output to the attached printer when you press CTRL-F2.

Perhaps the POLYCENTER Remote Console product would be applicable.

If you truly want to move away from hardcopy perhaps a PC running a terminal emulator configured to log the output to a file would do the trick. If the output must end up on the OpenVMS system then use Pathworks and specify the log file go to a network disk device. From an X terminal running a terminal emulator you might be able to do something interesting with the print capability or simply cut and paste the "lines off top" to a file.

I've never tried this trick but you might be able connect a terminal printer port to a terminal server and via LAT or TELNET direct the output to a file via a dedicated process.

For many years I have had a vision. It involves using a psuedo-terminal driver.

In the past all we had was a hard binding between a command terminal and a process (I'm not considering data terminals at this point). Well, batch jobs were a twist on that. The LAT products loosened the binding considerably. Today, the virtual terminal driver feature, loosens that binding somewhat more. The DECterm (amoungst others) terminal emulator history scrolling feature and even the DCL recall buffer help too.

+---------+	+----------+	+-------------+
| viewer  |.....| terminal |----| application |
| process |	| process  |	| process     |
+---------+	+----------+	+-------------+

The terminal process would log output from the application process. It would service requests from viewer processes to review the application output. Even if there weren't a viewer process up at the time, the terminal process would continue to log the output. A viewer process could also provide input.