Re: COBOL

From: Binyamin Dissen (postingid_at_dissensoftware.com)
Date: 12/24/04

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    Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2004 09:23:48 -0500

    On Fri, 24 Dec 2004 18:51:48 +1300 "Pete Dashwood" <dashwood@enternet.co.nz>
    wrote:

    :>"Binyamin Dissen" <postingid@dissensoftware.com> wrote in message
    :>news:8g8ms0hc7eahork2f468m4p1qp6nm05np1@4ax.com...
    :>> On Thu, 23 Dec 2004 22:00:38 +1300 "Pete Dashwood"
    :><dashwood@enternet.co.nz>
    :>> wrote:

    :>> :>"TammyBain" <baint@cityofrochester.gov> wrote in message

    :>:>news:781a5bf97064111bb1fb057deb0cb1a0@localhost.talkaboutprogramming.com..
    :>.
    :>> :>> I can't find any documentation on assign statements with
    :>> :>> -UT- in them. Does the 'UT' stand for Unit Tape or Utility Tape?

    :>> :>The UT stands for "Utility". In the very olden days, before disks were
    :>> :>invented and freely available, this was tape. Later, replaced by disk
    :>> :>drives, these "utility" devices were available for any kind of storage
    :>> :>requirement. The UT was not about a physical device, it was about the
    :>> :>logical use of a physical device, i.e. as a "Utility".

    :>> More precisely it defined a device that could be "rewound" and
    :>reprocessed,
    :>> but could not be processed by block number.

    :>Thanks for that, Binyamin. I never made that connection before. I remember
    :>an engineer explaining the meaning of "utility" to me (I was always ahanging
    :>round them trying to borrow manuals). I'm sure you're right. Where did you
    :>come across this, or did you just recognise that that's how it is/was?

    Being mumble years old, I recognized it.

    :>> UR defined a device that could not be re-processed.

    :>> DA added the ability to randomly access blocks.

    :>> In Ye Olde Days the DCB (file descriptor) for a device will less
    :>capability
    :>> used less memory. 

    --
Binyamin Dissen <bdissen@dissensoftware.com>
http://www.dissensoftware.com
Director, Dissen Software, Bar & Grill - Israel
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