HP OpenVMS DCL procedures

Course overview

This course teaches techniques for creating DCL command procedures for automating user and operating system tasks on an OpenVMS system, including DCL syntax, design and implementation, batch processing, lexical functions, and running applications from a command structure. The course incorporates our Lab+Lecture format.

Prerequisites

• Attendees must have taken OpenVMS Utilities and Commands or have equivalent professional experience before attending this course.
• No prior programming experience is assumed; however, knowledge of some programming language (BASIC, C, FORTRAN, etc.) and programming language concepts is helpful.

Audience

• Advanced users of OpenVMS, application programmers, system programmers and system managers.

Ways to save

Benefits to you

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to create, modify and debug command procedures on OpenVMS systems. They will be able to understand how existing command procedures work. They will have experience with passing information between command procedures with symbols. They will understand how error handling works with DCL.

Next steps

• HP OpenVMS v8.2 internals differences (U8632S)

Course outline

Introduction

DCL Procedure Fundamentals

Symbols

• Uses of symbols
• How to use symbols

Flow of Control

• Controlling the flow of execution in DCL

DCL I/O

• Open
• Read
• Write
• Close
• Deck / EOD
• Create /Mailbox
• Delete /Mailbox

Introduction to Lexical Functions

Time Conversion Lexical Functions

String Manipulation Lexical Functions

Process Environment Lexical Functions

Modular Programming in DCL

• What is modular programming
• Why use it
• How to use modular programming in DCL

File and Device Information Lexical Functions

• Processing Lists of Files
• Getting Information About Files
• Logical Names

General Information Lexical Functions

• Process Information
• System Information
• Queue Information

Using ANSI Escape Sequences

• Control Characters
• Escape Sequences

Batch Processing

• Submit Command
• Batch Specific Commands

Error Handling

• Error Status
• Error Messages
• Error Checking

Advanced Examples

• Lock Keyboard
• Directory Tree Listing
• Remove User's Account
• Reverse Directory Delete