HP OpenVMS Systems

Assigning null filenames or extensions?

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The Question is:

 
How can I best copy a file that has both a
name and a type to a target file that
has just a type? Example:
 
  $ copy temp.dat .test
 
The resulting file in this case is temp.test
which for once is not really what I wanted to
do. I really do want the resulting file to be
called simply '.test'. Preserving the original
file's attributes is also important.
 
Thanks!
 

The Answer is :

 
  You are encountering the default file name processing logic present
  within OpenVMS -- portions of the full file specification that are not
  explicitly specified are inherited from previous specifications whenever
  this is possible.  While usually beneficial, this inheritence makes the
  creation of files with null fields somewhat more problematic.
 
  The usual approach to achieve this end is the use of the foreign-name
  specification syntax:
 
    $ COPY LOGIN.COM 0"user password"::".FOOBAR"
 
  This transfers LOGIN.COM back to the local node via DECnet (0::), and
  assigns the filename ".FOOBAR".
 

  

     

     
answer written or last revised on ( 19-JUL-1999 )
     
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