Header files for definitions for utility routines and system services

[Malleka Ramachandran]

On an OpenVMS Alpha 8.2, using HP C V7.1-015-48F8P compiler I am trying to compile a source module that calls the routine lbr$lookup_key and checks for the return status against the condition LBR$_KEYNOTFND.
Apparently the C header files do not contain this condition value. I searched the reference directory where the list of H files included in the .TLB is provided, and none of the header files contain this.
I am building this on 8.2 in preparation for our itanium port. Originally, this code was using several assembler modules to extract the defintions from $LBRDEF, $QUIDEF and $PRVDEF macros and the compiled module was linking against these.
Could someone tell me where to find these missing definitions from header files?

Thanks,
Malleka

[Volker Halle · Accepted solution]

Malleka,

LBR$_KEYNOTDEF is a global symbol defined in LBRSHR and will be resolved at link-time (tested on OpenVMS I64 V8.2).

Volker.

[Volker Halle]

Malleka,

here is an old TIMA article (from OpenVMS V4.x days) describing this:

http://h18000.www1.hp.com/support/asktima/appl_tools/009181EA-5633A280-1C01E7.html

And what's wrong with using MACRO-32 assembler modules on OpenVMS Alpha V8.2 or even OpenVMS Itanium ???

Volker.

[Arch_Muthiah]

Malleka,

yes, it has been defined as global.

I just went thru most of the *.MLB, and *.TLB, unbale to find LBR$_KEYNOTFND macro.

As Mr.Volker said it should be global variable, that is why it has been declared as
EXTERNAL LBR$_KEYNOTFND in the programs

You can declare this as a
external LBR$_KEYNOTFND.

Archunan

[Arch_Muthiah]

Malleka,

See VMS help under condition_values_returned for this LBR$ routine...
$help lbr$ lbr$lookup_key


Note:
Malleka, Nice to know you do this kind of work, because I am also in the process of migrating my MACRO application to Itanium.


Archunan

[Arch_Muthiah]

Volker,

Good info from your link.

Thanks
Archunan

[Volker Halle]

Archunan,


$ help lbr$ lbr$lookup_key


This should be:

$ HELP LBR LBR$LOOKUP_KEY

The help topic is called: LBR_ROUTINES

Volker.

[Arch_Muthiah]

Volker,

Any special reason why LBR$_ routine's return codes categorized as global symbol, are they being used frequently to keep it in Main mem?.

Archunan

[Malleka Ramachandran]

Thanks for all your responses which were quite prompt and useful.

Volker, I don' think there is anything wrong with using MACRO modules. It just happens to be a multi-platform application and the code may have to be maintained by someone who has not worked with OpenVMS.
It will be much easier if they had only C modules to look at.

[Volker Halle]

Archunan,

in OpenVMS, data structure and constant definitions for public system APIs (system services, RTL routines etc.) are generally defined in either header (or include) files or - in case of constant declarations - as global symbols inside the shareable image files.

Structure definitions are typically defined with SDL (Structured Definition Language - see OpenVMS Freeware V5) and include or header files are generated by SDL for the various languages and put into .TLBs (e.g. FORSYSDEF.TLB, SYS$LIB_C.TLB etc.).

Constant definitions (e.g. for service return status codes) may also be defined as global constants within the shareable images files. These files will be put into IMAGELIB.OLB and the linker will resolve those definitions at link time.

The following command will list the names of all the global symbols from the global symbol table of LBRSHR.EXE (by convention, names for a facility generally start with the facility name, e.g. LBR):

$ pipe libr/lis sys$library:imagelib/names | sea sys$pipe lbr

Volker.