create a group logical name table

[Bruce Bailey]

Hi,
I want to create a logical that translates differently depending on a users UIC group. So I need to create a set of logicals in the respective group tables. However, I’ve noticed that on system boot, most of the group tables do not exist and they appear to be created when someone in the group logs into the system. This means that I can’t create the logicals at startup.

I’ve looked at the help for the verb to create a name table but there doesn’t appear to be a way to create a table for a group different to your current UIC code.

Do you know how I can create a number of group tables at system startup that I can then populate with a few logicals in preparation for the user community to login?

We're running VMS V7.3-2

Thanks

[Wim Van den Wyngaert]

You create a named table as in
$ crea/nam/prot=/exec/parent=lnm$system_directory wim$logical_names

Then populate it.

Then during login, copy lnm$file_dev from lnm$system_directory to a job logical with the same name.

(I didn't try the last part)

Wim

[Wim Van den Wyngaert]

And add wim$logical names to the list.

Wim

[Joseph Huber_1]

You can submit a batch job under one of the groups usernames with the GRPNAM privilege (the "group administrator"), which in turn defines the /GROUP logicals, something like this:

$ getuai NEDSYS/default=nedlogin
$ submit/noprint/user=NEDSYS 'nedlogin'ned_group_define

for a group administrator NEDSYS.

[Jan van den Ende]

Joseph's solution is not unlike ours:

We have the necessary group logicals per group in a file
SYS$STARTUP:GROUP_LOGICALS_xxx.COM, with the (non-interactive access) user xxx_SPU as owner. (SPU = Special Privileged User)
This user performs all batch processing for group xxx that requires enhanced privileges; one of those processings is creating and populating the GROUP LNM table.

(to enable SUBMitting to that username by unpriv'd users, we have a little image installed with CMK, access controlled by ACLs, which does some validatings and if validated then SUBMITs a job under the priv'd user)

Proost.

Have one on me.

jpe

[Wim Van den Wyngaert]

If you don't have a group table logical, this works to.

You create a named table as in
$ crea/nam/prot=/exec/parent=lnm$system_directory wim$logical_names

Then populate it.

Then during login :
$ def /tab=lnm$process_directory lnm$group wim$logical_names

Wim

[Ian Miller.]

what I do is run a detached process on startup with a uic in the write group

$ run/uic ='uic' sys$system:loginout.exe/INPUT=DEFINE_LOGICALS.COM


and then DEFINE_LOGICALS.COM has
DEFINE/GROUP name value

[John Gillings · Accepted solution]

Please don't try to create a group logical name table with CREATE/NAME_TABLE. Far too tricky getting all the attributes and parentage exactly right.

If you want to create a group table for a particular group during system startup, all that is required is to run ANY process using ANY UIC within the group. Ian has suggested using that process to define the logical names, but that requires a process with GRPNAM, which may not be practical.

Suppose we want to create and populate a table for group 250:

$ RUN/UIC=[250,0] NL:

Note it's not necessary for there to be a valid username with UIC [250,0], and we're executing the null device, so the process won't do anything. BUT at completion, the table LNM$GROUP_000250 will exist. You can now define logical names from the startup process with:

$ DEFINE/TABLE=LNM$GROUP_000250 name value

[Bruce Bailey]

Thanks for the responses Chaps. John's was especially helpful as I was trying to avoid submitting a new DCL for each group. Now I can control the logical creations in one DCL during startup.

[Wim Van den Wyngaert]

Still a note.

The advantage of using named tables is that you can put all the logicals of an appliction into 1 table. When the application is shut, you remove the table.
Very clean and not group related. And you give the table to all application users or to everyone (our setup).

Wim