Comments to dwmerrill@lbl.gov would be appreciated.
Date: Mon, 12 Oct 92 12:11:27 PDT From: merrill (Deane Merrill) @ Csa2.LBL.Gov Subject: digital chart of world - program bug To: hhholmes @ Csa2.LBL.Gov, msmohr @ Csa2.LBL.Gov Bcc: dwmerrill @ Csa2.LBL.Gov Products and Services Division Surveys, Mapping, and Remote Sensing Sector Energy, Mines and Resources Canada 615 Booth Street, Room 400 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0E4 12 October 1992 Cc: Mohr, Holmes tel: 1-613-995-2123 fax: 1-613-995-6001 Dear Sir/Madam: I have purchased a copy of the Digital Chart of the World, including PC-DOS VPFVIEW software. I am sending this fax because I have so far had no response from any of the other U.S. or Canadian telephone numbers listed in the DOS Installation Manual. Will you please tell me whom I should contact regarding technical difficulties with the software (not a defective disk, but rather what appears to be a program bug in the VPFVIEW software). If possible, I would prefer an electronic address or a fax number or the telephone number of a technical expert. The problem appears to be specific to the DOS version of the VPFVIEW software. Thank you very much. (Mr.) Deane Merrill, Ph.D. Information and Computing Sciences Division Building 50B, Room 2239 Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory One Cyclotron Road Berkeley CA 94720 tel: 510-486-5063 fax: 510-486-6363 internet: dwmerrill @ lbl.gov bitnet: merrill @ lbl (merrill @ lbl.bitnet) compuserve: 71001,62 (71001.62 @ compuserve.com) x.400: c=us;admd=compuserve;prmd=csmail;d=id:71001.62 telex (TWX): 9103662037 LBL BERK
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 92 14:17:39 PDT From: merrill (Deane Merrill) @ Csa2.LBL.Gov Subject: PC-NFS technical problem To: hhholmes @ Csa2.LBL.Gov Bcc: dwmerrill @ Csa2.LBL.Gov Harvard, We have received the Digital Chart of the World on CD-ROM. I have had some success in plotting its maps with the MS-DOS software provided, but have run into a sticky technical problem. I have followed a trail of phone numbers for technical assistance, but want to see if you can help: Some of the file names on the CD-ROM diskette are non-standard, for example "dht." and "lat." which PC-NFS maps into "DHT~~~AA" and "LAT~~~BA". The PC-NFS utility ls.exe correctly displays the original file names, namely "dht." and "lat." On the Sun, they are displayed as "dht." and "lat." The DOS software provided with the Digital Chart of the World expects simple DOS names, e.g. "DHT" and "LAT". If I copy the CD-ROM files to a hard disk and rename them, the software works perfectly. Are you aware of any way to alter the default PC-NFS file name mapping algorithm? Should I update my version of PC-NFS? I am using V3.5, issued 2/13/91. Deane
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 92 13:55:40 PDT From: merrill (Deane Merrill) @ Csa2.LBL.Gov Subject: DCW file name problem To: dwmerrill @ Csa2.LBL.Gov Digital Chart of World problems with file names 10/15/92 called Warrant Officer Cyr (replaced Major Bilodeau) National Defence HQ, Ottawa Canada tel 613-992-7666 fax 613-996-3328 He had gotten my fax. Referred me to: Mr. David Danko (original project manager) (present project manager is Eric Hilberg (sp?) Defense Mapping Agency 703-285 9257 (correct number is 703-285-9236) Combat Support Center 301-227-5518 Denver Colorado 303-236-5829 10/15/92 called Danko. Referred me to: Mr. Mike Thomas DMA SC/EG mail stop 54 Defense Mapping Agency Bethesda MD 20816 tel: 301-227-3133 fax: 301-227-4694 10/15/92 called Thomas. The files are mounted (with mount -rt hsfs ) in Sun Unix with names like "lat." PC-NFS translates this into LAT~~~BA which cannot be understood by DOS VPFVIEW. He referred me to: Barry Michaels ESRI Redlands need to request contact permission from David Danko Barry Michaels' boss is Duane Niemeyer ESRI 714-793-2853 x1464 left message for him to call me.
Date: Tue, 20 Oct 92 10:33:19 PDT From: merrill (Deane Merrill) @ Csa2.LBL.Gov Subject: digital chart of the world To: hhholmes @ Csa2.LBL.Gov cc: msmohr @ Csa2.LBL.Gov Bcc: dwmerrill @ Csa2.LBL.Gov Harvard (copy to Michael) regarding the incompatability of Digital Chart of the World (DCW) with PC-NFS: For your information, I talked with Mr. Duane Niemeyer at ESRI. (714-793-2853 x1464). His staff member Barry Michaels developed the VPFVIEW software (DOS) used to access the CD-ROM diskettes containing DCW. He claims that the file names (e.g. "lat.") are ISO 9660 compatible. Unfortunately PC-NFS translates them into strings like "LAT~~~BA", preventing the DOS VPFVIEW software from being used with PC-NFS. The problem would not exist if we were to put the CD-ROMs on a reader connected directly to a PC. (In other words, PC-NFS translates file names differently than does the Microsoft CD-ROM driver MSCDEX.EXE. The problem would also not exist if we were to copy the DCW CD-ROM diskettes (1600MB) to a PC hard disk and rename the files. I checked that renaming the files on a PC hard disk actually works. The DOS "dir" command displays names as upper case without the period e.g. "LAT". The PC-NFS "ls" command, like the ls command on the Sun, displays them as lower case with the period, e.g. "lat.". From DOS, the files can be accessed either as "lat" or "lat." or "LAT" or "LAT." My guess is that the DOS software calls them "lat.", for compatibility with UNIX. Mr. Niemeyer thinks that a simple rewrite of the I/O routines in VPFVIEW will not cure the problem. The file names are in the code and in tables in many different places. He also guesses that Sun would be unable or unwilling to provide a version of PC-NFS with a non-standard file name translation option. He thinks ESRI might be able to do a software fix on a time-and-materials basis (my suggestion, not his). He will investigate and get back to me. I also requested that the PC-NFS incompatability be considered at the time the next version of DCW is released. Since DCW is not urgently needed for our programmatic mission, I will probably write an informational letter to SUN and to ESRI and the Defense Mapping Agency, and then give up. I may copy the 1600MB of CD-ROMs to the LBL mass storage system, with modified file names. Deane
Date: Tue, 27 Oct 92 14:28:46 PST From: merrill (Deane Merrill) @ Csa2.LBL.Gov Subject: Re: PC-NFS technical problem To: klrevzan @ Csa2.LBL.Gov Bcc: dwmerrill @ Csa2.LBL.Gov Ken Revzan (copy to Harvard) re: Digital Chart of the World When MSS comes up, you may want to install VPFVIEW on a PC and try it out. The directory ux6: /home/mss/icsd/biostat/merrill/dcw10 contains a copy of the original DOS diskettes in PKZIP format. You can copy the PKXIP files back to floppies (see the directory listings *.lis) and type a:install . Since you don't have the CD-ROM diskettes, you will need to run VPFVIEW from a PC on the Internet that is able to mount the CD-ROM diskettes /disk85-/disk88 with PC-NFS. But I ran into a file naming problem that is described below. I have contacted the Defense Mapping Agency (the creators of DCW of DCW) and ESRI (the VPFVIEW contractor) and Sun (the authors of PC-NFS). The various principals claim that (a) the DCW database (b) the DOS program VPFVIEW (c) Sun PC-NFS are all immutable, and so I think the problem is unfixable until the next release of DCW. The workaround is to copy selected subsets of the data to a hard disk, and rename the files. If there is sufficient demand I could put DCW, with altered file names, on MSS. I will appreciate hearing from you, if you learn any more. Deane > Date: Thu, 15 Oct 92 14:17:39 PDT > From: merrill (Deane Merrill) @ Csa2.LBL.Gov > Subject: PC-NFS technical problem > To: hhholmes @ Csa2.LBL.Gov > > Harvard, > > We have received the Digital Chart of the World on CD-ROM. I have had some > success in plotting its maps with the MS-DOS software provided, but have run > into a sticky technical problem. I have followed a trail of phone numbers for > technical assistance, but want to see if you can help: > > Some of the file names on the CD-ROM diskette are non-standard, for example > "dht." and "lat." which PC-NFS maps into "DHT~~~AA" and "LAT~~~BA". > The PC-NFS utility ls.exe correctly displays the original file names, namely > "dht." and "lat." On the Sun, they are displayed as "dht." and "lat." > > The DOS software provided with the Digital Chart of the World expects > simple DOS names, e.g. "DHT" and "LAT". If I copy the CD-ROM files to a > hard disk and rename them, the software works perfectly. > > Are you aware of any way to alter the default PC-NFS file name mapping > algorithm? > > Should I update my version of PC-NFS? I am using V3.5, issued 2/13/91. > > Deane
Date: Thu, 5 Nov 92 11:18:09 PST From: revzan@bea.lbl.gov (Kenneth L. Revzan) To: merrill@Csa2.lbl.gov Subject: Re: Re: PC-NFS technical problem You may be able to recompile vpfview with the changes necessary to circumvent the filename problem that you describe. You need to change three lines in the source file "vpfinit.c". In line #375, char *reqfile[] = { "LAT", "DHT" } , you need to replace "LAT" and "DHT" with whatever pc-nfs imagines "lat." and "dht." to be. You must similarly alter line #427, strcat(path,"lat"), and #455, strcat(path,"dht"), to reflect the changed names. Unfortunately, I do not have a recent version of turbo-C, so I cannot check these ideas. (Actually, I don't even have a PC on my desk.) If you have turbo-C, give the changes a try (no warranty, explicit or implicit!).
Date: Thu, 5 Nov 92 12:25:10 PST From: merrill (Deane Merrill) @ Csa2.LBL.Gov Subject: Digital Chart of the World To: revzan @ Csa2.LBL.Gov cc: hhholmes @ Csa2.LBL.Gov, caeades @ Csa2.LBL.Gov, msmohr @ Csa2.LBL.Gov Bcc: dwmerrill @ Csa2.LBL.Gov Dear Ken, Thanks for the helpful suggestion regarding recompilation of VPFVIEW for use with Digital Chart of the World (DCW) over PC-NFS. I think your idea would work. Unfortunately there are hundreds of such file names, some of which are constructed indirectly by table lookup. The author of VPFVIEW advised me not to attempt to fix the software. I also tried Harvard's and Craig's idea of doing a unix link command on the bad files. Even with superuser privilege the link fails (silently, without an error message) because the directory is read-only. (In a writeable directory, the command link lat. lat works successfully and the new name lat is recognized by PC-NFS as LAT). I think the path of least resistance is to wait for a DCW update, in the meantime copying needed files to hard disk and renaming or linking them. If anyone has a serious need for DCW, I suggest that this be done systematically and the whole database be copied to MSS. If and when LBL purchases CD-ROM mastering equipment, the data base can be copied to four CD-ROM diskettes and re-mounted for public use. Deane > Date: Thu, 5 Nov 92 11:18:09 PST > From: revzan@bea.lbl.gov (Kenneth L. Revzan) > To: merrill@Csa2.lbl.gov > Subject: Re: Re: PC-NFS technical problem > > You may be able to recompile vpfview with the changes necessary to circumvent > the filename problem that you describe. > > You need to change three lines in the source file "vpfinit.c". In line #375, > char *reqfile[] = { "LAT", "DHT" } , > you need to replace "LAT" and "DHT" with whatever pc-nfs imagines "lat." and > "dht." to be. You must similarly alter line #427, > strcat(path,"lat"), > and #455, > strcat(path,"dht"), > to reflect the changed names. > > Unfortunately, I do not have a recent version of turbo-C, so I cannot check > these ideas. (Actually, I don't even have a PC on my desk.) If you have > turbo-C, give the changes a try (no warranty, explicit or implicit!).