Usenet 1993 July/InfoMagic USENET CD-ROM July 1993.ISO/answers/aix-faq/part2

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Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!enterpoop.mit.edu!usc!cs.utexas.edu!mavrick![e-mail]
From: [e-mail] (Luis Basto)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.aix,news.answers,comp.answers
Subject: AIX Frequently Asked Questions (Part 2 of 2)
Summary: This posting contains a list of Frequently Asked Questions
         and their answers about AIX, IBM's version of Unix.
Keywords: AIX RS/6000 questions answers
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: 15 Jun 93 06:09:54 GMT
Expires: 15 Jul 93 01:23:45 GMT
Sender: [e-mail]
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Luis Basto)
Followup-To: comp.unix.aix
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Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu comp.unix.aix:26285 news.answers:9416 comp.answers:1002

Archive-name: aix-faq/part2
Last-modified: June 15, 1993
Version: 2.33


Version: $Id: aix.faq,v 2.33 93/06/15 basto $

Frequently Asked Questions to AIX 3.x and IBM RS/6000
_____________________________________________________

1.40: How can I add new man pages to the system?
From: [e-mail] (Horst Luehrsen)

Put the man pages in /usr/man, eg.  /usr/man/man1/tcsh.1 for the tcsh
man page.  Unter AIX 3.1.10, there is a shell script /usr/lib/makewhatis
which can be used to update the makewhatis-database /usr/man/whatis so
apropos and whatis know about the added manpages. /usr/lib/makewhatis
should be available on all 3.2 versions.


1.41: How much paging space do I need?

The rule of thumb is paging space = 2 times physical memory. For example,
if your system has 48 MB of RAM, you want to allocate 96 MB for paging.
However, this is application dependent. If you do software development,
especially large projects, then you should consider this rule. But if your
system has 512 MB memory, you may not need 1 Gig of paging. Use 'lsps -a'
during typical system loading to determine if your system is thrashing.
Never allocate less paging space than physical memory or performance
will suffer seriously.


1.42: How can I make an exact duplicate of a tape over the network?

The challenge here is not to have to create a temporary file (disk space
limitation) and work across heterogenous networks.

This script might work:

LOCAL=/dev/tape_dev
REMOTE=/dev/tape_dev
dd if=$LOCAL ibs=64k obs=512 | rsh remote_host dd ibs=512 obs=64k of=$REMOTE


From: [e-mail] (Daniel Packman)

Daniel provides the following perl script to convert from the known
world's function codes to AIX for compatibility.

#!/bin/perl
# Wrapper to convert input rmt requests to
# AIX 3.2 ioctl numbers.  We pass on all commands we don't understand
# I0 MTWEOF -> I10  STWEOF write and end-of-file record
# I1 MTFSF  -> I11  STFSF  forward space file
# I2 MTBSF  -> I12  STRSF  reverse space file
# I3 MTFSR  -> I13  STFSR  forward space record
# I4 MTBSR  -> I14  STRSR  reverse space record
# I5 MTREW  -> I6   STREW  rewind
# I6 MTOFFL -> I5   STOFFL rewind and unload tape
# I7 MTNOP  -> I0   (no-op? should ignore following count)
# I8 MTRETEN-> I8   STRETEN retension tape, leave at load point
# I9 MTERASE-> I7   STERASE erase tape, leave at load point
#I10 MTEOM (position to end of media ... no ibm equivalent?)
#I11 MTNBSF  (backward space file to BOF ... no ibm equivalent?)
@iocs = (10,11,12,13,14,6,5,0,8,7);
open(RMT,"|/usr/sbin/rmt") || die "Can't open pipe to rmt\n";
select(RMT);
$| = 1;
while (<STDIN>) {
  s/(^I)(\d$)/I$iocs[$2]/;
  exit 0 if $_ =~ /^[Qq]/;
  print RMT $_ ; }
exit 0;


1.43: How do I find a file name from the inode number?

From: [e-mail] (Kanthan Pillay)

      find /mntpoint -xdev -inum nnnn -print


1.44: How do I set up postscript accounting?

From: [e-mail] (Vince Taluskie)

The following program to configure postscript page accounting was
originally written by Ephraim Vider.  It acts as a backend wrapper
which logs accounting information in /etc/qconfig. It can be ftp'd
from utpapa.ph.utexas.edu in /pub/aix/psacct.tar.Z.

To get this program running compile it with

cc  pswrap.c -o pswrap -lqb

and then make this program suid root with

chown root pswrap
chmod u+s pswrap

If this step is not done, the printer will hang.

Then start up SMIT and go to :

Spooler
  Manage Local Printer Subsystem
    Local Printer Queue Devices
      Change / Show Characteristics of a Queue Device
        <Select Queue>
          <Select Device>

and change "BACKEND PROGRAM pathname" to the full pathname of pswrap
since pswrap will now handle the backend interface with the queue.

A stream of info will be written to a logfile in /tmp (prob lp0.log)
but this file is mainly used for status info and raw pagecounts.  If
the accounting data is going to the qconfig-specified acctfile, then
use the 'pac' command to read it.  I prefer to have readable ascii data
files instead, so just I comment out the '#define WANT_PAC' line and it
will only go to the ACCTFILE specfied in pswrap.c.


/*********    pswrap.c    ***********/

/*
 compile with:   cc pswrap.c -o pswrap -lqb
 (for doc on the qb library see "understanding backend routines in libqb")

 BTW:  The log_charge() function doesn't seem to do anything,
       but log_pages() updates the accounting info.

Ephraim Vider, original author

--
Feb 10, 1993

You can set pswrap up to use either the accounting file specified in
/etc/qconfig (which means that you need to get your data from 'pac')
or you can comment out the #define WANT_PAC line and then the accounting
data will only go into the ACCTFILE.

Also modified the logging to the ASCII acctfile so that it looks more
readable.

Vince Talsukie, [e-mail]
*/

 #include <stdio.h>
 #include <string.h>
 #include <ctype.h>
 #include <fcntl.h>
 #include <signal.h>
 #include <setjmp.h>
 #include <sys/wait.h>
 #include <IN/backend.h>
 #include <IN/standard.h>
 #include "qprocs.h"

 char     *nextword (char *p);
 char     *skipvalue (char *p);

 #define LOGDIR     "/tmp"
 #define ACCTFILE   "/usr/adm/acct/lpr/ps-acct"
/* #define WANT_PAC     1 */     /* this define will also send accounting
                                 info to the acctfile specified in
                 /etc/qconfig file.  If this define is
                 commented out then accounting info will
                 only go to ACCTFILE  */


 char     pcprog[] = "statusdict begin pagecount = end\n\x04";

 char     *keyw[] = {
     "idle",
     "busy",
     "waiting",
     "printing",
     "initializing",
     NULL
 };
 enum     { PS_IDLE, PS_BUSY, PS_WAIT, PS_PRINT, PS_INIT, PS_UNKNOWN };

 void     giveup();
 jmp_buf  jumper;

 char     logfname[30];
 FILE     *logfile, *acctfile;

 main (argc, argv)
 int argc;
 char     *argv[];
 {
     char *devname;
     int  pagcnt, c;
     int  pid;
     int  w, status;

     if (argc < 2) {
          fprintf(stderr, "Usage: psbe file\n");
          exit(-1);
     }
     if (log_init(argv[1]) < 0) {
          fprintf(stderr, "log_init failed!\n");
          exit(EXITBAD);
     }
     sprintf(logfname, "%s/%s.log", LOGDIR, get_device_name());
     if ((logfile = fopen(logfname, "a")) == NULL) {
          fprintf(stderr, "Can't open logfile.\n");
          exit(EXITBAD);
     }

     if ((acctfile = fopen(ACCTFILE, "a")) == NULL) {
     fprintf(stderr, "Can't open logfile.\n");
     exit(EXITBAD);
     }

     setvbuf(logfile, NULL, _IOLBF, BUFSIZ);
     setvbuf(acctfile, NULL, _IOLBF, BUFSIZ);

     setvbuf(stdin, NULL, _IONBF, 0);
     setvbuf(stdout, NULL, _IONBF, 0);
     fprintf(logfile, "start Job no. %d, queued on %s\n", get_job_number(),
               get_qdate());
     log_status(WAITING);
     pagcnt = getpagecnt();
     log_status(RUNNING);
     if ((pid = fork()) < 0) {
          perror("fork");
          exit(EXITBAD);
     }
     if (pid == 0) {
          argv[0] = "piobe";
          execv("/usr/lpd/piobe", argv);
          perror("exec");
          exit(EXITBAD);
     }
     while ((w = wait(&status)) != pid)
          if (w == -1) {
               perror("wait");
               exit(EXITBAD);
          }
     if (WEXITSTATUS(status) != 0)
          exit(WEXITSTATUS(status));
     log_status(WAITING);

     if (pagcnt > 0 && (c = getpagecnt()) > 0) {
#ifdef WANT_PAC
          log_pages(c - pagcnt);
#endif
    }

     fprintf(logfile, "end Job no. %d, queued on %s\n", get_job_number(),
               get_qdate());

/* the accounting file format is

pages_printed     user     queue_printed_on   time_queued

*/

     fprintf(acctfile, "%d %35s %7s    %s \n", (c - pagcnt), get_from(), get_queue_name(), get_qdate());

     fclose(logfile);
     fclose(acctfile);
     exit(EXITOK);
 }

 void     giveup ()
 {
     longjmp(jumper, 1);
 }

 getpagecnt ()
 {
     int  pc = 0, pstat;
     char buf[81];

     if (setjmp(jumper) != 0) {
          fprintf(logfile, "giving up on status\n");
          return (0);
     }
     alarm(60 * 2);
     signal(SIGALRM, giveup);
     do {
          if (!gets(buf)) {
               sleep(5);
               putchar('\x14');    /* ^T returns status */
               sleep(1); /* wait for answer from printer */
               if (!gets(buf))
                    return (0);
          }
          fprintf(logfile, "%s\n", buf);
          if ((pstat = getstatus(buf)) == PS_WAIT) {
               putchar('\x04');
               sleep(1);
          }
     } while (pstat != PS_IDLE);
     alarm(0);
     while (gets(buf))
          fprintf(logfile, "%s\n", buf);
     printf("%s", pcprog);
     sleep(1); /* wait for answer from printer */
     if (!gets(buf))
          return (0);
     if (sscanf(buf, "%d", &pc) != 1)
          return (0);
     fprintf(logfile, "%d\n", pc);
     return (pc);
 }

 /**
  ** Parser for printer status messages
  **/

 getstatus (p)
 char     *p;
 {
     char *t;
     int  i;

     if ((p = strchr(p, '%')) == NULL)
          return (PS_UNKNOWN);
     if (strncmp(p, "%%[", 3) != 0)
          return (PS_UNKNOWN);
     for (p = nextword(p + 3) ; p != NULL ; p = skipvalue(p)) {
          t = p;
          p = strchr(p, ':');
          *p++ = '\0';
          p = nextword(p);
          if (strcmp(t, "status") == 0)
               break;
     }
     if (p == NULL)
          return (PS_UNKNOWN);
     t = p;
     p = strchr(p, ' ');
     if (p[-1] == ';')
          p--;
     *p = '\0';
     for (i = 0 ; keyw[i] != NULL ; i++)
          if (strcmp(t, keyw[i]) == 0)
               break;
     return (i);
 }

 char     *nextword (p)
 char     *p;
 {
     while (isspace(*p))
          p++;
     if (strncmp(p, "]%%", 3) == 0)
          return (NULL);
     return (p);
 }

 char     *skipvalue (p)
 char     *p;
 {
     char *t;

     while (p != NULL) {
          p = strchr(p, ' ');
          t = p;
          p = nextword(p);
          if (t[-1] == ';')
               break;
     }
     return (p);
 }

 /*********    qprocs.h    ***********/
 /* functions for communication between qdaemon and the backend */

 char     *get_from();
 char     *get_to();
 char     *get_qdate();
 char     *get_queue_name();
 char     *get_device_name();
 char     *get_title();


1.45: How do I set up pcsim, the DOS emulator?

You must have a bootable DOS diskette to install pcsim. Either DOS 3.3,
4.x, or 5.0 will work. IBM do not officially support DOS 5.0 for pcsim
but I have no problems with it. Just don't try to be fancy with the UMB
and memory manager stuff.

With a bootable DOS disk in the drive, do:
$touch /u/dosdrive (this is the AIX file for DOS emulation)
$pcsim -Adiskette 3 -Cdrive /u/dosdrive
You would now get an A prompt. Type:
A> fdisk
Create the virtual C drive of whatever size you choose. Make it large
enough for your needs since you cannot enlarge it later.
A> format c: /s (to format the virtual C drive)
Now exit from pcsim with ESCpcsim (Esc key followed by pcsim).

Now create a simprof file. Following is a starter:

Adiskette   : 3
Cdrive      :/u/dosdrive
lpt1        : name of printer queue
refresh     : 50
dmode       : V
mouse       : com1

You can now start pcsim anytime by typing pcsim. Make sure no floppies
are in the drive. For further information, refer to publication
SC23-2452, Personal Computer Simulator/6000 Guide and Reference.


1.46: How do I transfer files between AIX and DOS disks?

In one of the bos extensions are commands for transferring files between
DOS diskettes and AIX. The commands are dosread, doswrite, dosdir, dosdel,
and dosformat. Many users have mentioned that the mtools package from
prep.ai.mit.edu is better than the native AIX programs.


1.47: How do I create boot diskettes for 3.2?

You need to have four formatted diskettes.

boot disk:                bosboot -d /dev/fd0 -a
display disk:             mkdispdskt
display extension disk:   mkextdskt
Install/Maintenance disk: mkinstdskt


1.48: Some info about the memory management system

From: Michael Coggins ([e-mail]).

  The following questions are answered in this document:
  1. Does AIX use more paging space than other unix systems?
  2. How much paging space do I need?
  3. Why does vmstat show no free RAM pages?
  4. Since vmstat shows no free RAM pages, am I out of RAM?
  5. Shouldn't the "avm" and the "fre" fields from vmstat add up to
     something?
  6. Why does the "fre" field from vmstat sometimes show lots of free
     RAM pages?
  7. Is the vmstat "fre" field useful?


1. Does AIX use more paging space than other unix systems?

Under many scenarios, AIX requires more paging space than other unix
systems.  The AIX VMM implements a technique called "early allocation of
paging space".  When a page is allocated in RAM, and it is not a
"client" (NFS) or a "persistant" (disk file) storage page, then it is
considered a "working" storage page.  Working storage pages are commonly
an application's stack, data, and any shared memory segments.  So, when
a program's stack or data area is increased, and RAM is accessed, the
VMM will allocate space in RAM and space on the paging device.  This
means that even before RAM is exhausted, paging space is used.  This
does not happen on many other unix systems, although they do keep track
of total VM used.

Example 1:
Workstation with 64mb RAM is running only one small application that
accesses only a few small files.  Everything fits into RAM, including
all accessed data.  On AIX, some paging space will already be used.  On
other unix systems, paging space will be 100 percent free.  Clearly,
this is an example that shows where we use more paging space than the
other machines.

Example 2:
Same machine as above, except we are running in an environment where
many applications are running, and RAM is "overcommitted" (there is not
enough RAM).  Also, in this environment, the system is running
applications that are started, run, left idle, and not in constant use.
A session of FRAME running in a window, for example.  What happens is
that eventually (theoretically) all applications will be paged out at
least once.  On the AIX system and the other systems the total paging
requirements will be the same (assuming similar malloc algorithm).  The
major difference is that the AIX system allocated the paging space pages
before they were actually needed, and the other systems did not allocate
them until they were needed.  However, most other systems have an
internal variable that gets incremented as virtual memory pages are
used.  AIX does not do this.  This can cause the AIX system to run out
of paging space (virtual memory), even though malloc() continues to
return memory.  This "feature" allows sparse memory segments to work,
but requires that all normal users of malloc() (sbrk()) know how much
virtual memory will be available (actually impossible), and to handle a
paging space low condition.  A big problem.  There are some pretty
obvious pros and cons to both methods of doing Virtual Memory.

2. How much paging space do I need?

Concerning the rule of thumb of having 2 times RAM for paging space:
this is rather simplistic, as are most "rules of thumb".  If the machine
is in a "persistant storage environment", meaning that they have a few
small programs, and lots of data, they may not need even as much as 1
times RAM for paging space.  For example, a 1GB database server running
on a RISC System/6000 with 256MB of RAM, and only running about 50MB of
"working" storage does not need 512MB of paging space, or even 256MB of
paging space.  They only need the amount of paging space that will allow
all their working storage to be paged out to disk.  This is because the
1GB database is mostly "persistant storage", and will require little or
no paging space.  Excessive paging space may simply mean wasted disk
space.  However, avoid insufficient paging space.  Tip: Don't have more
than one paging space per disk.  Tip: Put lots of RAM in your System -
it will use it.

3. Why does vmstat show no free RAM pages?

AIX uses RAM as a possibly huge disk buffer.  If you read a file in the
morning, that file is read into RAM, and left there.  If no other
programs need that RAM, that file will be left in RAM until the machine
is halted.  This means that if you need the file again, access will be
quick.  If you need that RAM, the system will simply use the pages the
file was using.  The pages were flushed back to disk earlier.  This
means that you can get a huge speedup in disk access if you have enough
RAM.  For example, a 200MB database will just ease into RAM if you have
a 256MB system.

4. Since vmstat shows no free RAM pages, am I out of RAM?

Probably not.  Since disk files will be "mapped" into RAM, if vmstat
shows lots of RAM pages FREE, then you probably have too much RAM (not
usual on a RISC System/6000)!

5. Shouldn't the "avm" and the "fre" fields from vmstat add up to
   something?

No.  The "avm" field tells you how much "Active Virtual Memory" AIX
thinks you are using.  This will closely match the amount of paging
space you are using.  This number has *ABSOLUTELY* nothing to do with
the amount of RAM you are using, and does *NOT* include your mapped
files (disk files).

6. Why does the "fre" field from vmstat sometimes show lots of free
   RAM pages?

This will happen after an application that used a lot of RAM via
"working" storage (not NFS storage, and not disk file or "persistent"
storage) exits.  When RAM pages that were used by working storage (a
program's stack and data area) are no longer needed, there is no need to
leave them around.  AIX completely frees these RAM pages.  The time to
access these pages versus a RAM page holding a "sync'd" mapped file is
almost identical.  Therefore, there is no need to periodically "flush"
RAM.

7. Is the vmstat "fre" field useful?

The vmstat "fre" field represents the number of free page frames.  If
the number is consistently small (less than 500 pages), this is normal.
If the number is consistently large (greater than 4000 pages), then you
have more memory than you need in this machine.


1.49: unix:0 vs `hostname`:0

1.) Is there any way to get the machine to check its local host table
    first without renaming resolv.conf?

From: [e-mail] (Charles J McGuire)

  Not that I know of.  Under SunOS and Ultrix you can specify, check
  /etc/hosts, then NIS, then DNS.  On our AIX machines, I have a cron job
  that checks the integrity of both the primary and secondary
  nameservers every 5 minutes.  If they're gone, the cron pgm renames
  resolv.conf.  The pgm continues to check the servers.  When they're
  back, it moves resolv.conf back.  Even with this arrangement, I need
  to configure two resolv.conf files that switch the order of the
  primary and secondary servers if the primary goes away.  If the
  primary is unavailable, queries can still take a while to time out on
  the primary, before querying the secondary.  This method is not very
  elegant, but it does the job.  Things are a little unstable during the
  transitions depending on when the servers go away relative to when the
  cron pgm runs - not to mention slight differences in clock times.

2.) How do you tell X applications where you are if the console display
    is unix:0?

From: [e-mail] (David L. Crow)

  I would suggest that if you have R5, use ":<display>.<screen>".  I do
  not believe that R4 clients will understand :0, so I would suggest
  unix:0 for them.

  Without specifying unix or the hostname, you will get the fastest
  trasport mechanism.  While currently there are only two transport
  methods in the AIXwindows X server (Unix sockets and TCP sockets),
  many vendors are looking at using shared memory as a transport method.
  If you use :0 (or :0.0 or :1, etc.), then you should get the best
  performance regardless of the available transport methods.

3.) Is there a significant performance penalty incurred by
using `hostname`:0 as DISPLAY?

  Yes! Using unix:0, you are using Unix sockets.  These are much faster
  than their TCP socket counterparts.

____________________________________________________________________________
2.00: C/C++

Contrary to many people's belief, the C environment on the RS/6000 is
not very special.  The C compiler has quite a number of options that can
be used to control how it works, which "dialect" of C it compiles, how
it interprets certain language constructs, etc.  InfoExplorer includes a
Users' Guide and a Reference Manual.

The compiler can be invoked with either xlc to invoke it in ANSI mode
and cc to invoke it in RT (i.e. IBM 6150 with AIX 2) compatible mode.
The default options for each mode are set in the /etc/xlc.cfg file, and
you can actually add another stanza and create a link to the /bin/xlc
executable.

The file /usr/lpp/xlc/bin/README.xlc has information about the C
compiler, and the file /usr/lpp/bos/bsdport contains useful information,
in particular for users used to BSD.

The file /etc/xlc.cfg also shows the symbol _IBMR2 that is predefined,
and therefore can be used for #ifdef'ing RS/6000 specific code.


2.01: I cannot make alloca work

A famous routine, in particular in GNU context, is the allocation
routine alloca().  Alloca allocates memory in such a way that it is
automatically free'd when the block is exited.  Most implementations
does this by adjusting the stack pointer.  Since not all C environments
can support it, its use is discouraged, but it is included in the xlc
compiler.  In order to make the compiler aware that you intend to use
alloca, you must put the line

#pragma alloca

before any other statements in the C source module(s) where alloca is
called.  If you don't do this, xlc will not recognize alloca as anything
special, and you will get errors during linking.

For AIX 3.2, it may be easier to use the -ma flag.


2.02: How do I compile my BSD programs?

The file /usr/lpp/bos/bsdport contains information on how to port
programs written for BSD to AIX 3.1.  The contents of this file can
actually be very useful for others as well.

A quick cc command for most "standard" BSD programs is:

  $ cc -D_BSD -D_BSD_INCLUDES  -o [loadfile] [sourcefile.c] -lbsd

If your software has system calls predefined with no prototype
parameters, also use the -D_NO_PROTO flag.


2.03: Isn't the linker different from what I am used to?

Yes.  It is not at all like what you are used to:

- The order of objects and libraries is normally _not_ important.  The
  linker reads _all_ objects including those from libraries into memory
  and does the actual linking in one go.  Even if you need to put a
  library of your own twice on the ld command line on other systems, it
  is not needed on the RS/6000 - doing so will even make your linking slower.

- One of the features of the linker is that it will replace an object in
  an executable with a new version of the same object:

  $ cc -o prog prog1.o prog2.o prog3.o        # make prog
  $ cc -c prog2.c                # recompile prog2.c
  $ cc -o prog.new prog2.o prog            # make prog.new from prog
                        # by replacing prog2.o

- The standard C library /lib/libc.a is linked shared, which means that
  the actual code is not linked into your program, but is loaded only
  once and linked dynamically during loading of your program.

- The ld program actually calls the binder in /usr/lib/bind, and you can
  give ld special options to get details about the invocation of the
  binder.  These are found on the ld man page or in InfoExplorer.

- If your program normally links using a number of libraries (.a files),
  you can 'prelink' each of these into an object, which will make your
  final linking faster.  E.g. do:

  $ cc -c prog1.c prog2.c prog3.c
  $ ar cv libprog.a prog1.o prog2.o prog3.o
  $ ld -r -o libprog.o libprog.a
  $ cc -o someprog someprog.c libprog.o

This will solve all internal references between prog1.o, prog2.o and
prog3.o and save this in libprog.o Then using libprog.o to link your
program instead of libprog.a will increase linking speed, and even if
someprog.c only uses, say prog1.o and prog2.o, only those two modules
will be in your final program.  This is also due to the fact that the
binder can handle single objects inside one object module as noted above.

If you are using an -lprog option (for libprog.a) above, and still want
to be able to do so, you should name the prelinked object with a
standard library name, e.g. libprogP.a (P identifying a prelinked
object), that can be specified by -lprogP.  You cannot use the archiver
(ar) on such an object.

You should also have a look at section 3.01 of this article, in
particular if you have mixed Fortran/C programs.


2.04: How do I link my program with a non-shared /lib/libc.a?

  cc -o prog -bnoso -bI:/lib/syscalls.exp obj1.o obj2.o obj3.o

will do that for a program consisting of the three objects obj1.o, etc.


2.05: How do I make my own shared library?

To make your own shared object or library of shared objects, you should
know that a shared object cannot have undefined symbols.  Thus, if your
code uses any externals from /lib/libc.a, the latter MUST be linked with
your code to make a shared object.  Mike Heath ([e-mail]) said it
is possible to split code into more than one shared object when externals
in one object refer to another one.  You must be very good at
import/export files.  Perhaps he or someone can provide an example.

Assume you have one file, sub1.c, containing a routine with no external
references, and another one, sub2.c, calling stuff in /lib/libc.a.  You
will also need two export files, sub1.exp, sub2.exp.  Read the example
below together with the examples on the ld man page.

---- sub1.c ----------------------------------------------------------
    int addint(int a, int b)
    {
      return a + b;
    }
---- sub2.c ----------------------------------------------------------
    #include <stdio.h>

    void printint(int a)
    {
      printf("The integer is: %d\n", a);
    }
---- sub1.exp ----------------------------------------------------------
    #!
    addint
---- sub2.exp ----------------------------------------------------------
    #!
    printint
---- usesub.c ----------------------------------------------------------
    main()
    {
      printint( addint(5,8) );
    }
---------------------------------------------------------------

The following commands will build your libshr.a, and compile/link the
program usesub to use it.  Note that you need the ld option -lc for
sub2shr.o since it calls printf from /lib/libc.a.

  $ cc  -c sub1.c
  $ ld -o sub1shr.o sub1.o -bE:sub1.exp -bM:SRE -T512 -H512
  $ cc  -c sub2.c
  $ ld -o sub2shr.o sub2.o -bE:sub2.exp -bM:SRE -T512 -H512  -lc
  $ ar r libshr.a sub1shr.o sub2shr.o
  $ cc -o usesub usesub.c -L: libshr.a
  $ usesub
  The integer is: 13
  $


2.06: Linking my program fails with strange errors.  Why?

Very simple, the linker (actually called the binder), cannot get the
memory it needs, either because your ulimits are too low or because you
don't have sufficient paging space.  Since the linker is quite different
from normal Unix linkers and actually does much more than these, it also
uses a lot of virtual memory.  It is not unusual to need 10000 pages (of
4k) or more to execute a fairly complex linking.

If you get 'BUMP error', either ulimits or paging is too low, if you get
'Binder killed by signal 9' your paging is too low.

First, check your memory and data ulimits; in korn shell 'ulimit -a' will
show all limits and 'ulimit -m 99999' and 'ulimit -d 99999' will
increase the maximum memory and data respectively to some high values.
If this was not your problem, you don't have enough paging space.

If you will or can not increase your paging space, you could try this:

- Do you duplicate libraries on the ld command line? That is never
  necessary.

- Do more users link simultaneously? Try having only one linking going
  on at any time.

- Do a partwise linking, i.e. you link some objects/libraries with the
  -r option to allow the temporary output to have unresolved references,
  then link with the rest of your objects/libraries.  This can be split
  up as much as you want, and will make each step use less virtual memory.

  If you follow this scheme, only adding one object or archive at a
  time, you will actually emulate the behavior of other Unix linkers.

If you decide to add more paging space, you should consider adding a new
paging space on a second hard disk, as opposed to just increasing the
existing one.  Doing the latter could make you run out of free space on
your first harddisk. It is more involved to shrink a paging space
but easier to delete one.


2.07: What's with malloc()?

malloc() uses a late allocation algorithm based on 4.3 BSD's malloc()
for speed.  This lets you allocate very large sparse memory spaces,
since the pages are not actually allocated until they are touched for
the first time.  Unfortunately, it doesn't die gracefully in the face of
loss of available memory.  See the "Paging Space Overview" under
InfoExplorer, and see the notes on the linker in this document for an
example of an ungraceful death.

If you want your program to get notified when running out of memory, you
should handle the SIGDANGER signal.  The default is to ignore it.
SIGDANGER is sent to all processes when paging space gets low, and if
paging space gets even lower, processes with the highest paging space
usage are sent the SIGKILL signal.

malloc() is substantially different in 3.2, allocating memory more
tightly.  If you have problems running re-compiled programs on 3.2, try
running them with MALLOCTYPE=3.1.


2.08: Why does xlc complain about 'extern char *strcpy()'

The header <string.h> has a strcpy macro that expands strcpy(x,y) to
__strcpy(x,y), and the latter is then used by the compiler to generate
inline code for strcpy.  Because of the macro, your extern declaration
contains an invalid macro expansion.  The real cure is to remove your
extern declaration but adding -U__STR__ to your xlc will also do the trick.


2.09: Why do I get 'Parameter list cannot contain fewer ....'

This is the same as above.


2.10: Why does xlc complain about '(sometype *)somepointer = something'

Software that is developed using GNUC may have this construct.  However,
standard C does not permit casts to be lvalues, so you will need to
change the cast and move it to the right side of the assignment.  If you
compile with 'cc', removing the cast completely will give you a warning,
'xlc' will give you an error (provided somepointer and something are of
different types - but else, why would the cast be there in the first place?)


2.11: Some more common errors

Here are a few other common errors with xlc:

305 |     switch((((np)->navigation_type) ? (*((np)->navigation_type)) :
      ((void *)0)))
      .a...........
a - 1506-226: (S) The second and third operands of the conditional
operator must be of the same type.

The reason for this is that xlc defines NULL as (void *)0, and it does
not allow two different types as the second and third operand of ?:.
The second argument above is not a pointer and the code used NULL
incorrectly as a scalar.  NULL is a nil pointer constant in ANSI C and
in some traditional compilers.

You should change NULL in the third argument above to an integer 0.


2.12: Can the compiler generate assembler code?

The traditional -S option is not supported by the XLC compiler, and
there is in fact no way to make the compiler generate machine readable
assembler code.  The option -qlist will generate a human readable one in
the .lst file.


2.13: Curses

Curses based applications should be linked with -lcurses and _not_ with
-ltermlib.  It has also been reported that some problems with curses are
avoided if your application is compiled with -DNLS.

Peter Jeffe <[e-mail]> also notes:

>the escape sequences for cursor and function keys are *sometimes*
>treated as several characters: eg. the getch() - call does not return
>KEY_UP but 'ESC [ C.'

You're correct in your analysis: this has to do with the timing of the
escape sequence as it arrives from the net.  There is an environment
variable called ESCDELAY that can change the fudge factor used to decide
when an escape is just an escape.  The default value is 500; boosting
this a bit should solve your problems.

Further on the matter of curses, I've received the comments below
concerning extended curses:

From: Christopher Carlyle O'Callaghan <[e-mail]>

1) The sample program in User Interface Programming Concepts, page 7-13
   is WRONG. Here is the correct use of panes and panels.  (This is
   one of the IBM manuals that comes with the RS/6000)

#include <cur01.h>
#include <cur05.h>

main()
{
PANE *A, *B, *C, *D, *E, *F, *G, *H;
PANEL *P;

initscr();

A = ecbpns (24, 79, NULL, NULL, 0, 2500, Pdivszp, Pbordry, NULL, NULL);

D = ecbpns (24, 79, NULL, NULL, 0, 0,    Pdivszf, Pbordry, NULL, NULL);
E = ecbpns (24, 79, D,    NULL, 0, 0,    Pdivszf, Pbordry, NULL, NULL);

B = ecbpns (24, 79, A, D, Pdivtyh, 3000, Pdivszp, Pbordry, NULL, NULL);

F = ecbpns (24, 79, NULL, NULL, 0, 0,    Pdivszf, Pbordry, NULL, NULL);
G = ecbpns (24, 79, F,    NULL, 0, 5000, Pdivszp, Pbordry, NULL, NULL);
H = ecbpns (24, 79, G,    NULL, 0, 3000, Pdivszp, Pbordry, NULL, NULL);

C: = ecbpns (24, 79, B, F, Pdivtyh, 0, Pdivszf, Pbordry, NULL, NULL);

P = ecbpls (24, 79, 0, 0, "MAIN PANEL", Pdivtyv, Pbordry, A);

ecdvpl (P);
ecdfpl (P, FALSE);
ecshpl (P);
ecrfpl (P);
endwin();
}

2) DO NOT include <curses.h> and any other <cur0x.h> file together.
   You will get a bunch of redefined statements.

3) There is a CURSES and EXTENDED CURSES stuff.  Use only one or the
   other. If the manual says that they're backwards compatible or some
   other indication that you can use CURSES routines with EXTENDED,
   don't believe it. To use CURSES you need to include <curses.h> and
   you can't (see above).

4) If you use -lcur and -lcurses in the same link command, you will get
   Memory fault (core dump) error...  YOU CANNOT use both of them at the
   same time. -lcur is for extended curses, -lcurses is for regular curses.

5) When creating PANEs, when you supply a value (other than 0) for the
   'ds' parameter and use Pdivszf value for the 'du' parameter, the 'ds'
   will be ignored (the sample program on page 7-13 in User Interface
   Programming Concepts is wrong.) For reasons as yet undetermined,
   Pdivszc doesn't seem to work (or at least I can't figure out how to
   use it.)

6) If you're running into bugs and can't figure out what is happening,
   try the following:
   include -qextchk -g in your compile line
    -qextchk will check to make sure you're passing the right number of
       parameters to the procedures
    -g will allow you to use the inline debugger on Unix/AIX.
   to use the debugger after you compiled it,
    type: dbx <fn>
    the command 'help' will give you all of the possible commands to
       use in the debugger... have fun... :)

7) Do not use 80 as the number of columns if you're gonna use the whole
   screen. The lower right corner will get erased.  Use 79 instead.

8) If you create a panel, you must create at least 1 pane, otherwise you
   will get a Memory fault (core dump).

9) When creating a panel, if you don't have a border around it, any title
   you want will not show up.

10) to make the screen scroll down:
    wmove (win, 0, 0);
    winsertln (win)

11) delwin(win) DOESN'T WORK IN EXTENDED WINDOWS.

    Anyway, to make it appear as if a window is deleted, you need to do
    the following:
    for every window that you want to appear on the screen
    touchwin(win)
    wrefresh(win)

    you must make sure that you do it in the exact same order as you put
    them on the screen (i.e., if you called newwin with A, then C, then B,
    then you must do the loop with A, then C, then B, otherwise you won't
    get the same screen back).  The best thing to do is to put them into
    an array and keep track of the last window index.

12) mvwin(win, line, col) implies that it is only used for viewports and
    subwindows... It can also be used for the actual windows themselves.

13) If you specify the attribute of a window using wcolorout(win), any
    subsequent calls to chgat(numchars, mode) or any of its relatives
    will not work. (or at least they get very picky...)


2.14: How do I speed up linking

Please refer to sections 2.03 and 2.06 above.


2.15: What is deadbeef?

When running the debugger (dbx), you may have wondered what the
'deadbeef' is you occasionally see in registers.  Do note, that
0xdeadbeef is a hexadecimal number that also happens to be some kind
of word (the RS/6000 was built in Texas!), and this hexadecimal number
is simply put into unused registers at some time, probably during
program startup.


2.16: How do I statically link in 3.2?

xlc -bnso -bI:/lib/syscalls.exp -liconv -bnodelcsect

_____________________________________________________________________________
3.00: Fortran and other compilers

This section covers Fortran, Pascal, Ada, etc.  On Fortran, there seem
to have been some problems with floating point handling, in particular
floating exceptions.


3.01: I have problems mixing Fortran and C code, why?

A few routines (the most famous one is getenv) exist in both the Fortran
and the C library but with different parameters.  You can therefore not
have a mixed program that call getenv from both C and Fortran code.
When linking a mixed program calling getenv from either, be sure to
specify the correct library first on your command line.  If your main
program is Fortran and you call getenv from a C routine, you must
therefore add -lc to the xlf command line for linking.

If you want to call getenv from both C and Fortran code in a mixed
program, you need to compile all the Fortran code with the -qextname
option.  This appends an underscore to all Fortran external names and
ensures that no confusion occurs with default C libraries.  Of course an
underscore should be added by hand in the C code to the name of all
routines which are called form Fortran and to all calls to Fortran
routines.  If you do that, Fortran will call something which appears to
C as getenv_ and there will be no confusion.


3.02: How do I statically bind Fortran libraries and dynamically
      bind C libraries?
From: [e-mail] (Paul Amaranth)

[ Editor's note: Part of this is also discussed above under the C compiler
  section, but I felt it was so valuable that I have left it all in.
  I've done some minor editing, mostly typographical. ]

The linker and binder are rather versatile programs, but it is not
always clear how to make them do what you want them to.  In particular,
there are times when you do not want to use shared libraries, but
rather, staticly bind the required routines into your object.  Or, you
may need to use two version of the same routine (eg, Fortran & C).  Here
are the results of my recent experiments.  I would like to thank Daniel
Premer and Brad Hollowbush, my SE, for hints.  Any mistakes or omissions
are my own and I have tended to interchange the terms "linker" and
"binder".  These experiments were performed on AIX 3.1.2.  Most of this
should be applicable to later upgrades of 3.1.

1)  I have some C programs, I want to bind in the runtime routines.  How
    do I do this? [Mentioned in section 2.04 of this article as well, ed.]

    You can put the -bnso binder command on the link line.  You should
    also include the -bI:/lib/syscalls.exp control argument:

      $ cc *.o -bnso -bI:/lib/syscalls.exp -o foo

    This will magically do everything you need.  Note that this will bind
    _all_ required routines in.  The -bI argument tells the linker that
    these entry points will be resolved dynamically at runtime (these are
    system calls).  If you omit this you will get lots of unresolved
    reference messages.

2)  I want to staticly bind in the Fortran runtime so a) my customers do
    not need to buy it and b) I don't have to worry about the runtime
    changing on a new release.  Can I use the two binder arguments in
    1) to do this?

    You should be able to do so, but, at least under 3002, if you do
    you will get a linker error referencing getenv.  In addition, there
    are a number of potential conflicts between Fortran and C routines.
    The easy way just does not work.  See the section on
    2 stage linking for C and Fortran on how to do this.  The getenv
    problem is a mess, see the section on Comments & Caveats for more.

3)  I have a mixture of C and Fortran routines, how can I make sure
    that the C routines reference the C getenv, while the Fortran routines
    reference the Fortran getenv (which has different parameters and, if
    called mistakenly by a C routine results in a segmentation fault)?

    From Mike Heath ([e-mail]):

    Use -brename:symbol1,symbol2 when pre-linking the modules from one
    of the languages. It does not matter which one you choose.

4)  I have C and Fortran routines.  I want to bind in the xlf library, while
    letting the rest of the libraries be shared.  How do I do this?

    You need to do a 2 stage link.  In the first stage, you bind in the
    xlf library routines, creating an intermediate object file.  The
    second stage resolves the remaining references to the shared libraries.

    This is a general technique that allows you to bind in specific system
    routines, while still referencing the standard shared libraries.

    Specifically, use this command to bind the xlf libraries to the Fortran
    objects:

       $ ld -bh:4 -T512 -H512 <your objects> -o intermediat.o \
         -bnso -bI:/lib/syscalls.exp -berok -lxlf -bexport:/usr/lib/libg.exp \
         -lg -bexport:<your export file>

    The argument -bexport:<your export file> specifies a file with the
    name of all entry points that are to be visible outside the intermediate
    module.  Put one entrypoint name on a line.  The -bI:/lib/libg.exp line
    is required for proper functioning of the program.  The -berok argument
    tells the binder that it is ok to have unresolved references, at least
    at this time (you would think -r would work here, but it doesn't seem to).
    The -bnso argument causes the required modules to be imported
    into the object.  The -lxlf, of course, is the xlf library.

    Then, bind the intermediate object with the other shared libraries in
    the normal fashion:

       $ ld -bh:4 -T512 -H512 <C or other modules> intermediate.o \
         /lib/crt0.o -lm -lc

    Note the absence of -berok.  After this link, all references should
    be resolved (unless you're doing a multistage link and making another
    intermediate).

    NOTE THE ORDER OF MODULES.  This is extremely important if, for example,
    you had a subroutine named "load" in your Fortran stuff.  Putting the
    C libraries before the intermediate module would make the C "load"
    the operable definition, rather than the Fortran version EVEN THOUGH
    THE FORTRAN MODULE HAS ALREADY BEEN THROUGH A LINK AND ALL REFERENCES
    TO THE SYMBOL ARE CONTAINED IN THE FORTRAN MODULE.  This can
    be extremely difficult to find (trust me on this one :-)  Is this
    a bug, a feature, or what?

    [As mentioned in section 2.03 of this article, it is a feature that you
    can replace individual objects in linked files, ed.]

    The result will be a slightly larger object than normal.  (I say slightly
    because mine went up 5%, but then its a 2 MB object :-)


Comments & Caveats:

   From the documentation the -r argument to the linker should do what
   -berok does.  It does not.  Very strange results come from using the
   -r argument.  I have not been able to make -r work in a sensible manner
   (even for intermediate links which is what it is supposed to be for).

       Note from Mike Heath ([e-mail]):

       'ld -r' is essentially shorthand for 'ld -berok -bnogc -bnoglink'.
       Certainly, using -berok with an export file (so garbage collection
       can be done) is preferable to ld -r, but the latter is easier.

   When binding an intermediate module, use an export file to define the
   entry points you want visible in the later link.  If you don't do this,
   you'll get the dreaded "unresolved reference" error.  Import files name
   entry points that will be dynamically resolved (and possibly where).

   If you are in doubt about what parameters or libraries to link, use the
   -v arg when linking and modify the exec call that shows up into
   an ld command.  Some thought about the libraries will usually yield an
   idea of when to use what.  If you don't know what an argument is for,
   leave it in.  It's there for a purpose (even if you don't understand it).

   Watch the order of external definitions (ie, libraries) when more than
   one version of a routine may show up, eg "load".  The first one defined
   on the ld command line is the winner.

   The getenv (and system and signal) problem is a problem that started out
   minor, got somewhat worse in 3003 and, eventually will be correctly fixed.
   Basically, you should extract the 3002 version of these three routines
   from xlf.a before doing the update and save them away, then link these
   routines in if you use these Fortran system services.


3.03: How do I check if a number is NaN?

[ From: [e-mail] (Stephen Linam) ]

NaN is "Not a Number".  It arises because the RISC System/6000 uses
IEEE floating point arithmetic.

To determine if a variable is a NaN you can make use of the property
that a NaN does not compare equal to anything, including itself.
Thus, for real variable X, use

    IF (X .NE. X) THEN    ! this will be true if X is NaN

Floating point operations which cause exceptions (such as an overflow)
cause status bits to be set in the Floating Point Status and Control
Register (FPSCR).  There is a Fortran interface to query the FPSCR, and
it is described in the XLF Fortran manuals -- I don't have the manuals
right here, but look for FPGETS and FPSETS.

The IBM manual "Risc System/6000 Hardware Technical Reference - General
Information" (SA23-2643) describes what floating point exceptions can
occur and which bits are set in the FPSCR as a result of those exceptions.


3.04: Some info sources on IEEE floating point

1. ANSI/IEEE STD 754-1985 (IEEE Standard for Binary Floating-Point
   Arithmetic) and ANSI/IEEE STD 854-1987 (IEEE Standard for
   Radix-Independent Floating-Point Arithmetic), both available from IEEE.

2. David Goldberg, "What Every Computer Scientist Should Know About
   Floating-Point Arithmetic", ACM Computing Surveys, Vol. 23, No. 1,
   March 1991, pp. 5-48.

______________________________________________________________________________
4.00: GNU and Public Domain software

GNU software comes from the Free Software Foundation and various other
sources. A number of ftp sites archive them. Read the GNU license for
rules on distributing their software.

Lots of useful public domain software have been and continue to be ported
to the RS/6000. See below for ftp or download information.


4.01: How do I find sources?

[ From [e-mail] (Jonathan Kamens).  Ed. ]

There is a newsgroup devoted to posting about how to get a certain
source.  One is strongly urged to follow the guidelines in the article
How_to_find_sources(READ_THIS_BEFORE_POSTING), available via anonymous
ftp from rtfm.mit.edu (18.70.0.226):

/pub/usenet/comp.sources.wanted/H_t_f_s_(R_T_B_P)

Note: You should try to use hostnames rather than ip addresses since
they are much less likely to change.

Also available from [e-mail] by sending a mail
message containing:

send usenet/comp.sources.wanted/H_t_f_s_(R_T_B_P)

Send a message containing "help" to get general information about the
mail server.

If you don't find what you were looking for by following these
guidelines, you can post a message to comp.sources.wanted.


4.02: Are there any ftp sites?

Below are some ftp sites that are supposed to have RS/6000 specific software.
I haven't verified all the entries.  I dropped cs.utk.edu (128.169.201.1) and
merit.edu (35.1.1.42) because I cannot find any AIX material.

US sites:
aixpdslib.seas.ucla.edu    128.97.2.211    pub
acd.ucar.edu        128.117.32.1     pub/AIX
acsc.acsc.com       143.127.0.2    pub
byron.u.washington.edu    128.95.48.32    pub/aix/RS6000  (older stuff)
lightning.gatech.edu    128.61.10.8    pub/aix
tesla.ee.cornell.edu    128.84.253.11    pub

European sites:
nic.funet.fi         128.214.6.100    pub/unix/AIX/RS6000
iacrs1.unibe.ch     130.92.11.3     pub

The first one above is dedicated to software running on AIX.  It might
not always be the latest versions of the software, but it has always
been ported to AIX (normally AIX version 3 only).  Once connected, you
should retrieve the files README and pub/ls-lR.

Please use the European sites very sparingly.  They are primarily to
serve people in Europe and most of the software can be found in the US
sites originally.

If you know of other sites with AIX archives please let me know so
I can include them here.


4.03: General hints

In general, curses based applications should be linked with -lcurses and
_not_ with -ltermlib.  It has also been reported that compiling with
-DNLS helps curses based programs.

Note that the RS/6000 has two install programs, one with System V flavor
in the default PATH (/etc/install with links from /usr/bin and /usr/usg),
and one with BSD behavior in /usr/ucb/install.


4.04: GNU Emacs

Version 18.57 of GNU Emacs started to have RS/6000 support.  Use
s-aix3-2.h for AIX 3.2. Emacs is going through rapid changes recently.
Current release is 19.x.

Emacs will core-dump if it is stripped, so don't strip when you install
it.  You can edit a copy of the Makefile in src replacing all 'install -s'
with /usr/ucb/install.


4.05: gcc/gdb

GNU C version 2.0 and later supports the RS/6000, and compiles straight
out of the box.  You may, however, experience that compiling it requires
large amounts of paging space.

Compiling gcc and gdb requires a patch to the 'as' assembler.  Call
IBM software support and request patch for apar IX26107 (U409205).

gcc has undergone many changes lately and the current version is 2.4.x.
gdb is at 4.8.

If your machine crashed when trying to run gdb 4.7, call software support
and request ptf U412815.


4.06: GNU Ghostscript

The PostScript interpreter GNU Ghostscript Version 2.3 and later supports
the RS/6000 and can be found on various ftp sites. Current version is 2.5.2.

4.07: TeX

TeX can be retrieved via ftp from ftp.uni-stuttgart.de.
Be sure to use a recent C compiler (01.02.0000.0013) and you can compile
with optimization.


4.08: perl

Current version is 4.035 and compiling with cc should give no problems.
If you use bsdcc, do not use perl's builtin malloc(), edit config.H to
'#define HAS_SYMLINK', and you should be on your way.  Bill Wohler tells
me that perl will run without editing config.H and with cc as well.  So
just say no to use perl's malloc().

Doug Sewell <[e-mail]> adds:

In addition to not using the perl-provided malloc, when asked if you
want to edit config.sh, change 'cppstdin' from the wrapper-program
to '/lib/cpp'.

The perl wrapper name is compiled into perl, and requires that you keep
that file in the source directory, even if you blow away the rest of
the source.  /lib/cpp will do the job by itself.  I suspect this will
be fixed in perl 4.0pl11 Configure script.

Also, beware if you have gdbm installed per the instructions in the FAQ.
Gdbm is compiled with bsdcc; perl (as I installed it, anyway) was built
with cc, so I used the IBM-provided ndbm routines.


4.09: X-Windows

IBM has two releases of 3.2.3. The base version has X11R4 and Motif 1.1 and
the extended version has X11R5 as AIXwindows 1.2.3.

Those of you on 3.1 might want to read the following.  Some people from
IBM have released patches for the X11R4 distribution tape available via
anonymous FTP from export.lcs.mit.edu.  Note that as with the RT, there
is no X11R4 server to build, just the libraries.

From: Frederick Staats <[e-mail]>

In mit/config/ibm.cf
    Updated OSName (AIX 3.1.6)

In mit/config/site.def
    Changed ProjectRoot /usr/local/X11R5
    Added ManSuffix (to change suffix from n to 1)
    Added InstallXdmConfig YES and
    InstallXinitConfig YES
    Added HasXdmAuth YES (Copied mit/lib/Xdmcp/Wraphelp.c to source tree)
    Added InstallFSConfig YES

In mit
    nohup make BOOTSTRAPCFLAGS="-Daix" World &
    nohup make install &
    nohup make install.man &

Please note that there are known bugs in Xibm server of the X11R5
release that prevent "xdm" from being usable.  A simple patch (that I'm
not free to redistribute) should be out very soon through the regular
contrib channels.

Also note, that some files in mit/extensions/lib/PEX/c_binding are very
large and are told to require at least 150 Mb paging space to compile.

Apparently, only the Skyway adapter is supported for X11R5.

[the Skyway adapter is "IBM Color Graphics Display Adaptor" in IBM
documents, the "IBM High-Performance 8- or 24-Bit 3D Color Graphics
Processor" is the Sabine.  Ed.]

From: [e-mail] (Andrew Pierce)

The following bugs have been reported with the R5 server and are fixed
(hopefully!), and the fixes have been sent to MIT for inclusion in the
first patch set:

- BackingStore does not seem to work (twm menus blank and xman pulldown
  menus only display once).
- Problem in keyclick restoration/bell
- Problem with option parsing (-bs does not turn off backing store).
- Problem with setting non-blocking I/O on X Connections
  (resizing xcalc wedges the server).
- xdm core dumps.

There is also a problem in initializing the display adapter when the R5
server is brought up from a poweroff condition on the RISC/6000.  We are
still investigating this problem.  A temporary workaround is to run the
AIX product server first, which seems to do the right thing in
initializing the adapter, then run the R5 server.

As for whether the OSF/Motif window manager will work with the R5
server, I don't know of any reasons why it shouldn't, and I've run it
now and again, although tvtwm is my preferred wm.

From: [e-mail] (John R. Cary)

There are (at least) three problems.

1) The fonts as built with the IBM (Greening) patches of X11R4 do not
work with the AIX3.1.5 server because (according to [e-mail])
they likely have the wrong byte order.
2) The ibm fonts that come with AIX3.1.5 must be converted to .pcf fonts
to work with the X11R5 server.
3) Info always looks for its fonts (in /usr/lpp/info/X11fonts)
regardless of which server you are using.  So if you use the X11R5
server, info loads the AIX3.1x .snf fonts, which do not work with the
X11R5 server.

Using the X11R5 server means that you must fix problems 2 and 3.

My fix of 2: I first got snftobdf from the X11 contrib directory on
export.lcs.mit.edu and built it. I then made a directory:
mkdir /usr/local/X11R5/lib/X11/fonts/ibm
which I added to my font path with xset in my .xinitrc file.
Then I constructed the chosen .pcf fonts one at a time:
cd /usr/lib/X11/fonts
snftobdf Rom10.snf | bdftopcf >/usr/local/X11R5/lib/X11/fonts/ibm/Rom10.pcf

I actually did this with this script:

#!/bin/ksh
# A script to convert desired AIX fonts to .pcf fonts for X11R5
for arg in 6x10 Bld14 Rom14 Rom6 6x12 Bld17 Rom16 Rom7 vtbold 6x13
Erg 14 Rom17 Rom8 vtdhbot 8x13 Itl14 Rom22 cursor vtdhtop 8x13B Rom10
Rom28 fixed vtdwidth 9x15 Rom11 Rom29 Vtsingle
do
echo "snftobdf $arg.snf | bdftopcf >/usr/local/X11R5/lib/X11/fonts/ibm/$arg.pcf"
snftobdf $arg.snf | bdftopcf >/usr/local/X11R5/lib/X11/fonts/ibm/$arg.pcf
done

My fix of 3: was simply to rename the info fonts directory so that info
could not find it and load it.  Another fix (I am told) is to set one's
font path with /usr/lpp/info/X11fonts last so that another fonts is
loaded first.  This did not work for me, perhaps because of differences
in my fonts.alias file.

If you want to continue using the AIX3.1x server and you want to use the
X11R4 fonts, you must convert these fonts to the correct bit order.  I
did not do this, and so DO NOT KNOW the correct procedure.  I imagine
that once the correct bit order is determined, one can use snftobdf to
convert fonts back to bdf format then bdftosnf with correct AIX3.1 bit
order to get things correct with the aix3.1x server.


4.10: bash

Bash is ported and has some patches on prep.ai.mit.edu.  The current
version is 1.12 and seems to work fine.


4.11: Elm

A very nice replacement for mail.  Elm should be pretty straightforward,
the only thing to remember is to link with -lcurses as the only
curses/termlib library.  You may also run into the problem listed under
point 2.13 above.


4.12: Oberon 2.2

From: [e-mail] (Andreas Siegert)

Oberon is Wirth's follow on to Modula-2, but is not compatible.  A free
version of Modula-3 is available from DEC/Olivetti at
gatekeeper.dec.com.  This is not a Modula-2 replacement but a new
language.  There are currently two M2 compilers for the 6000 that I know
of.  One from Edinburgh Portable Compilers, [phone] (UK) and the
other from Gardens Point compiler [phone] (Switzerland).

Oberon can be obtained via anonymous ftp from neptune.inf.ethz.ch
(129.132.101.33) under the directory Oberon/RS6000 or gatekeeper.dec.com
(16.1.0.2).


4.13: Kermit

Get it from watsun.cc.columbia.edu (128.59.39.2) in
kermit/bin/cku188.tar.Z.  Uncompress, untar, and "make rs6000", and it
works.


4.14: Gnu dbm
From: [e-mail] (Doug Sewell)

Here's the fixes for RS/6000's:

apply this to testgdbm.c:
158c158
<   char opt;
---
>   int opt;
166c166
<   while ((opt = getopt (argc, argv, "rn")) != -1)
---
>   while ((opt = getopt (argc, argv, "rn")) != EOF)

Apply this to systems.h:
111a112,114
> #ifdef RS6000
> #pragma alloca
> #else
112a116
> #endif

To compile, edit the Makefile.  Set CC to bsdcc (see /usr/lpp/bos/bsdport
if you don't have 'bsdcc' on your system) and set CFLAGS to -DRS6000 and
whatever options (-g, -O) you prefer.  Don't define SYSV.


4.15: tcsh
From: [e-mail] (David Cordes)

tcsh is available from tesla.ee.cornell.edu (pub/tcsh-6.00 directory)
Compiles with no problems.  You must edit /etc/security/login.cfg to
permit users to change to this shell (chsh), adding the path where the
shell is installed (in my case, /usr/local/bin/tcsh).


4.16: Kyoto Common Lisp

The sources are available from cli.com.  The kcl package is the needed
base; also retrieve the latest akcl distribution.  akcl provides a
front-end that "ports" the original kcl to a number of different
platforms.  The port to the 6000s worked with no problems.  However, you
must be "root" for the make to work properly with some memory protection
routines.


4.17: Tcl/Tk

Current versions: Tcl, 6.7; Tk, 3.2.  Available from sprite.berkeley.edu.
I seem to be unable to connect to this site recently.


4.18: Expect
From: Doug Sewell <[e-mail]>

To build the command-interpreter version, you must have the tcl library
built successfully.  The expect library doesn't require tcl.  Note:
Expect and its library are are built with bsdcc, so applications using
the library probably also need to be developed with bsdcc.

I ftp'd expect from ftp.cme.nist.gov.

You need to change several lines in the makefile.  First you need
to customize source and target directories and files:
#
TCLHDIR = /usr/include
TCLLIB = -ltcl
MANDIR = /usr/man/manl               (local man-pages)
MANEXT = l
BINDIR = /u/local/bin
LIBDIR = /usr/lib
HDIR = /usr/include
...
Next set the compiler, switches, and configuration options:
#
CC = bsdcc
CFLAGS = -O
...
PTY_TYPE = bsd
...
INTERACT_TYPE = select
...
Then you need to make these changes about line 90 or so:
comment out CFLAGS = $(CLFLAGS)
un-comment these lines:
CFLAGS = $(CLFLAGS) $(CPPFLAGS)
LFLAGS = ($CLFLAGS)

Then run 'make'.

You can't run some of the examples without modification (host name,
etc).  I don't remember if I ran all of them or not, but I ran enough
that I was satisfied it worked.


4.19: Public domain software on CD
From: [e-mail] (Mel Beckman)

The Prime Time Freeware CD collection is a package of two CD's and docs
containing over THREE GIGABYTES of compressed Unix shareware. It costs $69
from Prime Time Freeware, 415-112 N. Mary Ave., Suite 50, Sunnyvalek, CA
94086. Phone [phone] voice, 408-738-2050 fax. No internet orders as
far as I can tell.

I've extracted and compiled a number of the packages, and all have worked
flawlessly so far on my 220. Everything from programming languages to 3D
solid modeling is in this bonanza!

Ed: The O'Reilly book, Power Unix Tools, also contains a CD-ROM with lots
of useful programs compiled for the RS/6000, among other platforms.

______________________________________________________________________________
5.00: Third party products

[ Editor's note: Entries in this section are edited to prevent from
  looking like advertising. Prices given may be obsolete.  Companies
  mentioned are for reference only and are not endorsed in any fashion. ]


5.01: IBM list of third party products
From: [e-mail] (Marc Pawliger)

Marc Pawliger post an extensive list periodically to this newsgroup
about various third party hardware products for the RS/6000.  This list
can also be ftp'd from ibminet.awdpa.ibm.com.


5.02: Disk/Tape/SCSI
From: anonymous

- Most SCSI disk drives work (IBM resells Maxtor, tested Wren 6&7 myself);
  use osdisk when configuring (other SCSI disk).

- Exabyte: Unfortunately only the ones IBM sells are working.
  A few other tape drives will work;
  use ostape when configuring (other SCSI tape).

- STK 3480 "Summit": Works with Microcode Version 5.2b


From: [e-mail] (John Bell)

In summary, third party tape drives work fine with the RS/6000 unless
you want to boot from them. This is because IBM drives have 'extended
tape marks', which IBM claims are needed because the standard marks
between files stored on the 8mm tape are unreliable. These extended
marks are used when building boot tapes, so when the RS/6000 boots, it
searches for an IBM tape drive and refuses to boot without it.


From: [e-mail] (Andrew Mel'cuk)

   The IBM DAT is cheap and works.  If you get all the patches
beforehand (U407435, U410140) and remember to buy special "Media
Recognition System" tapes (Maxell, available from APS 800.443.4461 or
IBM #21F8758) the drive can even be a pleasure to use.  You can also
flip a DIP switch on the drive to be able to use any computer grade DAT
tapes (read the hardware service manual).

   Other DAT drives also work.  I have tried the Archive Python (works)
and experimented extensively with the Archive TurboDAT.  The TurboDAT is
a very fast compression unit, is not finicky with tapes and doesn't
require the many patches that the IBM 7206 does.  Works fine with the
base AIX 3.2 'ost' driver.


5.03: Memory

I got a flyer from Nordisk Computer Services (Portland 503-598-0111,
Seattle 206-242-7777). Here's some sample prices:

      16 MB Upgrade Kit   $  990
      32 MB Upgrade Kit   $1,700
      64 MB Upgrade Kit   $3,300

Note that with the exception of the Model 320s, you need to add memory
in pairs.


5.04: Others
From: anonymous

IBM RISC System/6000 Interface Products

National Instruments Corporation markets a family of instrumentation
interface products for the IBM RISC System/6000 workstation family.  The
interface family consists of three products that give the RISC
System/6000 connectivity to the standards of VMEbus, VXIbus and GPIB.
For more information, contact National Instruments Corporation,
512-794-0100 or 1-800-433-3488.


5.05: C++ compilers

Several C++ compilers are available.  Glockenspiel and Greenhills were
amongst the first vendors.  I received e-mail that Glockenspiel may now
be part of Computer Associates.  xlC++ is available from IBM.  For gcc
enthusiats, there is g++.  Comeau Computing (718-945-0009) offers
Comeau C++ 3.0 with Templates.

______________________________________________________________________________
6.00: Miscellaneous other stuff

6.01: Can I get support by email?

AIXServ is a service tool that allows users connected to the internet
and usenet to report problems using unix mail. AIXServ is available
at no charge, to request a copy of this package send a note with the
subject of "package" to one of the following E-Mail addresses:

    Internet:   [e-mail]
    Usenet:     uunet.UU.NET!aixserv!aixbugs
                    [e-mail]     (transactions request)
                    [e-mail]    (administrivia)
                    [e-mail]        (test cases under 100KB)

The package will be mailed electronically and will contain instructions
for using AIXServ.

Using AIXServ, customers have the ability to 1) open new problem reports
2) update existing problem records 3) Request a status update on an
existing problem record. Currently this service is available to United
States customers only.

Thomas Braunbeck reported that German customers with ESS (extended
software service) contracts can get support by email too. They can
obtain information by sending mail with Subject: help to
[e-mail].

Various flavors of service offerings are available. Contact your IBM rep
for details.


6.02: List of useful faxes

You can get some useful info from these faxes by dialing IBM's Faxserver
at 1-800-IBM-4FAX.

document number                        Title
---------------   -----------------------------------------------------
     1453         Recovering from LED 518 in AIX 3.2
     1454         Recovering from LED 201 in AIX 3.1 and 3.2
     1456         Recovering from LED 201 in AIX 3.2
     1457         Recovering from LED 552 in AIX 3.1 and 3.2
     1458         Recovering from LED 552 in AIX 3.2
     1461         Alternative Problem Reporting Methods
     1470         Recovering from LED 223/229, 225/229, 221/229, or 221
     1537         How to Get AIX Support
     1608         Recovering from LED 727 in AIX 3.2
     1721         Recovering from LED 553 in AIX 3.1 and 3.2
     1746         Recovering from LED 551 in AIX 3.1 and 3.2
     1755         Recovering Volume Groups
     1801         Reducing the JFS Log in AIX 3.1 or 3.2
     1802         Repairing File Systems with fsck in AIX 3.1 and 3.2
     1803         How to Take a System Dump
     1804         Setting Up a Modem With the RISC/System 6000
     1845         Using iptrace to Track Remote Print Jobs
     1867         Clearing the Queuing System
     1895         Removing/Replacing a Fixed Disk
     1896         Tape Drive Densities and Special Files
     1897         Tips on mksysb for AIX 3.2
     1909         UUCP (BNU) Helpful Information
     1910         Synchronizing Disk Names


6.03: List of 3.2 ptfs

A list of the latest ptfs for 3.2 is available for ftp at
ibminet.awdpa.ibm.com.


6.04: Some RS232 hints
From: [e-mail], sactoh0.SAC.CA.US!jak

Q: How do you connect a terminal to the RS232 tty ports when not using
   the standard IBM cable & terminal transposer?
A: 1- Connect pins 2->3, 3->2, 7->7 on the DB25's
   2- On the computer side, most of the time cross 6->20 (DSR, DTR).
      Some equipment may require connecting 6, 8, and 20 (DSR, DCD, DTR).

Also, pin 1 (FG) should be a bare metal wire and the cable should be
shielded with a connection all the way through. Most people don't run
pin 1 because pins 1 & 7 (SG) are jumpered on many equipment.

When booting from diskettes, the port speed is always 9600 baud.  If you
use SMIT to set a higher speed (38400 is nice) for normal use, remember
to reset your terminal before booting.

Q: How do you connect a printer to the RS232 tty ports
A: 1- Connect pins 2->3, 3->2, 7->7 on the DB25's
   2- On the computer side, loop pins 4->5 (CTS & RTS)


6.05: VT100 key bindings for aixterm
From: [e-mail] (Konrad Haedener)

Add this to your .Xdefaults file and start your VAX session with
'aixterm -v -name vt100 -e telnet MYVAXHOST'

-----
vt100.foreground: Wheat
vt100.background: MidnightBlue
vt100.font: Rom14.500
vt100.geometry: 80x25+0+0
vt100.vt102: true
vt100.fullcursor: false
vt100.pointerColor: coral
vt100.cursorColor: gray100
vt100.translations:    <Key>F1: string(0x1b) string("OP") \n\
                       <Key>F2: string(0x1b) string("OQ") \n\
                       <Key>F3: string(0x1b) string("OR") \n\
                       <Key>F4: string(0x1b) string("OS") \n\
                       <Key>KP_0: string(0x1b) string("Op") \n\
                       <Key>KP_1: string(0x1b) string("Oq") \n\
                       <Key>KP_2: string(0x1b) string("Or") \n\
                       <Key>KP_3: string(0x1b) string("Os") \n\
                       <Key>KP_4: string(0x1b) string("Ot") \n\
                       <Key>KP_5: string(0x1b) string("Ou") \n\
                       <Key>KP_6: string(0x1b) string("Ov") \n\
                       <Key>KP_7: string(0x1b) string("Ow") \n\
                       <Key>KP_8: string(0x1b) string("Ox") \n\
                       <Key>KP_9: string(0x1b) string("Oy") \n\
                       <Key>KP_Divide: string(0x1b) string("OQ") \n\
                       <Key>KP_Multiply: string(0x1b) string("OR") \n\
                       <Key>KP_Subtract: string(0x1b) string("OS") \n\
                       <Key>KP_Add: string(0x1b) string("Om") \n\
                       <Key>KP_Enter: string(0x1b) string("OM") \n\
                       <Key>KP_Decimal: string(0x1b) string("On") \n\
                       <Key>Next: string(0x1b) string("Ol") \n\
                       <Key>Left: string(0x1b) string("OD") \n\
                       <Key>Up: string(0x1b) string("OA") \n\
                       <Key>Right: string(0x1b) string("OC") \n\
                       <Key>BackSpace : string(0x7f) \n\
                       <Key>Down: string(0x1b) string("OB")

You should also add

XENVIRONMENT=$HOME/.Xdefaults
export XENVIRONMENT

to your .profile.


6.06  What publications are available for AIX and RS/6000?

The following are free just for the asking:

1. RS/Magazine
   P.O. Box 3272
   Lowell, MA 01853-9876
   email: [e-mail] (Anne Knowles, editor)

2. AIXpert
   IBM Corporation
   Mail Stop 36
   472 Wheelers Farms Road
   Milford, CT 06460
   FAX: [phone]

3. RiSc World
   P.O. Box 399
   Cedar Park, TX 78613
   FAX: [phone]
   Usenet: {cs.utexas.edu,execu,texbell}!pcinews!rsworld


These manuals should be available from your friendly neighborhood IBM office.

SC23-2204-02  Problem Solving Guide
SC23-2365-01  Performance Monitoring and Tuning Guide for AIX 3.2
SA23-2629-07  Service Request Number Cross Reference, Ver 2.2
SA23-2631-05  Diagnostic Programs: Operator Guide
SA23-2632-05  Diagnostic Programs: Service Guide
SA23-2643-01  Hardware Technical Reference: General Information
SA23-2646-01  Hardware Technical Reference: Options and Devices

6.07: Some acronyms

BOS  - Basic Operating System
ODM  - Object Database Manager
LPP  - Licensed Program Product
SMIT - System Management Interface Tool
PTF  - Program Temporary Fix
APAR - authorized program analysis report
PRPQ - programming request for price quotation
DCR  - design change request

_____________________________________________________________________________
7.00: How do I get this by mailserver or ftp?

Since the articles are crossposted to news.answers, any archive carrying
that newsgroup will also have these articles. In particular, try
rtfm.mit.edu in the directory pub/usenet/news.answers.  This FAQ is
archived as "aix-faq/faq/part[1-2]".

7.01: Contributors

The following persons have contributed to this list.  If you want to
contribute anonymously, just let me know - but do tell me who you are.
I apologise if I missed out anyone.

Thank you all, this would definitely not be the same without _your_ input.

Rudy Chukran            <[e-mail]>
Christopher Carlyle O'Callaghan    <[e-mail]>
Poul-Henning Kamp        <[e-mail]>
Richard Wendland                <[e-mail]>
Ge van Geldorp            <[e-mail]>
Chris Jacobsen            <[e-mail]>
Peter Jeffe            <[e-mail]>
Jean-Francois Panisset        <[e-mail]>
John Cary            <[e-mail]>
Vijay Debbad            <[e-mail]>
Dick Karpinski            <[e-mail]>
Konrad Haedener            <[e-mail]>
Doug Sewell            <[e-mail]>
David Cordes            <[e-mail]>
Graeme Moffat            <[e-mail]>
Andrew Pierce            <[e-mail]>
Stephen Linam            <[e-mail]>
Jerome Park            <[e-mail]>
Konrad Haedener            <[e-mail]>
Steve Roseman            <[e-mail]>
John Burton            <[e-mail]>
Thierry Forveille        <[e-mail]>
Joubert Berger            <afc-tci!joubert>
Minh Tran-Le            <[e-mail]>
Paul Amaranth            <[e-mail]>
Mark Whetzel            <[e-mail]>
Daniel Packman            <[e-mail]>
Ken Bowman            <[e-mail]>
Cary E. Burnette        <[e-mail]>
Christophe Wolfhugel        <[e-mail]>
Leonard B. Tropiano        <[e-mail]>
Bill Wohler            <[e-mail]>
James Salter            <[e-mail]>
Witold Jan Owoc            <[e-mail]>
Marc Kwiatkowski        <[e-mail]>
Ronald S. Woan            <[e-mail]>
Mijan Huq            <[e-mail]>
Herbert van den Bergh        <[e-mail]>
Michael Stefanik        <[e-mail]>
John F. Haugh            <[e-mail]>
Ed Kubaitis            <[e-mail]>
Jaime Vazquez            <[e-mail]>
Bjorn Engsig            <[e-mail]>
Frank Kraemer             <[e-mail]>
Andreas Siegert                 <[e-mail]>
Thomas Braunbeck                <[e-mail]>

_____________________________________________________________________________
Epilogue

If you have any comments about this list, please mail them to me, as I
cannot guarantee to pick up posted changes.  All input should be emailed
to me at [e-mail] on the Internet.  You can also try using
cs.utexas.edu!mavrick!luis.

I work for Computer Sciences Corp. and I am doing this on my own time.
Please do not ask me questions that should be asked to IBM. If you have
any problems, please ask IBM or post your questions to this newsgroup.
I might respond to the latter.

Opinions expressed here have nothing to do with either IBM or CSC.

All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
--
Luis Basto
Computer Sciences Corporation
Internet: [e-mail]
Usenet:   cs.utexas.edu!mavrick!luis