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What is an Intrinsic?
The term intrinsic is often used in reference to any system or external
subsystem. However, this term has a specific meaning and should be used
with some care. If you are using intrinsics in an application that is
intended to migrate between MPE V/E and MPE XL, you need to know which
intrinsics are common to both.
To qualify as a true intrinsic (a Hewlett-Packard documented,
user-callable intrinsic), an entry point must meet the following
criteria:
* An intrinsic is a supported external interface to the operating
system or subsystem services.
* An intrinsic interface performs type and bounds checks on parameter
values before it uses them, thus protecting the operating system from
the user and vice versa.
* An intrinsic interface is documented in a Hewlett-Packard manual.
* If an intrinsic is enhanced, its interface, capabilities and feature
set remain backward compatible.
* An intrinsic should be callable from any Hewlett-Packard supported
language. (Some data types are not available in some languages,
however.)
* The callable interface of an intrinsic is different than that of
other system library procedures. MPE V/E uses a SPLINTR file, and
MPE/XL intrinsic mechanism uses the SYSINTR file.
NOTE Hewlett-Packard subsystems and applications may also provide
intrinsics that meet the definition of an intrinsic. They may be
documented in a separate manual and are not discussed in this
manual. Refer to the MPE XL Documentation Guide (32650-90144).