HP 3000 Manuals HP 3000 Manuals
Byte-Stream Files
MPE/iX has been enhanced to support byte-stream files. Byte-stream files
do not have a system-defined record structure. Information is stored as
a "stream of bytes." By convention, a newline character divides lines of
data. This file structure is compatible with the file structure on
systems that use byte-stream files, such as HP-UX.
MPE utilities act on byte-stream files as if they are variable-length
record format files; the utilities then save byte-stream files as
variable-length record format files. This is also true for some MPE
applications. To successfully treat byte-stream files as variable-length
record format files, the byte-stream files must include newline
characters at regular intervals.
Editing byte-stream files
MPE/iX emulation allows all tools to see Variable and Fixed files as a
byte-stream. Therefore, the Shell can now manipulate the data in these
two types of files as though they were byte-stream files. A program
which does not purge the file can modify the byte-stream file with the
emulator and get a byte-stream file.
To edit byte-stream files, you can use one of the following methods:
* Use the vi editor in the MPE/iX shell.
* Use editors such as HPEDIT.
* Convert the byte-stream file into a record-oriented file (for
example, using FCOPY).
Editing byte-stream files using the vi editor
The vi editor is a standard UNIX editor that the POSIX .2 shell provides.
Refer to the "VI Tutorial" in the MPE/iX Shell and Utilities User's Guide
(36431-90002) or to The Ultimate Guide to the vi and ex Text Editors
(97005-90015) for information on how to use vi.