© 1996-2001
Phil Ottewell
Free Software for OpenVMS and Windows 2000
This page is available from two sites, one at Yezerski Roper Ltd. and the other on Phil's PDS Page at Demon. Please use whichever gets you decent download speed. Visit again soon, and don't forget to send me some feedback on the freeware.
This page contains a collection of Unix and X11 or Motif utilities which I've written for or ported to VMS, for both VAX and Alpha. The word porting doesn't necessarily imply that I did much work ! If the code was written in ANSI C, it probably means that I wrote a DESCRIP.MMS (for use with MMK which you can download from ftp.wku.edu ) and added a SETUP.COM to create the foreign command verb. Most of this software should also work under Unix and MS-DOS. New additions for VMS and Windows 2000 are also being added. Please fill out my comments form before you leave.
Each .zip file now has a detached PGP signature file so you can be sure it hasn't been altered since I put it on the server. You can download my public key here or get it from a key server such as www.cam.ac.uk.pgp.net . N.B. You don't actually need PGP to use the software below (except for PGP_FROM_TPU of course) - the signature files are just a way of guaranteeing that my .zip files haven't been tampered with. Though this software is all free for download and use, it isn't necessarily public domain, and should not be distributed elsewhere, and certainly not modified or sold, without permission of the author.
You might also like to visit Patrick Moreau's CENA FTP Mirror site for an excellent collection of X and Motif programs ported to VMS, and the XVMSUTILS package (getopt, getpwuid and other Unix functions). Some excellent OpenVMS utilities can be found on Hunter Goatley and Matt Madison's superb file server, or the St. Peter's College VAX, ftp.spc.edu.
VMS Performance Meter V2.5 (Updated: 21-Mar-2000)
![[VMS Performance Meter Screen Snapshot]](perf_meter_window.gif)
Orginally written for the old VWS window system by Robert Heller, this program was enhanced, converted to Motif and made to work on Alphas by myself, Mark Pizzolato, Joe Kazimierczyk, and Dean Schamberger, yielding the 2.3 VMS Performance Meter. The 2.4 version was modified by me to optionally use a "dynamic" icon display. When the Performance Meter is iconized the state bar graph, showing different coloured bars for User, Supervisor, Executive, Kernel and Interrupt time is displayed in the icon window. When the application is "out on the desktop", the CPU state, a history graph, and various disk and memory statistics are displayed in addition to the state graph. Certain memory leaks in the old code have been identified and fixed. Clicking on the "top CPU" process toggle button brings up and additional window with more information about that process.
![[VMS Performance Meter Icon Snapshot]](perf_meter_icon.gif){kind=icon}
Another new feature is the "tomato of memory", which appears in the graph
window and icon window. It shows a pie chart of free and modified pages against
total memory.
Slight changes have been made to window titles, so that system version and memory are shown in the man window title bar, and the icon title has had the machine name moved to the start to make life easier if you SET DISPLAY/NODE=node to one machine from several different nodes. Using the remote display feature of X Windows I have simultaneously monitored 27 different machines from one workstation.
Thanks to Chris Sharman the 2.5 version has had corrections made to the CPU percentage calculations which should ensure that you don't see anything using more than 100 percent of the CPU.
Full source code is provided. It can be built using MAKE_PERF_METER.COM, and
runs on VAX VMS V5.5 -> V7.1, Alpha VMS V6.1 -> V7.1 (not tested on 1.5 but it
should work), and is compatible with Motif 1.1 to Motif 1.2-4. Edit
the command file PERF_METER.COM and add
@disk:[dir]PERF_METER.COM
to your Applications Menu to run the Performance Meter.
Download the source code in
PERF_METER-2-5.ZIP (95558 bytes)
Detached PERF_METER-2-5 PGP signature file
Precompiled binaries (and PGP signatures) for VAX VMS 5.5-2 to 7.1 and Alpha VMS 6.2 to 7.1 can also be found in this browseable directory.
WHOIS (Updated: 27-Feb-1998)
![[WhoIs Icon Enlarged]](whois.gif)
There are two versions of WHOIS here; a Windows NT, 2000, 98 or 95 MFC
Intel/Alpha version, (binaries only), and a command line version with source
code and "make file" for both Windows NT and OpenVMS VAX or Alpha. The first
program is a command line "whois" client, as described in RFC954, written by me
to work on VMS and Windows NT. It lets you send a query about an internet
domain to a suitable server. At the moment it detects .com, .mil and
.uk domains and tries to pick a sensible server, though this list will probably
be expanded in future. If you know the server that you want to use you can
force that with a command line switch. Here's some examples.
$ WHOIS Usage: whois [ -h nic_server ] name_to_find [ > output_file ]
For a list of whois servers try: whois -h whois.indiana.edu whois-servers
$ WHOIS yrl.co.uk
Using WHOIS server ns0.nic.uk, port 43, to find yrl.co.uk
Domain Name: YRL.CO.UK
Registered For: Yezerski Roper Ltd
Trading As: YRL
.
.
It builds on VAX or Alpha VMS 6.2 + UCX, and Windows NT 4.0 or 2000 . Under VMS you can build it using MMS or MMK, or @MAKE if you don't have those. Set up the foreign command symbol with @SETUP .
For Window set up the C++ environment variables by running the setup batch file, e.g. C:\"Program Files"\DevStudio\VC\bin\vcvars32.bat , then use
NMAKE whois.mak
and copy the executable to a directory in your command PATH. The command is used in exactly the same way on Windows and VMS systems.
Download the source WHOIS.ZIP (8283 bytes)
Detached WhoIs PGP signature file
Here are the binaries for a Windows Visual C++ WHOIS client, also written by
me. Just pop them in a subdirectory of your choice and add a shortcut to
"whois.exe". You will need the MFC run-time libraries installed, which you
should obtain from a trusted source like
http://www.winsite.com/info/pc/win95/misc/mfc42.zip/
(they are free). I have recently added an InstallShield version of the Windows
WHOIS client, but you'll still need to put the MFC42 ddl's into your system
directory by hand.
Download the Intel binaries in
WinWHOISI.ZIP (12713 bytes)
Detached WinWHOISI PGP signature file
Or download the Intel InstallShield
WhoIsI.zip (565713 bytes)
This is the same program as the above, but InstallShield unpacks and sets everything up for you.
Detached WhoIsI PGP signature file
Download the Alpha binaries in
WinWHOISA.ZIP (14514 bytes)
Detached WinWHOISA PGP signature file
Web Count 2.4 (Updated: 31-Mar-2001)
This is a VMS port of Muhammad A Muquit's popular Web Count 2.4 program. It displays a web page's hit count in a number of formats, including the "car odometer" style. Time and dates can also be shown. It has been tested on VAX and Alpha VMS 6.2, using the DECthreads OSU HTTP Server Versions 1.9 through 3.9, and now Purveyor too. You will need DEC C to build it, not VAX C. Gnu C should work if you build the counter using Robert Byer's GCC_MAKE_COUNT.COM then use INSTALL.COM (which normally builds and installs) to just install it. INSTALL.COM now handles MMS better, though some people have reported that MMS can fall over. The counter at the top of this page is produced by Web Count 2.4P. This new version has Purveyor support and full VMS lock manager locking of the counter data files. This was provided by Neil Rieck.For an overall view of what the counter does see
http://www.muquit.com/muquit/software/Count/Count.html
There are some restrictions in the VMS version. For example, I don't allow any explicit df=datafile. The referring URL is tweaked into a VMS file name by a routine kindly written by my colleague Gonzalo San Martin, and this is used to store the hits on the page. The July 1997 maintenance release puts a "no-cache" fix in COUNT.COM, thanks to Philip Taylor of RHBNC.
I can't promise any support, but will try to help if you drop me a mail. The file README.VMS included in the distribution explains how to build and install the counter.
Download the source WWWCOUNT2_4P.ZIP (561525 bytes)
Detached WWWCOUNT2_4 PGP signature file
MBOX (Updated: 28-Apr-1997)
This is VMS guru Neill Clift's utility to display information about a mailbox and the messages it contains. It accepts wildcards, and the /GROUP qualifier makes it easy to limit the view to mailboxes in a particular UIC group. This version works on VMS version 5.5 to 7.1, VAX and Alpha.
Download the source MBOX.ZIP (23040 bytes)
Detached MBOX PGP signature file
Using PGP from TPU on VMS (Updated: 03-Apr-1997)
This is a TPU macro and a command file I wrote to integrate PGP into VMS mail, or any application that allows you to use the TPU editor. The macro works with both the VT terminal TPU editor and the DECwindows Motif EVE editor. The pgp_from_tpu.txt file contains a command file to set up the PGP command and associated logical names, plus the TPU macro and installation instructions.See Stale Schumacher's International PGP Home Page for details on obtaining Pretty Good Privacy. This TPU macro is also available from Stale's PGP tools & add-ons page.
XBeeb (Updated: 05-MAR-1997)
![[Killer Gorilla Screen Snapshot from XBeeb]](xbeeb.gif)
This is a VMS port of
James Fidell's
XBeeb program which emulates a BBC Model B
microcomputer. Because of copyright reasons, I can't make the BBC OS ROM
available here, but if you mail
me I will help you take a copy from an old Beeb that you might have access
to. It runs under VMS 6.2 onwards, VAX and Alpha, and compiles with DEC C 5.3
onwards. Make sure you read the README.VMS file, which explains how to
build the program, install the Teletext fonts on your workstation, and how to
turn off automatic KeyRelease events on VAXstations. A "must have" for BBC
micro nostalgia sufferers.
Download the source XBEEB-0_3.ZIP (376821 bytes)
Detached XBEEB-0_3 PGP signature file
Mandelsteg (Updated: 26-FEB-1997)
![[Mandsteg Image]](mandel.gif)
This is a VMS port of Henry Hastur's MANDELSTEG and GIFEXTRACT programs
which uses .GIF files of parts of the Mandelbrot set to hide or extract data.
It is used like this:
$ mandelsteg -e mandel.gif < somefile
This will hide the contents of somefile in a 640x480 pixel image in MANDEL.GIF . It works with text files or binaries (but see below for a caveat), but is really "intended" to hide PGP encrypted files - preferably ones that have had their headers stripped with the Stealth program, but I haven't ported that yet.
To extract the hidden file
$ gifextract mandel.gif > output_file
The output from GIFEXTRACT seems to get padded with blank characters (or random characters if you use the -r option on encoding) and this can give error messages about over long records when you edit the output file. If, as is intended, you put a PGP output file in the .GIF, then it doesn't really matter because PGP correctly interprets the output. Please let me know if you discover a workaround that doesn't prevent the utilities working on files produced on other platforms.
One of the pictures on this page has a message hidden in it. No prizes for guessing which one, but do drop me a mail if you successfully decode it.
Download the source MANDSTEG.ZIP (50992 bytes)
Detached MANDSTEG PGP signature file
TGD and GD (Updated: 08-MAY-1997)
TGD, written by Bradley K. Sherman, reads in text files containing commands to write out GIF files. It can be used with plain text files, or in conjunction with Perl or some other scripting language if you want to do clever stuff. This makes it ideal for creating dynamic GIFs for Web Servers such as the OSU DECthreads HTTP ServerThis distribution also contains source for Tom Boutell's GD library, required by TGD.
The May 1997 update of this software comprises a TGD.HLP file kindly provided by Martin P.J. Zinser, and a README.VMS file which I was too lazy to write when I first released the code.
Download the source TGD1_2C.ZIP (247914 bytes)
Detached TGD1_2C PGP signature file
LiteClue 1.3 (Updated: 17-Jan-1997)
This is a VMS port of Gary Aviv's LiteClue X Windows "help bubble" program. It Works with Motif and Athena widgets, popping up a little box of help text if the mouse pointer lingers over a particular widget for more than specified period.Gary works for Computer Generation Incorporated (CGI), and US browsers may wish to obtain LiteClue from CGI's FTP server.
The distribution contains the manual in PostScript, HTML and plain text format. It's very easy to add a LiteClue to a Widget, and both Motif and Athena example programs are included.
Download the source LiteClue.zip (40614 bytes)
Detached LiteClue PGP signature file
GIFMerge (Updated: 27-Feb-1997)
![[Green LED]](../gifs/perlgreenblink.gif)
I've updated my port of the excellent GIF Animation tool
GIFMerge,
written by Rene Mueller, to VMS VAX and Alpha.
Build it with MMK and @SETUP.COM to set up a foreign symbol pointing to the appropriate executable. Wildcard expansion and the Unix > pipe are now all done in the program so you can use it just like the Unix version; "gifmerge -h" tells you how. The -pos arguments for small, incremental GIF merges should now work correctly.
Example:
$ @some$disk:[PDS.GIFMERGE]GIFMERGE ! Set up the command
$ gifmerge -25 -l0 step%.gif > animated.gif
^ ^ ^ ^
| | | |
Centisec delay | | Output file spec
| |
0 = Loop forever |
|
Wildcard input spec
Download the source GIFMERGE.ZIP (11739 bytes)
Detached GIFMERGE PGP signature file
GIFShuf and SNOW (Updated: 23-Dec-1998)
![[Shuffled GIF]](GIFShuf.gif)
These are VMS ports for VAX and Alpha of
Matthew Kwan's GIFShuffle and
SNOW, which are both "steganographical" tools, just for a bit of fun.
SNOW lets you conceal messages
in the whitespace of an ASCII text file, optionally using the
ICE algorithm for
encryption too.
GIFShuffle uses cunning colour map ordering to conceal information, and
also provides compression and encryption. All Matthews code is copyright free,
but I'm sure he'd like an acknowledgement if you use it in your own programs.
After unzipping the sources (they unpack into [.GIFSHUF] and
[.SNOW]) go into each directory and build the program with MMK or
MMS, then @SETUP.COM to create a foreign symbol pointing to the appropriate
executable. Here are some examples showing how to use the programs.
$ gifshuf -h ! Get help on GIFShuf
$ gifshuf -m "Hello World" in.gif out.gif ! Hide message in GIF
$ gifshuf gifshuf.gif ! Extract message from GIF
$ snow -h ! Get help SNOW
$ snow "-C" titanic.txt ! Decode the message in titanic.txt
Download the source GIFShuf.ZIP (132210 bytes)
Detached GIFShuf PGP signature file
Download the source SNOW.ZIP (89546 bytes)
Detached SNOW PGP signature file