VMS text files and cu

[kds at intelca.UUCP]

>What is worse is when one wants to transfer text files to the VMS system.
>Neither cu nor tip knows enough to convert the newslines in the file to
>carriage returns.  This definitely should be an option to tip. There are

actually, I believe that VMS text files are REALLY different, not just
adding a CR to a LF, but rather are usually what is called variable
length records, where there is NO CR,LF at all, but rather the first
two characters of a "record" contain a count of the number of
characters in the record.  It is then the function of the utility trying
to read these suckers to figure out what the line really is.  That is
why in Eunice there is a unixtovms and vmstounix command, since it
is not really obvious how to do something intelligent when you have
both flavors of text files around.  What does this have to do with cu?
Well, it tries to point out that rather then mucking with cu on the
Unix system, you really should use a utility on the destination system
that knows how to create a file of the appropriate type!  toodles.....
-- 
Ken Shoemaker, Intel, Santa Clara, Ca.
{pur-ee,hplabs,ucbvax!amd70,ogcvax!omsvax}!intelca!kds