QUESTION:
I am creating a 9 track tape on the RISC/6000 to be read into
a 370 mainframe. I dd files to tape using conv=ibm and
sync options. The sync option pads the input blocks with null
characters. The host is having a problem reading these null
characters. Is there a way to pad with blank characters instead.
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A: There is no way to change the character that is used for padding,
but padding should not be necessary (except possibly for the
last block) if you are reading and writing compatible block sizes
between the machines.
For instance, if I am writing my tape using 512-byte blocks, then
the machine reading it should also be reading it at 512-byte blocks.
It can also read at any multiple of 512-byte blocks, such as 1024,
2048, etc, but in this case may have to pad the last block if it
does not have enough 512-byte blocks on the tape to fill the 2048-
byte block it is reading.
The padding will only be necessary within a block if the blocks
that are used to read the tape are not a multiple of those that are
used to write it. For instance, if I write the tape using 1536-byte
blocks, and then attempted to read it using 2048, the "conv=sync"
option will cause the last 512-bytes of my input block to be padded
with nulls. If you read the tape using the same or multiple block
size as it was written, there is no need to pad the blocks.
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This item was created from library item Q589474 BKPRD
Additional search words:
BKPRD BLOCKS CMD COMMAND DD FILES IX JUN92 OP PADDING PROBLEMS
RISCOSO RISCSYSTEM SOFTWARE SYS TRANSFERRING
WWQA: ITEM: RTA000024224 ITEM: RTA000024224
Dated: 11/1996 Category: RISCOSO
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