One of the most important and underutilized functions in VMS is the ability to read from or write to files, particularly, human-readable, text files. This enables the user to use location lists to drive routines and create custom results files.
More advanced users can create dynamic web pages or batch file scripts that can be launched using the launch() command. The launch() command will be the subject of a future VIEW Vision article.
To open a file, declare a file variable, define a file path, and select a file I/O mode. Available modes are "w" for writing, "r" for reading, and "a" for appending.
After reading or writing the desired contents, the file needs to be closed using the close() command.
To learn more, go to the File Input/Output menu in the Function Help and refer to the example below to learn more.
Example for File Writing and Reading
Download the VMS 10 (VMS 10.0.36 and higher) sample routine
here. Please contact our Applications Department with questions.
VMS and Elements Training in January
The next software training in Tempe, AZ will be the week of January 13th. VMS Basic is January 13-15 and VMS Advanced is January 16-17. Elements training is also available. Contact Jim Hyde to reserve your seat and to get a copy of the course syllabus. Contact Mark Bensel for more information.
