NOTES-VMS.md

Notes for the OpenVMS platform
==============================

 - [Requirement details](#requirement-details)
 - [About ANSI C compiler](#about-ansi-c-compiler)
 - [About ODS-5 directory names and Perl](#about-ods-5-directory-names-and-perl)
 - [About MMS and DCL](#about-mms-and-dcl)
 - [About debugging](#about-debugging)
 - [Checking the distribution](#checking-the-distribution)

Requirement details
-------------------

In addition to the requirements and instructions listed
in [INSTALL.md](INSTALL.md), this are required as well:

  * At least ODS-5 disk organization for source and build.
    Installation can be done on any existing disk organization.

About ANSI C compiler
---------------------

An ANSI C compiled is needed among other things.  This means that
VAX C is not and will not be supported.

We have only tested with DEC C (aka HP VMS C / VSI C) and require
version 7.1 or later.  Compiling with a different ANSI C compiler may
require some work.

Please avoid using C RTL feature logical names `DECC$*` when building
and testing OpenSSL.  Most of all, they can be disruptive when
running the tests, as they affect the Perl interpreter.

About ODS-5 directory names and Perl
------------------------------------

It seems that the perl function canonpath() in the `File::Spec` module
doesn't treat file specifications where the last directory name
contains periods very well.  Unfortunately, some versions of VMS tar
will keep the periods in the OpenSSL source directory instead of
converting them to underscore, thereby leaving your source in
something like `[.openssl-1^.1^.0]`.  This will lead to issues when
configuring and building OpenSSL.

We have no replacement for Perl's canonpath(), so the best workaround
for now is to rename the OpenSSL source directory, as follows (please
adjust for the actual source directory name you have):

    $ rename openssl-1^.1^.0.DIR openssl-1_1_0.DIR

About MMS and DCL
-----------------

MMS has certain limitations when it comes to line length, and DCL has
certain limitations when it comes to total command length.  We do
what we can to mitigate, but there is the possibility that it's not
enough.  Should you run into issues, a very simple solution is to set
yourself up a few logical names for the directory trees you're going
to use.

About debugging
---------------

If you build for debugging, the default on VMS is that image
activation starts the debugger automatically, giving you a debug
prompt.  Unfortunately, this disrupts all other uses, such as running
test programs in the test framework.

Generally speaking, if you build for debugging, only use the programs
directly for debugging.  Do not try to use them from a script, such
as running the test suite.

### The following is not available on Alpha

As a compromise, we're turning off the flag that makes the debugger
start automatically.  If there is a program that you need to debug,
you need to turn that flag back on first, for example:

    $ set image /flag=call_debug [.test]evp_test.exe

Then just run it and you will find yourself in a debugging session.
When done, we recommend that you turn that flag back off:

    $ set image /flag=nocall_debug [.test]evp_test.exe

About assembler acceleration
----------------------------

OpenSSL has assembler acceleration for a number of BIGNUM and crypto
routines.  The VMS config targets tries to look for a selection of
assemblers and will use what they find.  If none of the assemblers are
found, OpenSSL will be built as if `no-asm` was configured.

### For Itanium / IA64 / I64

-   There is only one assembler, a port of Intel's `ias`, found in the
    HP Open Source Tools CD, available through [DECUSlib](http://www.decuslib.com).
    It's assumed to be set up as per the instructions, where `disk` and
    `dir` are expected to be adapted to local conditions:

        $ ias :== $disk:[dir]iasi64.exe

Checking the distribution
-------------------------

There have been reports of places where the distribution didn't quite
get through, for example if you've copied the tree from a NFS-mounted
Unix mount point.

The easiest way to check if everything got through as it should is to
check that this file exists:

    [.include.openssl]configuration^.h.in

The best way to get a correct distribution is to download the gzipped
tar file from ftp://ftp.openssl.org/source/, use `GZIP -d` to uncompress
it and `VMSTAR` to unpack the resulting tar file.

Gzip and VMSTAR are available here:

   <http://antinode.info/dec/index.html#Software>

Should you need it, you can find UnZip for VMS here:

   <http://www.info-zip.org/UnZip.html>

 How the value of 'arch' is determined
 -------------------------------------

 'arch' is mentioned in INSTALL.  It's value is determined like this:

    arch = f$edit( f$getsyi( "arch_name"), "upcase")