Cleaning House Clean-up utilities for the VS
From "VS Workshop",  Access to Wang, February 1991
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Many of us are feeling the pinch on disk space these days. Business systems are often based on a calendar year, and most retain the prior year's data for comparisons. Since it is often a month or so before all the year-end figures are in, this means that you have last year's data, the year before, and current transactions - data storage requirements are at their peak.

If your disk storage requirements have grown out of sight, you might appreciate some help in getting things back in order. Here are fifteen utilities to help you identify and manage your disk area better. Ready?

Finding files by name: FILEDISP

FILEDISP allows you to find duplicate files, private libraries, and other names - even across volumes. By carefully choosing the ambiguous (wild card) elements in your search specification, you can scan the entire system and view information at a comfortable level of detail.

For those unfamiliar with FILEDISP, it is a tool that lists files, libraries, and volumes that meet an entered search specification. The wild card elements are similar in function to those available from MS-DOS, except exactly opposite in use: the asterisk replaces any combination, the question mark, one character. Once distributed by the International Society of Wang Users (ISWU), FILEDISP became part of the Wang operating system beginning with OS 7.20.

Want to find all of the REPORT libraries? Specify ?RPT as the library and ? as the volume. Want to find all of your private libraries - even those you created without knowing? Specify the library field as ?UID? (where UID represents your user initials) and the volume as ?; this will return libraries with names like UIDCOPY, #UIDPRT, or even WORKUIDX.

If you suspect you have duplicate library names on your system, FILEDISP can determine the truth. The screen display can be sorted by file, library, or volume, so duplicate items stand out even in long listings.

Building a file parameter data base

As mentioned in last month's column, the FILEINFO utility gathers file parameters for individual libraries or entire volumes. The information extracted by FILEINFO can by queried using the REPORT or INQUIRY tools for specialized disk management needs. Since FILEINFO produces an output file for each disk volume, I use the CREATE utility to combine these files into a single file for the entire system; this simplifies my reporting processes.

Comparing libraries

Suppose you found two libraries that appear to have the same files. Which is the more current? The COMPARE utility (also known as COMPRLIB) can tell you. COMPARE accepts the name of two libraries and produces screen or printed listings showing files present in either library, files only present in each, and comparisons of files matched by name. The comparisons made include the number of records, the file organization, the record sizes, and individual character differences. There is an option to compare matched source files using the DIFF utility to better understand differences in program files.

Listing the contents of REPORT and CONTROL files

You may have a large number on CONTROL and REPORT files. Which are still needed? Which can be scratched? There are two utilities for listing CONTROL files, and two for REPORT files.

REPORT file parameters can be listed with the PRNTRDF or RPTFORM programs (both USERAIDS). Both accept the name of the file and list the report specification. The main difference between the two is presentation: I find RPTFORM's listing a little clearer to read. PRNTRDF has the advantage of offering an option to list an entire library's files at a time.

CONTROL files can be listed using the CONTROL utility or through the PRNTCTL utility. As with PRNTRDF, PRNTCTL allows an entire library to be listed. (The 5.00.02 version of the CONTROL utility also offers this feature, but the long ALIAS NAME - a primary form of field-level documentation - is not shown.)

The reports produced by these utilities can be distributed to individual users to help them manage their libraries.

Scratching files from the system

If you have identified files to be removed, there are two utilities that might make the job easier: SCRATCH and DISPMANY. SCRATCH allows you to delete selected files or libraries. It displays the names of the files or libraries in alphabetical order and allows you to select the items to be deleted. If run by a System Security Administrator, SCRATCH will also allow you to bypass the expiration date checking normally imposed by the operating system - a feature to be used with great care.

DISPMANY accepts the name of a library and displays a list of file names. Each file can be displayed by positioning the cursor and pressing ENTER; PF8 scratches the file. DISPMANY shows 80 files per screen and can handle up to 2000 files in a library. Although intended for print file management, DISPMANY can be used for almost any file management task.

Moving files to another location

If you need to move files, the COPY and BACKUP utilities can often be used for the duplication task. SELCOPY and SUPCOPY offer additional capabilities for special purposes.

SUPCOPY allows you to enter a volume or library name and copy the files to another disk or to tape. The sequence of the copies can be controlled, and there is an option for file reorganization (disk copies only). Individual files or libraries must be selected from a screen listing; the output can be merged into a single library or tape volume. SUPCOPY allows you to enter multiple copy specifications and process all of them at the same time.

SELCOPY also copies to a disk or tape, but selects files from a volume based on their modification history, file type, or protection class. Since it is blind to file or library names, SELCOPY is of most use where all files of a given type are to be moved to tape or another disk. A report is produced listing the files copied.

Summary: tools for the job

Inexpensive tools are still available to help with specific system management tasks. Don't overlook this rich collection when faced with tough management requirements.

Items mentioned

• COMPARE, CREATE, EZFORMAT, and FILEDISP are Wang-supported utilities, distributed with the operating system beginning with OS 7.20. Older versions of any of them may exist on your system as USERAIDS, in libraries named USERAID, USERAID, ISWUAIDS, or VSAIDS.

• COMPRLIB, DIFF, DISPMANY, FILEDISP, FILEINFO, PRNTCTL, PRNTRDF, RPTFORM, SCRATCH, SELCOPY, and SUPCOPY are USERAIDS, now distributed by the United States Society of Wang Users (USSWU). Again, older USERAIDS versions may lie in the above named libraries.

The USSWU VSAIDS collection contains updated versions of the USERAIDS collection formerly distributed by the International Society of Wang Users. Purchase of this collection also includes my book, USERAIDS: A Guide to Low-Cost Software for Wang VS Systems, and portions of the purchase price will be refunded to your local user group as a commission. The book may also be purchased directly from Data Base Publications.