Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!lll-crg!ames!ucbcad!ucbvax!SPCA.BBN.COM!wilkinsn From: wilkinsn@SPCA.BBN.COM (Ronald Wilkinson) Newsgroups: mod.computers.vax Subject: Re: Parsing command line exactly as typed Message-ID: <8612041141.AA18067@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU> Date: Wed, 3-Dec-86 11:36:37 EST Article-I.D.: ucbvax.8612041141.AA18067 Posted: Wed Dec 3 11:36:37 1986 Date-Received: Thu, 4-Dec-86 09:20:09 EST Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU Organization: The ARPA Internet Lines: 17 Approved: info-vax@sri-kl.arpa In the transition from VMS version 2 to VMS version 3, I believe, most of the character string symbol assignment examples in the "Guide to Using DCL and Command Procedures" manual were switched from using := to =. That gave me and apparently others the strong suspicion that := was being phased out. Other changes that occurred in the documentation at that time really were done as part of a phase out, such as the switch from SYS$SYSDISK to SYS$SYSDEVICE and SYS$SYSROOT. I still wonder if DEC was considering phasing out := and decided not to because := was already very widespread and for certain purposes more convenient, or whether DEC always intended the two operators to co-exist. Ronald Wilkinson BBN Software Products Corp. 10 Fawcett Street Cambridge, MA 02230 ARPA: wilkinsn@spca.bbn.com (note no "o" in login name) phone: (617) 497-8105