Using showcap to test tapecap/graphcap etc. files

Doug Tody wrote on Nov 26, 1997

This illustrates how to use the "showcap" task to test problems with *cap
files.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 26 Nov 1997 13:25:37 -0800
To: iraf@noao.edu
Subject: tapecap problems

I have in the past had a tapecap with the following additions.
This worked fine in v2.10, but not 2.11.  We get this error:

ERROR: Bad tapecap entry for magtape device (mta3)
  
Is there something
I have to do in addition to modifying tapecap and devices.hlp?
Help for allocate mentions a dev$devices file which doesn't
exist - should this be dev$devices.hlp?

Thanks!

-----
Excerpted from tapecap:

mta0|mtastron.dat0|                     :tc=mtst0.solaris.dat:
mta1|mtastron.hp-6250|                  :tc=mtst3.solaris.6250:
mta2|mtastron.hp-1600|                  :tc=mtst3.solaris.1600:
mta3|mtastron.exb1|                     :tc=mtst5.solaris.exb8200:
mta4|mtastron.exb2|                     :tc=mtst2.solaris.exb8200:

mtse2|mtst2.solaris.exb8200|Exabyte 8200 drive on Solaris:\
        :al=2 2bn 2cb 2cn 2hb 2hn 2lb 2ln 2mb 2mn 2u 2ubn \
        2b 2c 2cbn 2h 2hbn 2l 2lbn 2m 2mbn 2n 2ub 2un:\
        :dv=2bn:lk=2:tc=solaris-exb8200:

mtse5|mtst5.solaris.exb8200|Exabyte 8200 drive on Solaris:\
        :al=5 5bn 5cb 5cn 5hb 5hn 5lb 5ln 5mb 5mn 5u 5ubn \
        5b 5c 5cbn 5h 5hbn 5l 5lbn 5m 5mbn 5n 5ub 5un:\
        :dv=5bn:lk=5:tc=solaris-exb8200:



---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 26 Nov 1997 15:00:58 -0700 (MST)
From: Doug Tody <tody@tucana.tuc.noao.edu>
Cc: IRAF Sitemail <sites@iraf.noao.edu>
Subject: Re: tapecap problems

Hi Dan,

> I have in the past had a tapecap with the following additions.
> This worked fine in v2.10, but not 2.11.  We get this error:
> 
> ERROR: Bad tapecap entry for magtape device (mta3)
>   
> Is there something
> I have to do in addition to modifying tapecap and devices.hlp?
> Help for allocate mentions a dev$devices file which doesn't
> exist - should this be dev$devices.hlp?

With the addition of an solaris-exb8200 entry the mta3 tapecap entry below
reads in fine here, so you must have some other problem.  This has nothing
to do with devices/devices.hlp, dev$devices is not used on Unix systems,
and devices$hlp is just documentation.  All that is involved is the tapecap
environment variable, which must point to your tapecap file, the tapecap  
file itself, and the entry therein.  "bad tapecap entry" would appear to
indicate that the system can't read the "mta3" tapecap entry, if one exists.

Try "show tapecap" to see if this looks right, and "page tapecap$" to verify
if the file can be accessed as expected.  If that works and you get the right,
file, it must be a problem in the format of the file itself.

A useful way to test *cap files is to use the showcap task:

    cl> reset graphcap = <my-tapecap-file-name>
    cl> showcap
    * set <device-entry-name>

This will print the device entry if it can be read from the file.  (Be sure
to set grapcap back to dev$grapcap when you are done or you will not be
able to find your graphics devices later).


	- Doug


---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 26 Nov 1997 16:00:52 -0800
To: tody@tucana
Subject: Re: tapecap problems

Hi Doug,

Thanks for the suggestion of showcap - it helped me find
the tapecap problem: a line of comments without a comment character
just before our local additions.

Have a good Thanksgiving!

Dan

---

Last post on Nov 26, 1997