(This is about * and other special names, not about PDS and LNKLST. )
There are two *valid* approaches:
1. Unix-like. Allow use of special characters in the names, but also
support a method to disable special treatment of the character. That's
why it is possible to use * as/in the filename, but there is also a
method to delete or manage file named *. One can tell system "hey this
is just name *".
Disadvantage: unexperienced user may issue "rm *" command just to delete
single file.
2. Disallow use of special characters in the names. So special character
has special meaning only. One can use * only as "all names", but not as
part of the name. And there is set of "legal" characters which can be
used in the name, other characters are forbidden even if the characers
have no special meaning. Example: left bracket have no meaning as
generic, but it cannot be used in the name. The same for Ą (polish
character), etc.
Disadvantage: I don't know any system which works as described here.
Usually there are some inconsistencies. MVS part of z/OS is good
example. Ancient PC-DOS as well.
So, if ALL could be used both as special name and as regular name, and
there was no method to distinguish it - it was inconsistency.
BTW: I know a case where (silly) system administrator used "rm *" and
...deleted all files belonging to banking application. Yes, on
production. This branch was closed for several days, fortunately they
had backups and ...paper documents for recovery.
--
Radoslaw Skorupka
Lodz, Poland
W dniu 19.10.2020 o 01:00, Charles Mills pisze:
Not sure exactly how that would be code injection. I meant it as an example of
a poorly chosen meta (not quite the right word) in syntax. In your example, if
you are going to allow a member name of '*' then giving dataset(*) a special
meaning is an invitation to trouble. In DOS/360's case, IBM allowed a phase
name of ALL, but ALL had a special meaning as the operand of a DELETC
statement. BTW, the core image library had *everything* executable in it in
those days. DELETC ALL would be like deleting SYS1.NUCLEUS, SYS1.LINKLIB,
SYS1.LPALIB and every other load library on the system. They had a SYSRES that
had to be restored from tape before it would IPL.
Charles
-----Original Message-----
From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On Behalf
Of Paul Gilmartin
Sent: Saturday, October 17, 2020 9:18 PM
To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU
Subject: Re: emptying a PDS: was RE: [IBM-MAIN] getting XCFAS down
On Sat, 17 Oct 2020 16:19:40 -0700, Charles Mills wrote:
Back in the late sixties ... I wrote a quick program that exactly filled the
remaining space in the library and named it ALL. They ran the appropriate
utility with the control statement DELETC ALL with the predictable results.
They were as unhappy with me as I was with them.
So can you claim to be the inventor of code injection?
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