The TechnicalCounsel(sm) News -- February 2008
Volume 5 Number 1 February 2008

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Welcome to the February issue of The TechnicalCounsel(sm) News, our consulting practice's quarterly newsletter.

In this issue:

New York Dreamweaver User Group will host Ensuring Security, Privacy, and Authenticity in a WWW Connected World

On February 13, 2008, the New York Dreamweaver User Group will host Mr. Gezelter’s presentation Ensuring Security, Privacy, and Authenticity in a WWW Connected World.

The integrity of the WWW experience is becoming an ever more critical business issue. Assuring customers of authenticity, as well as their privacy and security of their information is crucial.

We will explore the hazards of eavesdropping and other security breaches, as well as the problems caused by various kinds of counterfeit sites, and how easily available www technologies, particularly SSL and HTTPS, can be implemented to increase customer assurance and safety. Our speaker will also illustrate common mistakes that are made using these technologies.

A complete abstract of this talk and information about the presentation can be found at:

International Association of Software Architects Washington, DC ITARC 2008 features Forethought: The Unspoken Foundation of Evolution

On March 10, 2008, The Capital Area Chapter of the International Association of Software Architects will host Forethought: The Unspoken Foundation of Evolution as part of its ITARC 2008 Conference.

Architecture is more that high-level design. High-level design defines what something is; architecture defines what a system can become. This difference has been under-appreciated for decades. We show how mathematical concepts can be used to illuminate approaches that reduce both schedule and code, while at the same time increasing correctness and future expandability.

A complete abstract of this talk, and pointers to the conference www site can be found at:

EXITSTATUS: A Demonstration of the use of Non-Search Path Logical Name Translation on OpenVMS

We have posted EXITSTATUS, an example of how OpenVMS logical name tables are useful in ways other than their traditional use by RMS in locating data and executable files.

In this example, a logical name table not included in the normal logical name translation search paths is used to store a complete list of standard, OpenVMS-defined system status codes. A companion DCL symbol is used to access this table and execute an EXIT command, providing a low-overhead implementation of DCL symbolic status codes. Our www site contains an example of how such a facility increases the clarity of DCL procedures.

This demonstration is available from our www site at:

OpenVMS Technical Journal features Strategies for Migrating from Alpha and VAX to Integrity

Without question, everyone agrees that the best way to migrate to HP’s Integrity servers from Alpha and VAX is to re-compile, re-link, and re-qualify. If your sources, build procedures, and qualification procedures are current, this is the fastest, surest, and safest path to transition.

Others are challenged by one or more of these conditions. The obstacle may be technical, in terms of old or missing sources, inter-relations between components, or lack of staff time to make volumes of small changes. Business issues, including leases on existing systems, operational commitments, and business initiatives, also present obstacles. All of these can induce difficulties in what should be an otherwise straightforward process.

This whitepaper will explore strategies for leveraging unique OpenVMS features to achieve low-risk, low-effort transitions to the Integrity platform while transparently maintaining commitments to the enterprise. These OpenVMS facilities, including the Alpha Image Translator, the Translated Image Environment, logical names, mixed-architecture OpenVMS clusters, and Host-based volume shadowing enable us to allow a transition from Alpha and VAX to HP Integrity on an incremental basis, reducing risk and increasing flexibility.

This paper was published this past June as part of HP's OpenVMS Technical Journal, Volume 10. The paper can be accessed via:

Printer-friendly and Redistributable Copy of this Newsletter

PDF and HTML versions of this newsletter can be found at:

If you received this as a forward from a friend, and wish to receive this newsletter directly by email, please send mail to Subscribe@removethis.rlgsc.com.

If you wish to be removed from our recipient list, please send a mail message to Remove@removethis.rlgsc.com.

(c) copyright 2008, Robert Gezelter Software Consultant, All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction and redistribution of the preceding material in its entirety is permitted without limitation, provided that the material is reproduced in its entirety, including this notice. For permission to reproduce portions of the preceding, please contact our offices.