Thus it was written in the epistle of COLE,GLENN (Non-HP-SantaClara,ex2),
> Donna Garverick writes:
>
> > we've got a job that uses grep that *occasionally* gives us
> > strange results.
> ...
> > every so often, the file produced by
> > grep will have a 'split' record.  that is, some portion of
> > an input record (which looks perfectly normal) will end up
> > divided onto two records on the output file.
>
> Yep; that's familiar. :(
>
> > while i'm not
> > ruling out an escape character of some sort on the input
> > record, i think it's quite unlikely.
>
> Given my prior experience, I think we can rule this out.
>
> > so, i'm wondering if
> > anyone has run into grep doing 'strange' things like
> > this?            - d
>
> Not grep -- my problem was with cousin sed. ;)
>
> I remember only that the problem occurred, not the details
> thereof.  Fortunately, hp3000-L has archives. :)
>
> http://raven.utc.edu/cgi-bin/WA.EXE?A2=ind9812B&L=hp3000-l&P=R2158
>
> I'm afraid I cannot offer more than what's there, but hopefully
> that will set you on the path of a workaround.

I ran into the problem attempting to print directly from Perl, and I think
(though I have no proof) that the problem has to do with an "impedance
mismatch" between POSIX and fixed-length ASCII files (so far as I can tell,
there are problems both on reading and on writing them, though small problems
in both cases).  The gratuitous linebreak appeared to be coming when some
buffer or other got filled up as it appeared to relate to number of characters
written.  What I've found to work is writing my output to a bytestream file
and then converting that file with BYTECNVT or frombyte (if you can work
within its limitations).  That appears to match up with Glenn's recommended
workaround.

HTH,
Ted
--
Ted Ashton ([log in to unmask]), Info Sys, Southern Adventist University
          ==========================================================
I know, indeed, and can conceive of no pursuit so antagonistic to the
cultivation of the oratorical faculty ... as the study of Mathematics. An
eloquent mathematician must, from the nature of things, ever remain as rare
a phenomenon as a talking fish, and it is certain that the more anyone gives
himself up to the study of oratorical effect the less will he find himself
in a fit state to mathematicize.
                        -- Sylvester, J.J. (1814 - 1897)
          ==========================================================
         Deep thoughts to be found at http://www.southern.edu/~ashted