I have resolved part of the problem. I'm not crazy, I'm stupid. Or maybe
its the seventy hour weeks dulling my mind. I would test each in the
series of programs. When one in PUB failed, I would CHGROUP to my test
group (where I also made an empty database), copy over the sources,
recompile, and link all objects into an executable, then run the
program. But I never supplied the group, incorrectly thinking that it
would pick up the program in my current group, instead of the one that
didn't work in PUB. Borrowing from the Dilbert Principle, I was for that
moment an idiot (Dogbert would say that my subject is not an or
question). It picked up the non-working one in PUB. I would log off,
shutdown Reflection, and then log back on. As a convenience, I was
logging on to my test group, as in HELLO SESSION,USER.NAME,TESTAREA.
When I ran my program then, I was getting the version in the test area.
And when I CHGROUPed to PUB and ran the program, I was getting the
version in my test area, which still worked. At least, this is the way I
recall the details after four hours sleep and more than four cups of
coffee. I trust the list members to graciously correct any inaccuracies
or infelicities contained herein.

Now I just have to figure out what we are doing that does not correctly
allow the subprogram that is called to read the database name, described
as EXTERNAL, only when the subprograms are in an XL. I understood that
GLOBAL was not allowed; time to crack the books and scan the LaserROM on
EXTERNAL, et al. Of course, if anyone would care to provide me with some
direction, it would be most welcome. I really would prefer to use an XL
to linking as many as 1137 objects together into rather large NMPRGs,
with over a thousand subprograms, many of which are called from over a
hundred other programs, including each other (but no recursion).

/off-topic=true
Regarding "The Demon-Haunted World" and its author. Having taken courses
in the history of science, I have read some of Sagan's popular article
in Parade magazine with horror and interest. Only one have I been
actually able to more or less agree with; that was the one on the
similarity of UFO abductions with abduction stories thru history. And he
asked a very interesting question that he did not answer, which was
probably the wiser choice: we should be investigating what it is in
human nature that causes some people to have these experiences of truly
believing that they were abducted, and even experience that
psychological trauma of that abduction as though it were real. Did he
touch on this in his book, Mark?

I have read about people of faith who worked with Sagan, who said that
he was an evangelistic atheist (although I believe that he might have
preferred the title agnostic, although I could be mistaken), who wanted
others to be atheists, too. I keep in touch with the head of my alma
mater's history of science department, and discussed one of Sagan's
articles with him. He said that Sagan was more optimistic about
science's ability to answer all of our questions than most in the
scientific communities, including those in history and philosophy of
science departments. The Voyager fans on the list may be reminded of an
episode in which a practitioner of ritual religion pointed out that
Captain Janeway's belief that their science could tell them what was
killing Kess was a belief, no more warranted than their belief that
properly carrying out a certain ritual would heal Kess. I better go now,
duty calls, and I seem to be rambling.

Happy Labor Day, all.
/end post
/resume development
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