DECnet-Plus

This document, titled "DECnet-Plus DECnet-Plus OSAK SPI Programming Reference" (Order Number AA-QRAYB-TE, November 1996) by Digital Equipment Corporation, is a technical manual for OSI application programmers.

Its primary purpose is to provide specific reference information on using the OSI Applications Kernel (OSAK) Session Programming Interface (SPI) to develop Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) applications. The manual is intended for programmers familiar with upper-layer OSI standards and targets systems running OpenVMS VAX/Alpha Version 7.1 or Digital UNIX Version 4.0, with DECnet-Plus, DECnet/OSI, and OSAK Version 3.0 installed.

The core content of the document includes:

• OSAK SPI Routines: Detailed descriptions of numerous functions (e.g., spi_connect_req, spi_data_req, spi_abort_req, spi_select) for managing session layer connections, data transfer, activity, synchronization, and token control.
• OSAK Events: Explanations of various events (e.g., ABORT indication, S-CONNECT indication, S-DATA indication) that applications receive, detailing their parameters and implications.
• Data Type Definitions: Comprehensive lists and descriptions of OSAK-specific data types, parameter blocks, and their fields.
• Status Codes: A guide to success, informational, and error status codes returned by OSAK routines, essential for application error handling.
• Disruptive Events: Information and recommended actions for handling events that can interrupt a connection, such as aborts or transport connection loss.
• ISO Standards Implementation: Details on how the OSAK SPI conforms to ISO protocol definitions (ISO 8327, ISO 8326) and NIST modifications, including any specific restrictions.

In essence, it's a guide to the API for building network applications using Digital's OSI stack.