2026-08-31 12:14 UTC
That behavior is incompatible with tape labeling, because the write of the last rebored has to be completed, and a trailer label written.
IBM's tape controller senses the EOT and reports it to software, but does NOT interfere with writing. The write of the record completes, and the trailer label can be written.
6/
Replies (1)
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@brouhaha@mastodon.social 2026-08-31 12:16
If the record is long (say 64KiB), and the tape is low density (800 bpi), and the EOT happens at the start of the record write, that can take 7 feet of the 14 feet of post-EOT-marker tape. Hopefully the remaining 7 feet are sufficient to prevent the tape from unspooling from the supply reel. Records that long, or longer, were uncommon back then, though the IBM hardware did not actually put a limit on record length. 7/