This function is designed to allow one to look at "odd" record
	structures.  I first developed this function to try and look at
	the records in a NOTES file.  Wouldn't it be nice if one could
	make themselves the owner of all the notes ?  I was not entirely
	successful but here are my attempts.

	The normal RMS files that Datatrieves handles so well look like:

	| Smith           | John   |  23  |
        | Roseberry       | Elroy  |  53  |
	| Hunt            | Mark   |  21  |

	Now let us look at "odd" RMS files that do not line up right:

	| 5 | Smith | 4 | John |
	| 9 | Roseberry | 5 | Elroy |
	| 4 | Hunt | 4 | Mark |

	It is tough to develop a "regular" record definition for these
	type of files in that the fields do not show up at the same
	offset in each record.  There is, however, a number that shows
	the length of the field preceeding each field.  So you can
	develop a record definition that looks like:

	01 THE_RECORD.
	   03 FIELD_1_LEN	usage long.
	   03 REST_OF_RECORD	pic X(80).
	   03 FIELD_1
	      computed by fn$str_extract(REST_OF_RECORD,1,FIELD_1_LEN)

	Now how can you come up with a record definition for the second
	field ?  You know the starting position of the second field is
	"length of field 1" plus four (for the four bytes that make up
	the long word that holds the length of the second field). You 
	know the length of the second field shows up in a long word 
	(4 bytes) after the first field.  The problem comes in getting
	that long word.  Now it is easy enough to get the next four
	bytes after FIELD_1 with something like:

	   03 FIELD_2_LEN_STR
	      computed by fn$str_extract(REST_OF_RECORD,FIELD_1_LEN + 1, 4)
	
	But the result is a character string four bytes long (PIC X(4))
	and not a long word (USAGE LONG).  So this function does the
	conversion from:

		One Character    to  USAGE BYTE
		Two Characters   to  USAGE WORD
		Four Characters  to  USAGE LONG
  
	Still this involves a lot of looking to try to find out how MAIL,
	NOTES, and other utilities manage their data files.  Sure wish
	Digital would publish something -- even if it is subject to change!

	- Bert Roseberry
	  U.S. Coast Guard  "The Lifesavers"