File and record locking is a service that should be provided by the operating system, not by a compiler.

This is true, but the compiler must provide some way (interface) to call the operating system service. Perl and C have Flock, and GPC should (does?) have a similar call that is transparent to the programmer implemented at the compiler level to call the correct operating system service for each OS it runs on for code portability. BP or Delphi compatible calls would be nice, but anything that would work on GPC that is standard on every platform supported only makes sense.

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BTW how would I check the system clock?

Look at the DOS and DOSH units in the BPCOMPAT package.

Best regards, The Chief