[Info-vax] VMS - what is the current thinking amongst the user community

[paul at turnkey.com]

Hi Jon,
   I have a slightly different take in that I am definitely an
unabashed OpenVMS junkie.  OpenVMS systems are the core of our
business.  We run on Alpha and Integrity servers, all running OpenVMS.

(a) Our business applications are coded using Synergy/DE (next
generation DIBOL, mentioned by a previous poster).  Synergy/DE allows
us to expose our business processes and data to the outside world
through callable routines (using .NET, Java, or COM), web services, or
via SQL or ODBC.  This allows us to code a nice front-end with Visual
Studio .NET but push all the memory, I/O, and CPU cycle intensive
components onto the server.

(b) In addition to Synergy/DE, we use VSORT/VSELECT by EG&H. It is the
fastest sorting/extracting utility I've ever come across. We also use
SAMBA CIFS to manage disk shares, and VMS's outstanding TCP/IP
protocol suite allows us to handle connections with the rest of the
world (email, ftp, telnet, ssh, etc.).  We also have Apache web
servers, web services, and MySQL running on OpenVMS. Obviously load
balancing, user management, native RMS file formats, record locking,
DCL commands, lexicals, logicals, and symbols are a major plus, but
rock solid, long-term operation without reboot is the main reason we
remain dedicated to VMS.  We have live, production systems that
haven't been rebooted in years.

(f) I feared for VMS after Compaq had bought Digital, but under HP, I
don't worry that it'll be phased out any time soon. I think HP knows
what they have.