[Info-vax] Dave Cutler, Prism, DEC, Microsoft, etc.

[Richard B. Gilbert]

Neil Rieck wrote:
> Since any idiot can put up a web page these days, you know it all
> can't be true. So imagine my surprise when I bumped into this:
> 
> http://radsoft.net/rants/20040831,00.shtml
> 
> <quote>Dave always wanted to rewrite VMS in C. He hated Unix but loved
> C. As soon as he'd finished VMS he suggested the rewrite. He was
> turned down flat. Several years later he found himself in Seattle and
> essentially was doing the rewrite in C when word came DEC were tired
> of him.</quote>
> 
> This article contains lots of other (possibly) questionable facts, but
> think about the statement above "rewrite VMS in C". If this had
> happened, we would have VMS or OpenVMS on any platform including
> x86-64
> 
> NSR

Not ANY platform!  There are architectural requirements; things like 
number and sizes of registers, processor modes, etc.

Many years ago, somebody wrote PCVMS.  I bought a copy.  It had a DCL 
like command language, and VMS-like system services.  It was NOT VMS.