[Info-vax] Text processing examples with Fortran requested

[VAXman- at SendSpamHere.ORG]

In article <hdshbc$212$1 at pcls6.std.com>, moroney at world.std.spaamtrap.com (Michael Moroney) writes:
>VAXman-  @SendSpamHere.ORG writes:
>
>>>I have to deal with thousands of lines of the most gawdawful macro-32
>>>code ever created.
>
>>Doubtful.  I'll bet I've seen worse.  ;)
>
>Hoo boy.  Don't try to out-awful this code, your ass will be kicked from
>here to China.  Think of every "nasty" code trick you can think of that
>you can do in Macro-32, I'm sure every one is in there somewhere. Plus
>a few that nobody else ever thought of.
>
>It took 3 skilled macro coders almost a year just to get the VAX code to
>run on an Itanic and be stable enough to replace the VAX, and we feel 
>lucky that we were able to do so.  The Itanic compiler does *not* like
>most of the Macro "tricks" used.
>
>I thought about writing a blog documenting all the trials and tribulations
>we encountered, but never got around to doing so.  I may still do so 
>(retroactively) since I did make notes.
>
>>If you really need to change a MOVW src,dst to MOVL src,dst, writing a
>>macro to do so might be your better bet.
>
>We already have several (bad) redefined instructions.  I would sort of
>like such a tool that, perhaps, could run inside an editor, find and make
>a single change but pause so that I could examine the code and surrounding
>code to see that it is correct and make additional changes before going to
>the next one, rather than yet another layer of macros.  We've already done
>a mass change where essentially the same change was made to thousands of
>lines, and a second "round" is coming up.

Well, see my last post.  If you want, replace .PRINT with .ERROR.  That
will give you a "pause" so you can to examine the code. :)

If I can intercept Itanium instruction streams and revector control,
I don't see what could be all that outlandish in your Macro that's so
difficult to port.


>(oh how I wish we could simply start over in another language. Pointy-
>haired managers dictate otherwise)

What?  Like C?  Try writing a parser to find all the zany things people
do with that hieroglyphic and you'll be pining for that Macro you have 
now.

-- 
VAXman- A Bored Certified VMS Kernel Mode Hacker    VAXman(at)TMESIS(dot)ORG

  http://www.quirkfactory.com/popart/asskey/eqn2.png
  
  "Well my son, life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"