[Info-vax] Bliss was Re: Learning VMS application programming

[Johnny Billquist]

On 2014-09-08 12:06, Phillip Helbig---undress to reply wrote:
> In article <lujtpg$4p4$1 at Iltempo.Update.UU.SE>, Johnny Billquist
> <bqt at softjar.se> writes:
>
>> I wish I could get my hands on that experiment. I think that today it
>> would be possible to get a native BLISS compiler running under RSX, and
>> with reasonable capacity.
>
> I ask this as someone who uses VMS and even 17 years ago was asked by an
> astonished visitor "Is that still legal?": What is the point in running
> RXS today?  Is it just the retro-computing feeling, like using a slide
> rule, say?

Still legal to run RSX? Of course it is. If you have a license.
And I know of several commercial sites who still is running RSX in 
production. And I sometimes still give them support.

The reason? Several. It does the job, and no replacement will do it 
better, since it already does what is required. Also, porting to new 
hardware/software is not without costs. And some capabilities are rather 
difficult to achieve with other systems. Often when the system have 
specialized hardware connected. Not to mention that RSX is better at 
realtime than VMS or (shudder) Unix.

The main "problem" is old hardware. There is a problem with old disks 
breaking down. Replacing them with "modern" SCSI disks solves that 
problem, though. The rest of the machines are very reliable. Once it a 
while I've seen broken power supplies, but is not often.

> Although some of my hardware is rather ancient (I have, however, taken
> all VAXen out of the cluster), and although I have some appreciation for
> built-like-a-battleship DEC kit, I've never been into retro-computing,
> although I know some people who are.  In fact, I'm looking forward to
> VMS on x86 and, hopefully somewhere down the road, commodity hardware,
> so that I can be reasonably fast (yes, there are some times when I need
> the speed) and/or run large-memory programs without it costing too much.
>
> Now if VSI can get a modern web browser running on VMS, I'll be a really
> happy camper.  :-)

Yo each his own. Personally, I really enjoy writing software on RSX. 
It's a much cleaner and saner environment. Sure, I sometimes miss some 
modern stuff, but most of the time, I'm happier without it.

	Johnny

-- 
Johnny Billquist                  || "I'm on a bus
                                   ||  on a psychedelic trip
email: bqt at softjar.se             ||  Reading murder books
pdp is alive!                     ||  tryin' to stay hip" - B. Idol