[Info-vax] Layered products, the HP view !?!

[Stephen Hoffman]

On 2015-06-17 18:19:11 +0000, Robert A. Brooks said:

> On 6/17/2015 12:31 PM, JF Mezei wrote:
>> On 15-06-16 20:11, Robert A. Brooks wrote:
>> 
>>> An HP-provided layered product that uses PCSI ***WILL NOT INSTALL***
>>> on V8.4-1H1 as things are currently configured.  The HP product will
>>> require HP VMS <mumble>, and the VSI operating system is VSI VMS <mumble>.
>> 
>> How come this problem was not seen when VMS changed from Digital to
>> Compaq and then to HP ?
> 
> It was effectively the same company that owned VMS throughout those 
> name changes;
> PCSI would have viewed them as equal.  VSI is not HP.
> 
> For HP VMS V8.4 . . .
> 
> $ PROD SHOW PROD *VMS*
> 
> HP I64VMS OPENVMS V8.4               Platform    Installed
> HP I64VMS VMS V8.4                   Oper System Installed
> 
> For VSI V8.4-1H1 . . .
> 
> VSI I64VMS OPENVMS V8.4-1H1          Platform    Installed
> VSI I64VMS VMS V8.4-1H1              Oper System Installed
> 
>> And why would PCSI care ?
> The HP layered products require the HP VMS platform;
> the VSI layered products require the VSI VMS platform.
> ...


FWIW, using a relational, transactional database here would addresses 
database backups prior to PCSI kit installations, would provide more 
consistent database contents around failed updates, would make adding 
synonyms or aliases for this product name case or adding synonyms or 
aliases for producer names for the next time that a corporate name 
changes, and a whole host of other problems within PCSI, and within 
OpenVMS itself.

This'd be a much easier problem with an integrated database available 
within OpenVMS; for PCSI, LMF, SYSUAF, etc.

Obviously: getting from the current home-grown database scheme over to 
a relational database package won't be trivial, and undoubtedly won't 
meet the release deadlines here.



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