[Info-vax] problem with LSE installation

[Hans Vlems]

Op maandag 18 mei 2015 11:39:50 UTC+2 schreef Phillip Helbig (undress to reply):
> In article <mjbh0s$8ca$1 at dont-email.me>, David Froble
> <davef at tsoft-inc.com> writes: 
> 
> > > A common set of sources is used to build VMS Alpha and VMS Itanium
> > > and we will be adding x86 support to that code base. We are not
> > > planning any Alpha releases but any nonarchitecture-specific changes
> > > will be in both VMS Itanium and VMS x86 releases and we hope there
> > > will be many of both.
> 
> > So, you have a common code base.  At some time you make changes, or add 
> > something.  Will the code base then fork?  
> 
> That's against the concept of a common code base.
> 
> > If not, then it seems your 
> > only recourse would be to issue something, patches, new version, 
> > whatever, for all three, and if you wished, and it fit, VAX too.
> 
> Forget VAX.  It's not part of the common code base.
> 
> > Assume that the modifications are non-compatable with earlier versions, 
> > and Alphas could not remain in a cluster without the new stuff ....
> 
> Let's be happy that the first release of VMS on x86 will allow an ALPHA 
> in the same cluster.  Who cares if ALPHA development stops after 8.X and 
> VMS 12.3 on X86 can't run with ALPHA in a cluster.

If I were a commercial user then I'd agree with that. As a hobbyist I'd hate
it if ALpha would be dropped within a year or two. I have only one Itanium,
after I correctly assemble the box again hopefully, and I prefer to have
more than one system which is up to date with new development (yeah, I'm
a hobbyist with little money and a big mouth ;-).

That said, the way I read Rob's line "We like Alpha; really, we do" is that
Alpha plays an important if not essential part in building VMS for I64.
If there's such a dependency then Alpha very likely will be kept at the
same development level as I64. Whether the same will eventually hold for
x86_64 is anyone's guess but I doubt that. By that time mainting Alpha's
will be as expensive as mainting VAXes today (in a commercial shop).
Just my two cents (as in hfl 0,01)
Hans