[Info-vax] Some questions on software for VMS 7.3 VAX

[hb]

On 01/15/2016 10:31 AM, lists at openmailbox.org wrote:

> I very little idea what you did or how much effort it was. And I purposely
> didn't install the C compiler on my hobbyist system so perhaps this won't
> be so easy. But:

You need a recent C compiler and you need a recent mms (I don't have it
and I don't know which version is available for VAX and if that version
works) or mmk as source code to fix an RMS-W-RTB error. Then you need a
couple of VAX specific Emacs source files - and some instructions and
time to do the build.

>>  of 2016-01-14 14:23:42 on one of the few remaining VMS machines on Earth
> 
> Haha, does it really say that? The FSF people are huge idiots.

It is probably in one of the init/site scripts, which are in Lisp, as
far as I understand. Should be easy to change, if necessary.

>> This is based on the emacs21_2.zip from the 8.0 freeware cd. There are a
>> couple of changes to let emacs make a computer slow. It looks like that
>> code was never built or tested on VAXes. Also, this VAX is a simh and I
>> use the console, OPA0:, set to a reasonable baud rate. I can't get it to
>> work when logged in via telnet to port 60123, which is a simh DZ device,
>> aka TTA0:. The process hangs in LEF with two busy channels to TTA0:. I
>> have/had other problems with that device: "-SYSTEM-W-DATAOVERUN, data
>> overrun" when I type very fast, aka do a cut and paste. So, it's not yet
>> production quality, but for hobbyists ...
> 
> If it overruns it's not ready for hobbyists either. Very little is worse
> than an editor that doesn't work or screws up your code.

Maybe I didn't make it clear, to me this is a simh problem, not an Emacs
problem. The overrun shows in DCL. I didn't try to debug the hang in Emacs.

> Is the above via X-server? Emacs is supposed to have at least two ways it
> can run, one in a console and one with X. I'm susprised it doesn't work
> over telnet. The MicroEmacs I found works over telnet here.
> 

As you may have noticed, I didn't configure X. To me it makes no sense,
as I don't have TCP/IP (or UCX) installed. On a simhVAX, accessing an
X-server needs at least one network protocol. Again, I expect Emacs to
work with telnet, but I can't prove it, I don't have access to any other
VAX. Any VAX on the net to which I can copy the Emacs binaries or
re-build it from scratch would be OK. Anyway, if you want to try the
binaries, let me know to which public directory I should copy them.