[Info-vax] System implementation languages, was: Re: RMS record metadata, was: Re: Re; Spiralog, RMS Journaling (was

[David Froble]

Simon Clubley wrote:
> On 2016-06-22, David Froble <davef at tsoft-inc.com> wrote:
>> Paul Sture wrote:
>>> On 2016-06-22, Simon Clubley <clubley at remove_me.eisner.decus.org-Earth.UFP> wrote:
>>>> On 2016-06-21, David Froble <davef at tsoft-inc.com> wrote:
>>>>> John Reagan wrote:
>>>>>> RMS wins the trifecta of languages. You'll find Macro, BLISS, and C
>>>>>> in the source directory.
>>>>> WHAT !!!
>>>>>
>>>>> No Basic ???
>>>> Sorry David, but Basic is not a system implementation/programming
>>>> language. :-)
>>>>
>>> My memories of RSTS suggest that BASIC got used *everywhere*... :-)
>>>
>> Good one!
>>
> 
> Not really. :-)
> 
> You can't use any version of Basic I've come across to write a kernel
> mode device driver or the kernel itself.
> 
>> Take that Simon, who just recently mentioned RSTS/E ....
>>
>> Ok, back to reality.  I do believe the RSTS/E OS was Macro-11
> 
> True. Examples of what I consider to be a system implementation
> language (SIL) are C, Ada and the odd version of Pascal (such as the
> version used to write VAXELN).
> 
> Examples of languages which are not SILs are Basic, COBOL and PHP.
> 
> Simon.
> 
> PS: If DEC had fixed up some issues with Pillar and implemented it,
> that would have made a good SIL (better than C IMHO). Unfortunately,
> DEC never followed through with Pillar.
> 

Any language, if appropriate capabilities are implemented, can be so used.  I 
seem to recall that DEC's C needed some work before it could be used.  Put the 
same capabilities in Basic, and it would do just as well.  Well, maybe even better.

It's all just 1's and 0's ....