[Info-vax] DCL Integer Overflow

[Arne Vajhøj]

On 7/8/2017 3:44 PM, Simon Clubley wrote:
> On 2017-07-07, Scott Dorsey <kludge at panix.com> wrote:
>> Simon Clubley  <clubley at remove_me.eisner.decus.org-Earth.UFP> wrote:
>>> On 2017-07-06, Scott Dorsey <kludge at panix.com> wrote:
>>>> In article <ojmndm$d6e$1 at gioia.aioe.org>,
>>>> =?UTF-8?Q?Arne_Vajh=c3=b8j?=  <arne at vajhoej.dk> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> I have worked on CDC NOS.
>>>>
>>>> I am terribly, terribly sorry.
>>>
>>> I once knew enough TECO to be able to do various editing jobs.
>>>
>>> Where does that rate on the sympathy scale ? :-)
>>
>> Not even in the same LEAGUE as the 60-bit horrors CDC foisted on the world.
>> --scott
>>
>> $ABORT,REVERT,CCL.
> 
> I see. :-)
> 
> For the benefit of those of us who have never had to use this
> environment, can you describe how you would carry out some
> common tasks using this environment, so we can compare the
> syntax (and semantics) to the syntax/semantics used on VMS or Unix ?
> 
> Also, is this environment actually _worse_ than IBM's JCL ?

As I remember it then the syntax was like:

command,option=value,option=value.

Commands were typical abbreviations like FTN5 for
the Fortran V compiler.

Options were typical one or two letter abbreviations
like I=xxxx.

I did not have any problems with the command syntax.

It was different but it was OK.

There were more underlying problems.

Filenames was max. 7 long.

No directories - only local (temporary) files
and permanent files.

6 bit bytes resulting in a big character set mess.
Basic display set was 6 bit aka only 64 values so
only upper case letters. An extension with 12 bit
allowing for lower case letters. And some weird
8 bit ASCII where characters aligned poorly with
byte boundaries.

Word addressing not byte addressing.

24 bit non-virtual address space.

Disclaimer: I may remember something wrong as I have not
used NOS for about 25 years.

Arne