[Info-vax] The (now lost) future of Alpha.

[invalid]

On 2018-08-02, Tim Sneddon <tsneddon at panix.com> wrote:
> invalid <address at is.invalid> wrote:
>> You guys need to understand z/Arch and z/OS are built entirely around
>> assembler. There is *no* direct system interface except in assembler and
>> PL/X. And it is only from around z/OS 1.10 (2.3 just came out and 1.13 was
>> the last of the 1. series) where there was a C compiler capable of running
>> with no runtime and being able to support inline assembler to call systems
>> services since C cannot do it directly. And it is only in the very recent
>> past IBM has started to try to create header files for all the systems
>> services (nothing has been released yet) and we only know it by
>> accident. But it's a huge job and far from complete. When it is done, then
>> it will be physically possible and feasible to write compilers in C. But no
>> reasonable person would suggest they would be willing to take a chance on
>> breaking their enterprise clients applications just so they can say their
>> compilers were written in C.  
>> 
>
> Really?  Enterprise PL/I is most definitely not written in assembler.  Same
> for C and C++.  Language Environment provides plenty of interfaces for
> accessing system services.  LE even has a compiler writers interface guide.
> The run-time library for Enterprise PL/I is also not written in assembler

LE *is* the runtime for mainframe languages. So we both have no idea what
you're talking about.

LE's implementation language has nothing to do with the language the
compilers are implemented in.

And LE can't access any systems services that are used for writing systems
software. This is why Metal C exists, because it doesn't use LE so therefore
it can be used to write some systems software, if you drop into assembler
most of the time.

> Enterprise PL/I was first released in 1992, so you can look back to the 80's
> for a compiler that was not written in assembler and ran on z/OS/MVS/etc.

You're making a claim you can't substantiate. How do you assert Enterprise
PL/I is written in C?

> To behave like you are the only person here who knows anything about z/OS is
> ridiculous.

And yet, you continue to prove you have no idea about anything.