[Info-vax] Vax Station 4000 VLC

[Bill Gunshannon]

On 12/26/18 9:42 PM, Dave Froble wrote:
> On 12/26/2018 9:11 PM, Bill Gunshannon wrote:
>> On 12/26/18 8:52 PM, Dave Froble wrote:
>>> On 12/26/2018 12:36 PM, Bill Gunshannon wrote:
>>>
>>>> Define "vendor".  All of the current browsers, except one, are
>>>> developed by third party sources.  Why should it be otherwise?
>>>> No one here is asking VSI to develop a web browser.  Only to
>>>> provide the OS necessary parts to run one.
>>>
>>> And what does that mean?  Turn VMS into WEENDOZE and Linux?  Why bother?
>>>
>>> If the browsers are developed to work in specific environments, then
>>> how can an environment that is different be expected to support those
>>> browsers?
>>>
>>> If the tools used to develop a browser are specific to Linux or
>>> WEENDOZE, then the development of the browser(s) itself precludes
>>> environments where the tools don't exist, or perhaps cannot exist.
>>>
>>
>> Sigh.....
>>
>>
>> Back in September of 1980 there was a paper written called "A
>> Virtual Operating System".  This was long before POSIX was even
>> a gleam in some programmer's eye.  It consisted of Primitives,
>> Utilities and a Shell.  It allowed a lot of programs to be
>> that could be run on a number of very disparate Operating
>> Systems.  GCOS, Primos, MP/OS, TOPS, RSX, RT-11, RSTS, Unix,
>> Multics, Exec-8, UCSD-Pascal, CP/M, ISIS, MVS, VM/CMS and
>> numerous others, and yes, VMS.  Sadly, it was an academic
>> endeavour and we all know what happens when academics get
>> bored.  But the fact is it was done and could be done again.
>> We now have the POSIX standard as a target.  It was another
>> failure by the owners of VMS when they dropped yet another
>> ball.  It can be fixed.
>>
>> bill
> 
> POSIX ended up being "everybody look and act like Unix".
> 

A standard was needed.  The majority of available Open Source
Software was written for Unix/POSIX.  What would you have them
do use the totally obscure and unknown VMS API as the basis
for POSIX?  If you look up the paper I mentioned, the Unix
API was the basis for "A Virtual Operating System", too.
Probably because it was (and still is) the only API not tied
so hard to a particular architecture as to make it impossible
to adapt to other OSes.  A POSIX interface for VMS would make
it possible for VMS to have access to all the things other
OSes have that make them popular.  After all, as has been
stated before many times, no one buys an OS because of the OS.
They buy an OS for the applications.

bill