[Info-vax] Programming languages on VMS

[jaybraun2.0 at gmail.com]

On Wednesday, January 24, 2018 at 9:22:21 AM UTC-8, Bill Gunshannon wrote:
> On 01/24/2018 11:05 AM, jaybraun2.0 at gmail.com wrote:
> > On Sunday, January 21, 2018 at 5:02:57 PM UTC-8, Simon Clubley wrote:
> >> The recent revelation that a modern Ada is no longer available for VMS
> >> leads me to ask if people here know of any other languages whose future
> >> on x86-64 VMS (or VMS in general) is in doubt ?
> >>
> >> If you do, is there anything VSI can do right now to reduce the chances
> >> of this becoming a major problem for the language in question in the
> >> future ?
> >>
> >> I'll start by mentioning one example from my past which is a programming
> >> language called Synergy. This is a third party version of DEC's DIBOL
> >> language and was recommended by DEC as the replacement for DIBOL.
> >>
> >> I am out of touch with the current support situation as I have not used
> >> the language for several years (since I left my last job). However,
> >> I imagine there are still a number of VMS sites using it so I wonder
> >> if Synergex will be porting their compiler to x86-64 VMS.
> >>
> >> So, do you know of any languages which are of particular concern to you ?
> >>
> >> Simon.
> >>
> >> -- 
> >> Simon Clubley, clubley at remove_me.eisner.decus.org-Earth.UFP
> >> Microsoft: Bringing you 1980s technology to a 21st century world
> > 
> > Does anyone still use RATFOR?
> > 
> > j
> > 
> 
> Other than for Software Tools, did anyone ever use RATFOR?  :-)
> 
> bill

Yes.  I am still working part-time on a legacy naval simulation that is written in RATFOR with a little C.  I helped the original developers port from OpenVMS to Linux.  The original RATFOR code for the custom RATFOR pre-processor had long since been lost, and what remains is the machine-generated low-level FORTRAN 77 code (with a little FORTRAN 66).  The Intel Fortran compiler, which is descended from DEC FORTRAN, still works on the code.

There is also a Canadian retiree who lives in Nova Scotia, and sometimes uses a tool called RATFOR-90 to write statistical packages.  It generated Fortran 90 code.

j