[Info-vax] The best VMS features, was: Re: openvms renaming file

[Simon Clubley]

On 2018-05-27, Phillip Helbig (undress to reply) <helbig at asclothestro.multivax.de> wrote:
>
> Certainly in the top-ten list of most useful VMS features.  Off the top 
> of my head, others would be: 
> HBVS,

Yes

> clustering,

Yes (big time)

> logical names,

Yes

> decent HELP and other documentation,

The HELP command on VMS is utterly useless unless you already know
exactly what you are looking for and don't need to navigate between
topics.

> fine-grained privileges,

They are ok, but it's still DAC security instead of MAC security.

They would also be more effective if VMS was a 4-mode operating system
instead of just being a 2-mode operating system with one of the modes
split across 3 hardware modes.

> EDT,

You are kidding, right ?

> lexical functions,

Lexical functions are a good idea but limited. It would be nice if
it were possible for a site to create a library of site specific
lexicals that could be used in site specific code.

Maybe after VSI fixes everything else that is wrong with DCL.

> Rdb (almost a part of VMS),

It would have been nice to have a proper database instead of the RMS
implemention of indexed files (which have _not_ aged well) as a
guaranteed part of VMS and which _any_ application could use.

> DECnet (almost a part of VMS).

Maybe in the 1980s. Totally unsuitable for any modern network.

Simon.

-- 
Simon Clubley, clubley at remove_me.eisner.decus.org-Earth.UFP
Microsoft: Bringing you 1980s technology to a 21st century world