[Info-vax] Creating an open source version of VMS, was: Re: OpenVMS Hobbyist Notification

[Arne Vajhøj]

On 3/11/2020 3:25 PM, Simon Clubley wrote:
> On 2020-03-11, Dave Froble <davef at tsoft-inc.com> wrote:
>> On 3/11/2020 9:22 AM, Simon Clubley wrote:
>>> On 2020-03-10, Dave Froble <davef at tsoft-inc.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Really off the wall, since Macro-32 is not part of the OS.
>>>
>>> Oh yes it most certainly is.
>>>
>>> The need to support Macro-32 as an application programming language is
>>> the reason why the various VMS APIs look the way they do.
>>>
>>> It's also one of the reasons why VMS needs mixed mode 32-bit/64-bit APIs
>>> in the same process instead of just having a flag that says the current
>>> process uses either 32-bit or 64-bit pointers and addressing by default.
>>
>> Supporting what allows use of Macro-32 does not mean that the language
>> is part of the OS.
>>
> 
> But the point is that it's not about supporting Macro-32, but limiting
> what the OS can do in its various APIs if it has to provide support for
> applications written in assembly language.

I find it very difficult to believe that any possible new
API's could not be implemented in Macro-32.

Some of the existing API's are definitely Macro-32 friendly. But
that does not prevent newer API's from being less friendly but
still accessible.

> There was a time when there was a real need to write applications in
> assembly language. That time has now passed.

True.

Arne