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

[Dave Froble]

On 3/12/2020 7:14 PM, Simon Clubley wrote:
> On 2020-03-12, Arne Vajhøj <arne at vajhoej.dk> wrote:
>> On 3/12/2020 5:25 PM, Simon Clubley wrote:
>>>
>>> You are either being deliberately obtuse or you simply do not
>>> understand what I am saying.
>>>
>>> To answer your question: the abstraction comes from how addresses
>>> are referenced in C source code versus how they are referenced
>>> in Macro-32.
>>
>> Since you showed two pieces of C code, then I was obvious searching
>> in the C code on VMS.
>>
>> It did not occur to me that you were describing Macro-32 with C examples.
>>
>
> I am not. The problems originate from the need to support Macro-32
> when calling VMS APIs but they infect other languages on VMS equally badly.

Whoa, let's back up a bit there.  Why do you make the "unsupported 
claim" that new APIs will need to support Macro-32?  If indeed that is 
what you are claiming.

Today's APIs on VMS are what they are, and work well for today's users. 
Should there be a desire to create new APIs, there is no "must support 
Macro-32" unless it's decided to do so.

> If you could write VMS API code which used C style (or other higher
> language code) addressing to their full ability, you could simply
> write something like /mode=64_bit on your compile and link commands
> and be done with it.

Perhaps, I don't look at C, and have a 20 foot pole to hold it away from 
me.  If what you propose is desired, then I have to think that it could 
be implemented.  But I would not propose C as a target language.

> You can't do that on VMS due to the way the VMS APIs are structured.

Not now, and VMS is what it is, and it is what many people need.

>> I think you will find that if you want to make a point about a problem
>> you see in language X then it may facilitate better communication if
>> your code example actually is in language X.
>>
>
> ????
>
> The problems are not language specific and the problems are equally
> the same on VMS regardless of language, including in C.

But you had claimed that compiled Macro-32 was a problem.

> You can no more switch to using RMS in some transparent 64-bit mode
> in C or Fortran than you can in Macro-32.

Who desires this?


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David Froble                       Tel: 724-529-0450
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