[Info-vax] VMS Software needs to port VAX DIBOL to OpenVMS X86 platform

[Tim Sneddon]

Bill Gunshannon <bill.gunshannon at gmail.com> wrote:
> On 1/5/21 1:51 AM, Tim Sneddon wrote:
>> Rich Alderson <news at alderson.users.panix.com> wrote:
>>> "Craig A. Berry" <craigberry at nospam.mac.com> writes:
>>>
>>>> On 12/26/20 9:43 AM, Simon Clubley wrote:
>>>>> On 2020-12-26, Craig A. Berry <craigberry at nospam.mac.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>>>> On 12/26/20 9:21 AM, Simon Clubley wrote:
>>>>>>> On 2020-12-26, Arne Vajh??j <arne at vajhoej.dk> wrote:
>>>>>>>> On 12/26/2020 6:16 AM, Simon Clubley wrote:
>>>
>>>>>>>>> Is anyone still using PL/I BTW ?
>>>
>>>>>>>>> I thought DEC sold off the PL/I compiler and that the person it was
>>>>>>>>> sold to retired and either sold off or wound down his business.
>>>
>>>>>>>> Kednos & Tim Sneddon?
>>>
>>>>>>>> Arne
>>>
>>>>>>> Yes, that was him. Thanks for reminding me of the name.
>>>
>>>>>> It was Tom Linden, not Tim, who owned Kednos.  I think Tim worked there
>>>>>> at some point and kednos.com now redirects to Tim's endlesssoftware.com.
>>>
>>>>> Thanks for the correction. It's not a language I have ever used and
>>>>> I have long forgotten any detailed knowledge of who PL/I was sold to.
>>>
>>>> I've never used it either and I know nothing about current ownership or
>>>> plans.  I just remember that it came up in discussions of what gets lost
>>>> in a platform port.
>>>
>>>> There is a now-moribund PL/I project for the GCC back end:
>>>
>>>> <http://pl1gcc.sourceforge.net>
>>>
>>>> and there is a proprietary compiler that runs on Linux:
>>>
>>>> <http://www.iron-spring.com/about.html>
>>>
>>>> Both of these emulate IBM PL/I and would likely require a monumental
>>>> effort to replace DEC PL/I.
>>>
>>> As I remember the book on the VAX (VMS) port, the goal was very much to
>>> "emulate" (implement) IBM PL/I, so I doubt that there would be that much
>>> effort for any implementation with the same goal...
>> 
>> I don't think so.  DEC PL/I was a port of the PL/I compiler developed by
>> Robert Freibourghouse.  The DEC team even ported it off of a Multics
>> system.  The real target was ANSI Subset G (general purpose) PL/I as
>> I understand it.
> 
> PL/I Subset G!  Wow...  Haven't heard that name since my days doing
> Prime 50-Series..  :-)

Funny you should mention that as both the Prime compiler and the DEC
compiler shared the same front-end and IR.

Regards, Tim.