[Info-vax] "Clever code", was: Re: wrong file format

[Stephen Hoffman]

On 2021-01-08 18:41:34 +0000, Simon Clubley said:

> On 2021-01-08, Stephen Hoffman <seaohveh at hoffmanlabs.invalid> wrote:
>> On 2021-01-08 13:14:12 +0000, Simon Clubley said:
>> 
>>> Yes. The VMS terminal driver is an example of this idiotic mindset and
>>> is also the reason why, in 2021, we can't even do something as simple
>>> as edit DCL command lines which are longer than the terminal width. :-(
>> 
>> Pragmatically, the terminal driver class-and-port design has survived 
>> for an unusually long time for software, and is still in active use.
> 
> Is that because everyone is afraid to go near it ? :-)

Nope. I'd have no qualms, and it's been a dozen years and two 
companies, and VSI has folks that are fresher that'd undoubtedly be 
willing.

It'll take a while. And a fairly large testing matrix will necessarily 
be involved, both for hardware and for software including apps using 
SMG for command-line handling.

And this work might well end up deprecating some of the older supported 
hardware.

VSI doesn't seem to have a complete list of what I/O hardware is 
considered supported, past a list of Alpha and Itanium servers.

And editing long command lines doesn't seem likely to be a big seller 
on a new-feature list.

>> ...
> 
> There might have been somewhat valid reasons for the design at the 
> time, but when it was implemented in a way that makes people afraid to 
> go near it, then that does sound like "clever" coding to me.

There's decades of knowledge of terminal I/O hardware and its 
idiosyncrasies built into the present design.

As for hardware, I'm not sure that any hardware serial adapters past 
USB serial is necessary in this era, and COM1 and COM2 for legacy 
hardware serial access.

But I'd wager that the newer hardware has its idiosyncrasies, too.

Software serial access varies, but there'd be (some) grumbling if that 
didn't include DECnet or LAT or USB serial-port adapters or hardware 
otherwise.


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