[Info-vax] OpenVMS E9.2 Field Test Begins

[Arne Vajhøj]

On 4/8/2022 9:07 AM, John Reagan wrote:
> On Thursday, April 7, 2022 at 6:14:26 PM UTC-4, John Dallman wrote:
>> In article <t2nhb0$ub5$2... at dont-email.me>, jan-erik.... at telia.com
>> (Jan-Erik Söderholm) wrote:
>>
>>> Well, also on their web site:
>>> https://vmssoftware.com/about/openvmsv9-1/.
>> No native compilers yet.

> I missed the deadline to get the native Macro into the kit.  I've already checked it
> in and it will be in the final V9.2 kit.  It seems to be functionally identical to the
> cross Macro compiler
> 
> Here's an update on native compiler work-in-progress:
> - BLISS compiler mostly works but has a bug due to being miscompiled by the cross BLISS compiler
>    (GLOBAL BINDs in BLISS are a PITA to describe to LLVM)
> - C compiler sorta works but there is something screwy in the precompiler (either an uninitialized
>    variable or perhaps another victim of a bad cross compiler - triaging as I type this)
> - C++ (clang) will be starting limited testing with one customer soon and then expanding to more
>    as we get more things cleaned up
> - Others (COBOL, Fortran, Pascal) are just waiting for us to find the cycles
> - BASIC is still waiting on an enhancement to our G2L converter.  BASIC's MAP statement uses
>    COMMON blocks in a "unique" way that the converter was not prepared for.  And the way OpenVMS
>    implements common blocks is different than the presentation you see on UNIX/Linux systems.
>    (I can really bore you on overlaid PSECTs on OpenVMS vs .comm directives in UNIX)

Thanks for the update.

Do you have an idea about which native compilers will be in final 9.2 
release and what compilers will show up in 9.2 later in 2022?

I think it is fair to say that there is a significant interest in
this topic.

I also understand resource limitations and I strongly suspect that
this is a case where adding more people to late project will make
the project even more late in classic mythical man month fashion
(and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiplicity_(film) is just a movie).

Arne