[Info-vax] RMS, was: Re: Assembly languages

[Arne Vajhøj]

On 4/11/2022 9:06 AM, Simon Clubley wrote:
> On 2022-04-11, VAXman-  @SendSpamHere.ORG <VAXman- at SendSpamHere.ORG> wrote:
>> Careful, there are those here that believe all files should be flat streams
>> of bytes.
> 
> There is a strong argument for saying that the RMS record orientated
> model has not stood the test of time.

Difficult to say for sure.

The most common OS (Linux/Unix and Windows) expose files as
streams of bytes.

Other OS with different approach are not nearly as widely used.

But it is not obvious from analytical point of view that
the file system approach has been an important factor in
OS success.

And statistically 2 is not significant.

> In this case, I will say that it _was_ the right model for the 1970s/1980s,
> but it's not the right model for 2022. In today's world, it just gets
> in the way.
> 
> Also, RMS indexed files were a neat solution for the 1970s/1980s, but
> in todays's world they also have not stood the test of time.

That is definitely not true.

Indexed files are really a NoSQL databases of the key value store type
and new of such is still being created.

> For example, you work on a punched card model as there's no field level
> data structures in the RMS indexed file metadata, and unlike SQL databases,
> you can't extend an RMS indexed file to add a new field, or change the
> size of an existing field, while the applications are running.

That does not mean that indexed files are obsolete.

It does mean that they should not be default choice.

Arne