[Info-vax] VSI roadmap

[Arne Vajhøj]

On 8/21/2023 3:45 PM, Chris Townley wrote:
> On 21/08/2023 18:29, Simon Clubley wrote:
>> On 2023-08-21, Chris Townley <news at cct-net.co.uk> wrote:
>>> On 21/08/2023 13:23, Simon Clubley wrote:
>>>> 2) If Synergex have decided not to port to x86-64 VMS (based on your
>>>> comments) then it might mean they no longer have enough VMS users to
>>>> justify the port.
>>>>
>>>> In that case, you are looking at moving your Dibol code over to another
>>>> platform such as Linux. This is a problem that (for example) Ada users
>>>> have had to deal with as there will not be an Ada compiler for 
>>>> x86-64 VMS.
>>>
>>> unless of course there comes an opensource port?
>>
>> That will not happen. That simply will not happen.
>>
>> Not only has the language been massively extended since the DEC days,
>> the language itself is only one part of a Synergex toolkit, which
>> includes, among other things, a GUI/character cell forms environment
>> integrated into Synergex Dibol user source code that would also need
>> to be duplicated.
>>
>> IOW, this is no longer DEC ANSI DIBOL we are talking about.
...
> 
> Actually I was thinking of ADA

Ada is a good example of the problem with VMS and
open source.

Ada exist as open source (FSF GNAT).

At some point in time it did work on VMS (I still got
a VMS Alpha kit that works).

And there was also some effort to get GNAT running on
VMS Itanium, but I don't think it ever completed.

Nothing prevents a number of VMS Ada enthusiasts to port
a recent FSF GNAT to VMS x86-64.

But will it happen?

No.

There may be 25 people that have an opinion about what
DEC should have done in the late 80's, but there are only
10 people interested in porting open source to VMS.

Arne