[Info-vax] VMS Software Q1 '23 Update

[Johnny Billquist]

On 2023-01-29 15:57, Simon Clubley wrote:
> On 2023-01-28, Arne Vajhøj <arne at vajhoej.dk> wrote:
>>
>> I find it hard to see why one would bother with the risks
>> of using floating point if a decimal type is available.
>>
>> VMS Basic has a decimal type.
>>
> 
> Did RSTS/E Basic ever get a decimal data type, and if so, when ?
> 
> PDP-11 DIBOL had a decimal data type, but I don't know when DIBOL
> was introduced to the PDP-11 (ie: was it _after_ David started
> using RSTS/E Basic ?)

RSTS/E BASIC never had fancy data types, however for money calculations, 
you usually used strings, and the string math functions, which were exact.

Another option would have been to use fixed point, of course. But since 
integers in BASIC+ only were 16 bit, it usually wasn't an option there.

String math really was the thing for financial stuff in BASIC.

   Johnny