[Info-vax] OpenVMS async I/O, fast vs. slow

[bill]

On 11/10/2023 8:20 PM, Johnny Billquist wrote:
> On 2023-11-10 14:32, Simon Clubley wrote:
>> On 2023-11-09, Johnny Billquist <bqt at softjar.se> wrote:
>>> On 2023-11-09 17:50, Dan Cross wrote:
>>>> In article <uig3nn$2ke$2 at news.misty.com>,
>>>> Johnny Billquist  <bqt at softjar.se> wrote:
>>>>> On 2023-11-08 03:00, Dan Cross wrote:
>>>>>> [snip]
>>>>>> Yes.  See below.
>>>>>
>>>>> :-)
>>>>>
>>>>> And yes, I know how the cache coherency protocols work. Another thing
>>>>> that was covered already when I was studying at University.
>>>>
>>>> Cool.  MESI wasn't presented until 1984, so you must have seen
>>>> it pretty early on.
>>>
>>> I think I was looking at it in 1995 (what made you think I would have
>>> looked at it close to 1984? How old do you think I am??? :) ). My
>>> professor was specifically focused on CPU caches. He was previously the
>>> chief architect for high-end server division at SUN (Erik Hagersten if
>>> you want to look him up).
>>> I didn't even start at University until 1989.
>>>
>>
>> That makes you a lot younger than I thought you were, given your interest
>> in RSX, which (along with the PDP-11 itself) was pretty much obsolete by
>> that point. IOW, I certainly thought you were old enough to qualify for
>> a Senior citizen's travel pass... :-)
>>
>> What got you interested in RSX in that case ?
> 
> I was playing with computers way before I started at University. When I 
> started in the Gymnasium in Sweden (1982), we shared one PDP-11/70 
> running RSTS/E between four schools. Having a multiuser system, and 
> being able to communicate with people in other places were really cool, 
> and I was a big fan of RSTS/E. (Never got into PCs because of this.)
> And this all, of course, led to computer clubs, and I got involved with 
> one that had a PDP-11/40 on which we eventually got RSX up and running. 
> And I just found that there were things in RSX that I found nicer than 
> in RSTS/E, so for my playing around, I start switching more and more 
> into RSX. And then I got into VMS pretty naturally from there. Worked at 
> DEC for a while, and eventually started at University (where they were 
> running DEC-20s), and of course yet again a computer club. This one had 
> a PDP-8/I, but soon got a PDP-11/34. And me being the person around who 
> was most experienced with that architecture, I sortof started running 
> more PDP-11 stuff and RSX again, at after that it's mostly been what 
> I've been doing for fun.
> 

Sometimes the story comes out even stranger.  My first contact with
a PDP-11 (actually LSI-11/02) was in 1980 int he form of the dreaded
Terak.  Did UCSD-Pascal and RT-11.  I liked it and shortly thereafter
I actually had some at home.
My next experience came when I was a contractor doing pre-sales bid
work.  We were bidding a big Air Force contract that included the
requirement to talk to the PDP-11 running RSX.  Because I had worked
with PDP-11's in the past I got the task.  While did get it all set
up and met the requirement I had not been impressed with RSX.
I didn't get serious with PDP-11's again until about 1989.  By then I 
was working at a University.  They were given a gift of 4 PDP-11 systems
by the company that did the Highlights children's magazine.  Turned
out all the University wanted from the donation was the RA disks.
Rather than see them go to the dump I took them.  No RA's but they did
have RL drives and controllers.  And a couple of the packs had RSTS on
them.  I really liked RSTS and have worked with both RSTS and RT-11
ever since.
So, actually, I didn't get serious about the PDP-11 until it was on the
way out.  Being replaced by the VAX which I was also not overly
impressed with.  Of course, by then I was a Unix Guru so that was where
most of my professional time went.

So, age really has little to do with it.

bill