[Info-vax] BASIC (was Re: 64-bit)

[Simon Clubley]

On 2024-01-15, Dan Cross <cross at spitfire.i.gajendra.net> wrote:
> In article <uo3eqa$uunb$3 at dont-email.me>,
> Simon Clubley  <clubley at remove_me.eisner.decus.org-Earth.UFP> wrote:
>>On 2024-01-14, Dan Cross <cross at spitfire.i.gajendra.net> wrote:
>>> In article <uo1co2$ihn3$1 at dont-email.me>,
>>> Craig A. Berry <craigberry at nospam.mac.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>Sure, it's better than DCL for some kinds of text processing, but you
>>>>didn't say why you think it's better than Perl.  Or were you not aware
>>>>that Perl is in the base install of OpenVMS x86?
>>>
>>> In fact, I did not know that.  But I fail to see the relavence.
>>
>>In some security-sensitive environments, such as the environments some
>>VMS systems are running on, you can't just install a scripting language
>>from the Internet that has not been validated by your vendor (ie: VSI).
>
> That may be true, but as you point out, there's Python, and
> besides, I wasn't talking only about VMS: that's a strawman
> Berry inserted.  He appears to want to pick a fight about
> something I didn't say.  Oh well.
>

Sorry Dan, I guess I was too subtle.

Python is not currently available for x86-64 VMS, but there's an
opinion (which I share), that, instead of Perl, it would have been
far better for VSI to do the work needed to make it available, and
ship it as part of the base installation so that you could rely on
it being available on a site.

It has been available on VMS in the past as a third-party port, and
it was very popular with those who could run third-party software on
their systems.

I know that Craig is very fond of Perl, but IMHO, the way forward
is Python, not Perl. I was a Perl user at one time, but it must be
at least 15 years since I have touched it. Other alternatives have
taken over from the position Perl once held.

Simon.

-- 
Simon Clubley, clubley at remove_me.eisner.decus.org-Earth.UFP
Walking destinations on a map are further away than they appear.