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

[Dan Cross]

In article <uo3trp$11cnd$1 at dont-email.me>,
Simon Clubley  <clubley at remove_me.eisner.decus.org-Earth.UFP> wrote:
>On 2024-01-15, Dan Cross <cross at spitfire.i.gajendra.net> wrote:
>> In article <uo3eqa$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.

Ah, I see.  Yes, I agree with you; Python has more of a future
than Perl does, legacy compatibility not withstanding.

	- Dan C.