[Info-vax] Whither VMS?

[glen herrmannsfeldt]

Bob Eager <rde42 at spamcop.net> wrote:
< On Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:15:13 +0000, glen herrmannsfeldt wrote:
(snip)
 
<> Reminds me of the story of one IBM computer sometime before S/360.
(snip of execute instruction executing itself)
 
< I heard that on the Honeywell 516, a very tight loop (single instruction) 
< would burn out core. Never tried it though!

Maybe that is why IBM used to imerse the whole core memory
in oil.  I am not so sure about burn out, but core memory is 
temperature sensitive.   The magnetic properties change, probably
enough to stop it from working if it gets too warm.
 
<> I know the PDP-10 has XCT, and I thought VAX would have one, but I don't
<> see it in the book.
 
< No, I don't see it, and I think I would have remembered it since I pretty 
< well immersed myself in the VAX instruction set when writing a compiler...

It might not be so commonly used by compilers, even if it did have one.

-- glen