Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!chinacat!sequoia!rpp386!jfh
From: jfh@rpp386.cactus.org (John F. Haugh II)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.aix
Subject: Re: AIX vs VMS
Message-ID: <18182@rpp386.cactus.org>
Date: 29 Mar 90 08:38:35 GMT
References: <9428@stiatl.UUCP> <519@siswat.UUCP> <1990Mar26.175619.22528@hybrid.UUCP> <18179@rpp386.cactus.org> <1990Mar28.200036.21081@hybrid.UUCP>
Reply-To: jfh@rpp386.cactus.org (John F. Haugh II)
Organization: Lone Star Cafe and BBS Service
Lines: 30

In article <1990Mar28.200036.21081@hybrid.UUCP> mdapoz@hybrid.UUCP (Mark Dapoz) writes:
>As I understand it, OSF is not going to use the AIX 3 kernel, only the 
>utilities and libraries.  To me this would mean that OSF/1 != AIX 3.1.
>Am I wrong in this assumption?  I can't see how using a Mach kernel will
>maintain 100% compatibility with the AIX 3.1 kernel.  You'll probably
>see OSF/1 on several platforms but I doubt you'll find AIX 3 on anything
>other than an IBM platform.

The kernel is not the only part of an operating system.

The bulk of the code is in the commands and libraries, as it is with
any Mach-based operating system.  Since the libraries and system calls
define the interface to the system, and since AIX 3.1 has as a minimum
a SVVS, BSD, and POSIX compatible collection of system calls, and since
OSF/1 will include the AIX 3.1 libraries, one might conclude that AIX
3.1 and OSF/1 will be very similiar indeed.  [ The utilities will be
identical, something we both agree on anyway ... ]

There will never be an operating system running on other than a DEC
VAX which is very similiar to VMS.  Ever.

Now, if you wish to argue that the thing called "AIX 3.1 [ a trademark
of IBM ]" will never run on other than IBM iron, fine.  I'll agree to
that.  I think we can also agree that the thing called "ULTRIX [ a
trademark of DEC ] will never run on other than DEC iron.  But then
ULTRIX at least smells more like BSD than VMS will ever smell like
anything else from any other vendor.
-- 
John F. Haugh II                             UUCP: ...!cs.utexas.edu!rpp386!jfh
Ma Bell: (512) 832-8832                           Domain: jfh@rpp386.cactus.org