Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!aplcen!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!sdd.hp.com!ucsd!usc!apple!sun-barr!newstop!sun!khb
From: khb@chiba.Eng.Sun.COM (Keith Bierman - SPD Advanced Languages)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apollo
Subject: Re: OSF Picks Apollo's NCS for Distributed Computing
Message-ID: <KHB.90Jun13081615@chiba.Eng.Sun.COM>
Date: 13 Jun 90 15:16:15 GMT
References: <1990Jun1.180211.3586@idacom.uucp> <1056@fiver.UUCP> <24920@joshua.athertn.Atherton.COM>
Sender: news@sun.Eng.Sun.COM
Organization: Sun MegaSystems
Lines: 41
In-reply-to: joshua@athertn.Atherton.COM's message of 7 Jun 90 20:10:09 GMT


In article <24920@joshua.athertn.Atherton.COM> joshua@athertn.Atherton.COM (Flame Bait) writes:


   Like programming languages, different RPC protocols have different strengths
   and weaknesses.  Different problems will require different RPC systems; one
   size does not fit all.  I do not see what the gain is in having OSF (or UI)
   choose one RPC system as "standard".  Why not support all the common RPC
   systems?  There are only 2 or 3, they each have special strengths and
   weaknesses, and do not interfear with each other.  

It is a good idea for vendors (and users too) to standardize RPC's
because your comparison to programming languages _is_ a good one.

We have standardized FORTRAN (and soon Fortran (90)), C, COBOL, etc.
because it is very helpful to have the same program do the same thing
on different platforms.

RPC's will, among other things, (and do for that matter) connect
machines together.

It would be nice if *every* computer came with a plug (ethernet ? ;.)
and sw to let it talk to other computers.

NFS/RPC's had/have the advantage of being most of the way there (pc's,
nearly all NCS sites, cray's etc.). As far as I'm concerned (not
speaking for sun at all) my life would have been better if I were
assured that someday soon everywhere I went (computerwise) had NFS. 

OSF's action may not prevent that from happening, but it certainly did
not help.

<note I'm not sure that I like NFS, but it is hugely useful>

cheers <from the uk side of the pond>

--
Keith H. Bierman    |*My thoughts are my own. !! kbierman@Eng.Sun.COM
It's Not My Fault   | MTS --Only my work belongs to Sun* khb@chiba.Eng.Sun.COM
I Voted for Bill &  | Advanced Languages/Floating Point Group (415 336 2648)   
Opus                | "When the going gets Weird .. the Weird turn PRO"