Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!torsqnt!geac!aimed!nick
From: nick@aimed.UUCP (Nick Pemberton)
Newsgroups: comp.databases
Subject: Re: Pick operating system
Message-ID: <8473@aimed.UUCP>
Date: 14 Sep 90 15:12:23 GMT
References: <1990Sep6.055815.16617@techbook.com> <4030@altos86.Altos.COM> <1600@seti.inria.fr>
Reply-To: nick@aimed.UUCP (Nick Pemberton)
Organization: AIM Inc, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Lines: 38

>Products like UniVerse that try to combine Pick data management with
>Unix features tend only to marry the efficiency of Unix with the
>convenience of Pick -- the worst of both worlds.  UniVerse would be
>fine for people who, probably for historical reasons, happen to need
>both Pick and Unix anyway, or for developers trying to port their
>software from one system to the other.  For folks like Paul, with no
>massive investment to protect, it's probably more expensive (in terms
>of dollars and performance) than it's worth.


Time for a plug.

We use the ADDS MENTOR series of PICK machines, and I wanted to point out
how ADDS has got PICK and UNIX working together. For those unfamiliar with
the ADDS line, their version of the operating system runs on the NCR tower
line of computers.

They have a product out called M/ix, which is essentially NCR Unix (version
3.??.??) with their version of the Pick operating System along side. Both
share a common kernal, and the unix side is responsible for device I/O. The
great thing about this is that the PICK environment is identical to the
Native environment (so much so that even Assembly code can be MLOADed 
directly). Data can be moved between PICK and UNIX, in both directions, under
programmer control. I have seen figures that show a M/ix machine, with no
active unix users is close to 93% as fast as the native PICK machine.

On Monday last I was at a convention where there were two PCs, a M/ix machine
and a native unix machine all tied together via an ethernet (WIN TCP/IP on
the unix and M/ix machine). From the pc, via telnet I was able to log on
to a PICK process on the M/ix machince.  Really slick stuff!

BTW, I am not directly associated with ADDS, I just happen to have a lot
of their hardware!

-- 
Nick Pemberton  		 uucp: !{lsuc, uunet!mnetor}!aimed!nick
AIM, Inc			  bus: (416) 429-1085
Toronto, Ontario, Canada         Home: (416) 690-0647