Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!zephyr.ens.tek.com!uw-beaver!ubc-cs!alberta!myrias!edm!geoff
From: geoff@edm.uucp (Geoff Coleman)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.programmer
Subject: Re: Why use U* over VMS
Message-ID: <1990Oct25.160937.28144@edm.uucp>
Date: 25 Oct 90 16:09:37 GMT
References: <ANDYO.90Oct23101417@glasperl.masscomp>
Organization: Unexsys Systems inc.
Lines: 49

From article <ANDYO.90Oct23101417@glasperl.masscomp>, by andyo@glasperl.masscomp (Andy Oram):
> This group is comp.unix.programmer, after all.  Isn't there someone out there
> who can summarize the differences in working with the guts of VMX and UNIX,
> someone who can speak from the experience of porting highly interactive
> applications or writing device drivers or something like that?  There must be
> some good general learning experiences here.
> 
	Sorry I missed the original question so I might be jumping in with both
feet firmly implanted in mouth here.

	What do you mean by the guts of VMS and UNIX? If you are talking 
system level programming and accessing devices then Unix is a big winner IMHO.
Why you ask? Well any O/S who's language of choice for opening and controlling
devices is FORTRAN (or BLISS) ala VMS has definite drawwbacks. I seem to 
remember that when I wanted to open a tape drive I had to convert the  C 
strings into structs with a length component etc. THe other obvious downfall
of VMS from my point of view was the need to worry about the inifinite 
combination of file types (fixed length records, fixed block size) versus the
UNIX philosophy of a file is a file is a file.

	As well there are the obvious problems of proprietary systems not 
easily supporting third party terminals etc.


	Of course all of this is a few years old.


Geoff Coleman
Unexsys Systems

> Guess everybody's too busy developing more such experience...
> 
> (I don't have such direct experience, so I've limited myself to replying to
> Mr. Heintze by E-mail.)
> 
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Andrew Oram                            Concurrent Computer Corporation
> (I don't represent Concurrent; this message represents my own opinion)
> 
> Digital Communications Route: andyo@westford.ccur.com
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