Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!execu!sequoia!rpp386!jfh From: jfh@rpp386.cactus.org (John F Haugh II) Newsgroups: comp.unix.sysv386 Subject: Re: SCO UNIX VMS and ULTRIX on new DEC product line Message-ID: <18859@rpp386.cactus.org> Date: 27 Dec 90 14:14:58 GMT References: <29014@usc> <2777E87B.6392@tct.uucp> <29027@usc> <29029@usc> Reply-To: jfh@rpp386.cactus.org (John F Haugh II) Followup-To: alt.folklore.computers Organization: Lone Star Cafe and BBS Service Lines: 38 X-Clever-Slogan: Recycle or Die. In article <29029@usc> annala@neuro.usc.edu (A J Annala) writes: >My friends tell me most of VMS is coded in a DEC proprietary language >called BLISS. BLISS exists for PDP-11's, PDP-10's, and VAXen -- DEC >could have chosen to write a new BLISS compiler for the 80386 -- but >that is not what happened -- instead, DEC adopted SCO UNIX for their >new machine. Moreover, in the process, DEC abandoned it's own ULTRIX >(DEC proprietary version of UNIX) in order to adopt SCO UNIX. BLISS is not proprietary. If I remember from my languages survey course (the one where I was supposed to write a paper on the origins of BLISS ...), it was originally developed at CMU. BLISS is best known for its use of "." in address notation. Just ask a BLISS-bigot to justify putting that "." in front of a variable name, then stand clear ;-) Furthemore, there is no one "BLISS". My recollection of BLISS is that you get one for each platform - BLISS-36, BLISS-11, etc. I don't know what the difference is as I only played with BLISS on the VAX briefly. As for VMS, it is written, for the most part, in VAX assembler. The utilities are written in a combination of languages, including FORTRAN, BLISS, Pascal, and some are probably still in PDP-11 assembler running in compatibility mode. You can find out the language of your favorite program by getting it to abort somehow and staring at the stack traceback messages. Back when I was abusing VMS machines (about v2.x) you could type a ^Z at almost any program unexpectedly and it would barf for you. You might have better luck dumping the .EXE files and seeing what you can find. It's been quite a few years, so your milage may vary ... I was told several years ago that some people were actually starting to write parts of VMS in C (!). -- John F. Haugh II UUCP: ...!cs.utexas.edu!rpp386!jfh Ma Bell: (512) 832-8832 Domain: jfh@rpp386.cactus.org "While you are here, your wives and girlfriends are dating handsome American movie and TV stars. Stars like Tom Selleck, Bruce Willis, and Bart Simpson."