Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!husc6!rutgers!ames!ptsfa!hoptoad!academ!killer!jfh
From: jfh@killer.UUCP (John Haugh)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re: dsb unix vs. dec's vms
Message-ID: <911@killer.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 20-May-87 11:47:12 EDT
Article-I.D.: killer.911
Posted: Wed May 20 11:47:12 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 24-May-87 03:34:51 EDT
References: <5828@shemp.UCLA.EDU> <34ab0e42.8be4@apollo.uucp> <672@bsu-cs.UUCP>
Organization: The Unix(tm) Connection, Dallas, Texas
Lines: 25
Summary: Ignorance is BLISS, BLISS is Ignorance

In article <672@bsu-cs.UUCP>, jbwaters@bsu-cs.UUCP (J. Brian Waters) writes:
> In article <3583@jade.BERKELEY.EDU>, steven@pearl.berkeley.edu (Stephen the Greatest) writes:
> .> Also, the primary language for VMS (as least I think) is FORTRAN while UNIX
> .> is C.  This does tells us something about the strengths of each operating
> .> systems.  Personally, I like BSD UNIX better.
> .> 
> .> 				- Stephen Chung
> 
> In the for what it is worth dept., VMS is primarly written in BLISS.

While using VAX/VMS at the University of New Orleans I used to get a wide
variety of tracebacks from the different utilities.  Seems I remember alot
of them were BLISS, but there also were alot of FORTRAN runtime messages.
BLISS's sole claim to greatness seems to be that an lvalue must be an address,
thus
	device_register = value
stores the value at the address which is the value of device_register, not
at the address of device register.  You had to do something with dots to
get what you wanted.  I don't remember, but then I wonder if BLISS programmers
remember either.

- John.		(jfh@killer.UUCP)

Disclaimer -
	No disclaimer.  Whatcha gonna do, sue me?