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Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: Fortran vs. C strings
Message-ID: <8173@utzoo.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 20-Jun-87 23:53:34 EDT
Article-I.D.: utzoo.8173
Posted: Sat Jun 20 23:53:34 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 20-Jun-87 23:53:34 EDT
References: <6480@dartvax.UUCP>, <1142@copper.TEK.COM>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
Lines: 17

> VMS, in spite of its faults, embodies a nice concept called the
> VAX Calling Standard, which virtually guarantees that programs
> written in any language can call each other fairly easily.
> The calling standard describes not only the stack frame (which is
> implemented by the VAX CALLS and CALLG instructions), but also
> conventions for passing typed data...

It is worth mentioning another aspect of the VAX Calling Standard:  it is
Ghodawful slow.  The all-singing-all-dancing CALLS and CALLG are often
slower than "rolling your own" using more primitive instructions.  (I am
told that the insides of VMS do this quite extensively.)  C function calls
using CALLS on the VAX 780 are slower than C function calls on the 11/70,
which is a bit embarrassing considering relative ages, technologies, and
data-path widths (not to mention prices).
-- 
"There is only one spacefaring        Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
nation on Earth today, comrade."   {allegra,ihnp4,decvax,pyramid}!utzoo!henry