Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!rutgers!sri-spam!ames!sdcsvax!ucbvax!CLARKU.BITNET!DHASKIN From: DHASKIN@CLARKU.BITNET.UUCP Newsgroups: comp.os.vms Subject: Re: Why no system() under VAX C Message-ID: <8706180833.AA11384@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU> Date: Tue, 16-Jun-87 08:47:00 EDT Article-I.D.: ucbvax.8706180833.AA11384 Posted: Tue Jun 16 08:47:00 1987 Date-Received: Sat, 20-Jun-87 01:40:55 EDT Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU Distribution: world Organization: The ARPA Internet Lines: 51 > Date: 12 Jun 87 17:08:22 GMT > From: Ed Lisle > Subject: Re: Why no system() under VAX C > > Well I just rec'vd VAX C v2.3. The release notes mention'd that the > compiler is closer to home (sys v) BUT the libraries are not available > until VMS 4.6 which is not yet shipping (of some kind of 'soft' hold). > > Anyway the "system()" function is just one of the new functions. > > Complaints: > > 1. WHY should layered products become dependant [sic] on the version of > VMS. BAD. Layered products have varying degrees of dependence on VMS itself and in general have to reflect changes to the operating system. I can understand why it may become necessary for them to have some dependence on VMS; the problem here seems to be that VMS 4.6 should have been released before C 2.3 and 4.6 has been held for some reason or another. DEC is out of sync. It would be interesting to know, though, why language-sepecific libraries are being tied to VMS... it may be that library maintenance and development is a responsibility of the VMS team rather than, say, the C team? Can anyone shed any light? > 2. Release notes are part of the installation procedure and no longer (for > some time now) on hard copy. Hey DEC, how do we know if this product > should be installed or not. If you are telling us that VMS 4.6 is required > to make use of VAX C 2.3, then I would not have installed this version yet. > Now your support group is saying that we should actually wait for VMS to > catch up. BAD. Most products now also support the OPTIONS N switch on VMSINSTAL, which will only fetch the release notes from the installation kit and make them available to you, without having to perform the installation. I personally prefer this method, as I used to keep misplacing the hardcopy release notes. Now I just OPTION N them onto disk and print a new copy when I lose the old one. If the product does not yet support OPTIONS N, one can also use OPTIONS G to pull the installation save sets onto disk and use BACKUP to pull the release notes manually from the save sets. % Denis W. Haskin Manager, Technical Services % % ----------------------------------------------------------------------- % % DHASKIN@CLARKU.BITNET Office of Information Systems (617)793-7193 % % Clark University 950 Main Street Worcester MA 01610 % % % % "Anyone who _moves_ before Most Holy comes back out will spend the rest % % of eternity sipping lava through an iron straw." - Cerebus %