Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!cwjcc!gatech!udel!mmdf From: daveh%cbmvax.uucp%UDEL.EDU%cunyvm.cuny.edu@cunyvm.cuny.edu Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: Multitasking Message-ID: <4488@louie.udel.EDU> Date: 4 Oct 88 03:07:59 GMT Sender: mmdf@udel.EDU Lines: 91 Received: from CUNYVM by CUNYVM.BITNET (Mailer X2.00) with BSMTP id 6350; Mon, 03 Oct 88 23:04:37 EDT Received: from UDEL.EDU by CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU (IBM VM SMTP R1.1) with TCP; Mon, 03 Oct 88 23:04:34 EDT Received: from Louie.UDEL.EDU by Louie.UDEL.EDU id aa15979; 3 Oct 88 21:38 EDT Received: from USENET by Louie.UDEL.EDU id aa15900; 3 Oct 88 21:34 EDT From: daveh%cbmvax.uucp%UDEL.EDU@cunyvm.cuny.edu Subject: Re: Multitasking Message-ID: <4482@louie.udel.EDU> Date: 4 Oct 88 01:34:31 GMT To: amiga-relay@UDEL.EDU Sender: amiga-relay-request@UDEL.EDU Received: from CUNYVM by CUNYVM.BITNET (Mailer X2.00) with BSMTP id 5629; Mon, 03 Oct 88 21:26:29 EDT Received: from UDEL.EDU by CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU (IBM VM SMTP R1.1) with TCP; Mon, 03 Oct 88 21:26:26 EDT Received: from Louie.UDEL.EDU by Louie.UDEL.EDU id aj10567; 3 Oct 88 18:11 EDT Received: from USENET by Louie.UDEL.EDU id aa10312; 3 Oct 88 17:59 EDT From: daveh%cbmvax.uucp@UDEL.EDU Subject: Re: Multitasking Message-ID: <4391@louie.udel.EDU> Date: 3 Oct 88 21:59:27 GMT To: amiga-relay@UDEL.EDU Sender: amiga-relay-request@UDEL.EDU Received: from CUNYVM by CUNYVM.BITNET (Mailer X2.00) with BSMTP id 5755; Fri, 30 Sep 88 21:19:54 EDT Received: from UDEL.EDU by CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU (IBM VM SMTP R1.1) with TCP; Fri, 30 Sep 88 21:19:50 EDT Received: from Louie.UDEL.EDU by Louie.UDEL.EDU id ad17280; 30 Sep 88 20:37 EDT Received: by Louie.UDEL.EDU id ad17131; 30 Sep 88 20:25 EDT Received: from USENET by Louie.UDEL.EDU id aa16718; 30 Sep 88 20:10 EDT From: Dave Haynie Subject: Re: Multitasking Message-ID: <4906@cbmvax.UUCP> Date: 30 Sep 88 19:37:58 GMT Organization: Commodore Technology, West Chester, PA To: amiga-relay@UDEL.EDU Sender: amiga-relay-request@UDEL.EDU in article <4289@louie.udel.EDU>, rsine@nswc-wo.arpa says: >> I am teaching C on a Vax here at work, and I know *nothing* >> about VMS. I don't know how or *if* it's possible to start up >> another process in VMS. Just for reference, I programmed professionally under VAX/VMS before coming to work at Commodore. > First of all it is possible. Secondly, there's many ways to do it. > The easiest of which is by using the Spawn command. I would strongly > suggest you read the DCL dictionary. If you don't read the whole book > at least look up the Spawn command. There, you've said it yourself. READ THAT MANUAL. VMS certainly offers a nice multitasking environment to a seasoned user, but even UNIX makes it easier. In the Amiga environment, all you need to do is click on the CLI icon again, and you get CLI level multitasking. Under UNIX, you need only to put a "&" at the end of the line in many cases, but when you have to deal with interactive multitasking, forget it. Output can be put in a file. Under VMS, just about everyone I know who's used it extensively has written some kind of DCL script to make it useful. Certainly for me, SPAWN worked, but it wasn't sufficient on it's own. >>... Compile and link on one terminal (about a 3 minute process - yes >> about as slow as compiling C on an Amiga off floppies), and then >> move over to another terminal and log into it, and use the >> editor while the linker does it's work. > That "trick" is probably helping to cause the compiles/links to take > so long. One of the worst thangs you can do to degradate the performance > of a VAX/VMS system is to have a bunch of logins taking place. ... Sure enough. That should IMMEDIATELY point out the problem with VMS multitasking, or UNIX multitasking for that matter. > They are already using one of the most powerful multitasking/multiprocess/ > multiuser operating systems known to mankind. You must be kidding, to > compare the AmigaDos operating system to the robust VMS operating system > is a futile practice of obsurdity. Not necessarily. Certainly comparing VMS on an 8xxx series VAX to a plain old A1000 would be foolish. An A1000 with a good hard disk system will give an 11/750 a run for its money, but anything under VMS is also multiuser, a distinct advantage in the college environment mentioned. VMS is in some ways robust. You get named subprocesses that you can start and stop as you like. But you need to be an experienced user, if not an expert, to really take advantage of all of this. There's also resource tracking, which you don't get on the Amiga.