Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!mailrus!ncar!tank!nucsrl!accuvax.nwu.edu!bob
From: bob@accuvax.nwu.edu (Bob Hablutzel)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: AppleTalk Info
Message-ID: <10330121@accuvax.nwu.edu>
Date: 25 Jan 89 16:08:23 GMT
References: <1579@ucqais.uc.edu>
Organization: Northwestern U, Evanston IL, USA
Lines: 24

> 	Can anyone tell me where I might find information about how to
> write some kind of AppleTalk interface for VAX/VMS?  This isn't a pressing
> issue, I just thought it would be interesting to experiment with.

A product exists called "AppleTalk for VMS" which provides a subset of 
Appletalk services to a VMS programmer. It's implimented as a shared image,
and supports, I think, four different means of connecting the VAX to the
Appletalk network (we used Ethernet and a Fastpath Box). I believe that Apple
is currently distributing it - it's either them or DEC. Appletalk for VMS
is the basis for the Apple/DEC connectivity aliance.

Appletalk for VMS does have some speed problems. We ended up running the 
bridge program, and clients thereof, at high priorities (up to 10 from a 
base of 4). Once the priorities were raised, we had few problems with the
network. I think that Apple is re-writting the code to use kernel mode code,
which should result in a faster product.

The other main gripe for me was that there were no include files for
the routines. After typing in about 15 of the routine definitions for Pascal,
I decided to screw it, and wrote the client in assembler. Not everyone would
want to do this, however, so include files would be nice (I haven't seen the
2.0 version, though, if it's out. I was up to 1.6).

Bob Hablutzel	Wildwood Software	BOB@NUACC.ACNS.NWU.EDU