Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!hplabs!hpfcdc!hpfcmr!munir
From: munir@hpfcmr.HP.COM (Munir Mallal)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: Why UNIX doesn't support event?
Message-ID: <7410001@hpfcmr.HP.COM>
Date: 15 Feb 89 19:02:09 GMT
References: <3921@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Organization: HP Fort Collins, CO
Lines: 51

> Unix is SERIOUSLY DEFICIENT in event handling. In our data communications
> systems that we do on Unix PC's, we wrote our own multi-event wait
> device driver to get around this. We'd much rather have good
> event management built into the kernel and standardized so that
> we can do things in a portable fashion.

This is why a number of vendors have enhanced Unix (tm) to add such features.
Since you mention PC's, you should check out a company called VenturCom
in Cambridge, Mass.  They make a product called VENIX (for 286 and 386
machines).

> While I'm at it, I'd also like to mention that UNIX standard disk
> I/O is DEFICIENT. For serious transaction processing it would
> be nice to have kernel support for:
> (1) No-wait disk I/O: issue the request, get an event when I/O is
> done.

VENIX has this, and so do a number of other Unix's.

> (2) Good applications level notification and control for disk
> errors (a la GCOS-3 GEPR).

Never tried GCOS!

> (3) Prioritization of disk requests

VENIX does this  for 'Real Time' jobs.

> (4) Absolute, settable process priorities as an option. (Yeah,
> I know, this has nothing to do with disk I/O. But I thought
> I'd throw it in!)

Yup, this too.

> The best OLTP enhancements that I have seen are done by Pyramid -
> now when is AT&T going to wake up and include their sorts of enhancements
> in standard Unix so we can use them across a range of machines?

A number of enhancements added to VENIX help OLTP.


> -- 
> John Moore (NJ7E)           mcdphx!anasaz!john asuvax!anasaz!john
> (602) 861-7607 (day or eve) 
> The opinions expressed here are obviously not mine, so they must be
>  someone else's. :-)
> ----------

Munir Mallal

The opinions I post are believed to be mine.