Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!ucsd!sdcsvax!ucsdhub!hp-sdd!hplabs!hpda!hpcuhc!hpsemc!markbes
From: markbes@hpsemc.HP.COM (Mark Beswetherick)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.hp
Subject: Re: port/VX utility on HP-UX
Message-ID: <1250032@hpsemc.HP.COM>
Date: 21 Apr 89 00:05:48 GMT
References: <852@krafla.rhi.hi.is>
Organization: HP Technology Access Center, Cupertino, CA
Lines: 48

The Port/VX product is a set of tools to help migrate VMS Fortran
applications to HP-UX.  It currently works only on the Series 800 (HP
Precision Architecture), not the Series 300 (680x0 based). Port/VX was
introduced in January, 1989, in the U.S.  I am not sure what its
availability is in Iceland - your local HP sales people can tell you.
The components of the product are:

o  Fortran Code Anaylzer (FCA) - scans Fortran source code and
   flags both Fortran incompatibilities and VMS run-time calls,
   and indicates whether the incompatibilities are dealt with 
   automatically by the other tools or must be handled manually.

o  Fortran Code Translator (FCT) - converts VMS Fortran extensions
   to syntax acceptable to HP-UX Fortran.  (note also that many of
   VMS Fortran extensions are already part of HP-UX Fortran - FCT
   just deals with the VMS'isms not yet in the compiler).

o  Migration library - emulates some of the commonly used VMS 
   run-time calls.  Of the 600+ VMS run-time calls, we currently
   emulate a little over 100, but we tried to pick the most 
   commonly used ones.

o  File transfer utility - allows you to read VMS BACKUP tapes 
   onto HP-UX.

o  Data translator - converts VMS floating point data, reorders
   bytes, and handles some Fortran record types.

o  Consulting - 5 days of consulting from an HP systems engineer
   is bundled as part of the product.

The consulting is an important part of the product.  Migration can
be potentially difficult, especially between VMS and HP-UX, where 
there are many language, O/S and architecture differences.  The 
consulting can help determine whether it makes sense to use the tools
or whether there are so many issues that you are facing a total rewrite.

You mention that there are lots of nasty machine dependencies in the
code - Port/VX probably won't help you with these.  Also you mention
lots of runtime library calls (sys$, lib$).  We do emulate some of 
these, but certainly not all.  Also, if performance of the run-time
libraries is critical, be aware that some of the emulations are slower
than on VMS, as they are implemented at the user level, not kernel 
level.

But, Port/VX has helped a number of customers.  It is especially 
effective for handling the Fortran conversion parts, which can be
really time-consuming if done manually.