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From: geremin@decus.com.au (Big John from MEGATRONICS)
Newsgroups: comp.os.rsts
Subject: Re: RSTS to VMS Migration - Help
Message-ID: <1051@decus.com.au>
Date: 9 Mar 90 13:49:01 GMT
References: <602.25f3799b@brb.isnet.inmos.co.uk>
Organization: DECUS, South Pacific Chapter
Lines: 56

In article <602.25f3799b@brb.isnet.inmos.co.uk>, tsmingay@brb.isnet.inmos.co.uk writes:
> Dear Rsts World,
> 
> I am interested in any advice, information, software or references which
> give some guidance or assistance in migrating a RSTS BASIC+ application
> onto VAX ?
	You had better have a good excuse for moving away from 
RSTS - especially in the UK where the PDP-11 is still king.

> Has anyone out there done it. What are the problems.
	Yes - many people have done it - Digital have a 
recommended path - BASIC-PLUS-2 on RSTS - then to VAX BASIC. You 
need to give more details on your existing system. There was a 
product called ROS which emulated RSTS under VMS many years ago - 
but it was not recommended by Digital. What ffile system are you 
using - some places have emulated DMS500 on the VAX with success.
How many programs, what budget do you have?
> 
> Has anyone heard of and/or used a package called AUTOBASIC.
	I have not - but I know about BP2, BAS24K, BP3 and the 
LINK that will enable your RSTS system to do most of the things 
that VMS will do with a similar application. 
> 
> I know little about RSTS but quite a lot about VAX/VMS.
	I have used RSTS since 1978 and VMS since 1979 and still 
prefer the relative simplicity and efficiency of RSTS. Why do you 
need to change. Please speak to Peter Dick at Silver Programs in 
Basingstoke (phone UK 0256 - 881658) for more details on the 
benefits of RSTS. He is a noted user, designer and lecturer in 
the RSTS field and should be able to advise you well.

	If all else fails Digital have published a useful book, 
RSTS/E-VMS (in)Cimpatibility Guide, EJ-31490-41/88 and is freely 
available from all good VAX salesmen, if not dont buy his VAX.
It is 1" thick and gives good hints on how what the differences 
in RSTS and VMS are (and those functions which have no 
corresponding VMS feature). It does not try to handle the 
differences between BASIC+ and VAX-BASIC. 

	Digital did put out some translation tools with BP2 v1.6 
but I suspect they are no longer supported or supplied.

	Please feel free to e-mail me re specific details of the 
task. Many commercial applications have been migrated from RSTS 
to VMS with great success. These range from word processing to 
Wholesale Banking to Manufacturing Packages - but the cost is 
usually fairly high due to the lack of a one-to-one 
correspondence between features and functions on the two systems.

Best of luck, John G.
+v*v*v*v*v*v*v*v*v*v*v*v*v*v*v*v*v*v*v*v*v*v*v*v*v*v*v*v*v*v*v*v+
>  J. Geremin,    geremin%decus.com.au@munnari.oz.au (Internet) <
>   RSTS SIG,      PSI%(0)505224122018::Geremin  (VAX/PSImail)  <
> DECUS South Pacific Chapter.     Tel. +61 2 764 4855  ans M/C <
>c/-  MEGATRONICS, p.o.box S-5, Homebush South, 2140. Australia.<
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