INFO-VAX	Sun, 30 Jan 2005	Volume 2005 : Issue 59

   Contents:
Re: DCL script for a dummy like me ...
Re: DCL script for a dummy like me ...
Re: DCL script for a dummy like me ...
Re: DCL script for a dummy like me ...
Re: DCL script for a dummy like me ...
Re: DCL-W-OKTAB?
Re: DCL-W-OKTAB?
equiv of LIB$GET_FOREIGN from DCL?
Re: Fortune article and subsequent commentary
Re: Fortune article and subsequent commentary
Re: Fortune article and subsequent commentary
Re: Fortune article and subsequent commentary
Re: Fortune article and subsequent commentary
Re: INPSMB errors
Re: Setting colors
Re: [OT]: What if.....

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2005 14:49:45 -0500
From: "Hein" <hein.nomail@hp.nomail.com>
Subject: Re: DCL script for a dummy like me ...
Message-ID: <41fbe9b6$1@usenet01.boi.hp.com>

> I need to count the number of lines for each file at a given directory
> and keep the result (name of the file and number of lines) in a new output
file.

Here are two 'one liners' to solve this:
First one... just search with a properly wildcarded filespec and redirected
output:

$define/user sys$output linecount.tmp
$search/noout/log  *200501* ""/matc=nor
%SEARCH-I-NOMATCHES, no strings matched
$
$type linecount.tmp
%SEARCH-S-NOMATCH, U$1:[HEIN.TMP]TMP_200501_AAP.TMP;1 - 1 record
%SEARCH-S-NOMATCH, U$1:[HEIN.TMP]TMP_200501_MIES.TMP;1 - 3 records
%SEARCH-S-NOMATCH, U$1:[HEIN.TMP]TMP_200501_NOOT.TMP;1 - 2 records

Second using perl, giving you infinite control over the output formatting:

$ perl -e "$a=shift @ARGV; foreach $f (glob $a){$i=0;open (X,""<$f""); $i++
while (<X>); print ""$i,$f\n""}" *200501*
1,tmp_200501_aap.tmp
3,tmp_200501_mies.tmp
2,tmp_200501_noot.tmp

As a full perl program (untested) I woudl write it more like:

$wildcard=shift @ARGV or die "Please provide a wildcarded filespec
argument";
foreach $file  (glob $wildcard) {
   $lines = 0;
   open (X,"<$file") or die "Failed to open file '$file' for input";
   $lines++ while (<X>);
   print "$lines $file\n";
   }

hth,
Hein.

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 30 Jan 2005 01:44:25 GMT
From: Michael Austin <nospam@firstdbasource.com>
Subject: Re: DCL script for a dummy like me ...
Message-ID: <ZZWKd.10860$2e7.2065@newssvr12.news.prodigy.com>

Hein wrote:
>>I need to count the number of lines for each file at a given directory
>>and keep the result (name of the file and number of lines) in a new output
> 
> file.
> 
> Here are two 'one liners' to solve this:
> First one... just search with a properly wildcarded filespec and redirected
> output:
> 
> $define/user sys$output linecount.tmp
> $search/noout/log  *200501* ""/matc=nor
> %SEARCH-I-NOMATCHES, no strings matched
> $
> $type linecount.tmp
> %SEARCH-S-NOMATCH, U$1:[HEIN.TMP]TMP_200501_AAP.TMP;1 - 1 record
> %SEARCH-S-NOMATCH, U$1:[HEIN.TMP]TMP_200501_MIES.TMP;1 - 3 records
> %SEARCH-S-NOMATCH, U$1:[HEIN.TMP]TMP_200501_NOOT.TMP;1 - 2 records
> 
> Second using perl, giving you infinite control over the output formatting:
> 
> $ perl -e "$a=shift @ARGV; foreach $f (glob $a){$i=0;open (X,""<$f""); $i++
> while (<X>); print ""$i,$f\n""}" *200501*
> 1,tmp_200501_aap.tmp
> 3,tmp_200501_mies.tmp
> 2,tmp_200501_noot.tmp
> 
> As a full perl program (untested) I woudl write it more like:
> 
> $wildcard=shift @ARGV or die "Please provide a wildcarded filespec
> argument";
> foreach $file  (glob $wildcard) {
>    $lines = 0;
>    open (X,"<$file") or die "Failed to open file '$file' for input";
>    $lines++ while (<X>);
>    print "$lines $file\n";
>    }
> 
> hth,
> Hein.
> 
> 


or you can use the lexical F$FILE_ATTRIBUTES:

$ write sys$output f$file("login.com","file_length_hint")
(85,3172)  !<<<<------ first number is number of records, second is the byte count
$ sear/out=nl:/stat login.com  fads  !! search for nothing.

Files searched:                 1       Buffered I/O count:         5
Records searched:              85       Direct I/O count:           2
Characters searched:         3172       Page faults:               28
Records matched:                0       Elapsed CPU time:  0 00:00:00.02
Lines printed:                  0       Elapsed time:      0 00:00:00.06

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2005 18:12:24 -0800
From: Z <Z@no.spam>
Subject: Re: DCL script for a dummy like me ...
Message-ID: <XqXKd.19546$6i5.4208@fe03.lga>

Michael Austin wrote:
> $ write sys$output f$file("login.com","file_length_hint")
> (85,3172)  !<<<<------ first number is number of records, second is the 
> byte count

What a useful tidbit of information.

Thanks.

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2005 21:46:39 -0500
From: JF Mezei <jfmezei.spamnot@teksavvy.com>
Subject: Re: DCL script for a dummy like me ...
Message-ID: <1107052516.ff086e85d7b47c64a1bf068e65bb3dd7@teranews>

Z wrote:
> 
> Michael Austin wrote:
> > $ write sys$output f$file("login.com","file_length_hint")
> > (85,3172)  !<<<<------ first number is number of records, second is the
> > byte count
> 
> What a useful tidbit of information.

Doesn't the file_hint only apply to certain types of files on ODS-5
volumes ? Are there specific values returned when the systen cannot
profile those values ?

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2005 23:01:34 -0500
From: Dave Froble <davef@tsoft-inc.com>
Subject: Re: DCL script for a dummy like me ...
Message-ID: <41FC5C1E.8040803@tsoft-inc.com>

JF Mezei wrote:

> Z wrote:
> 
>>Michael Austin wrote:
>>
>>>$ write sys$output f$file("login.com","file_length_hint")
>>>(85,3172)  !<<<<------ first number is number of records, second is the
>>>byte count
>>>
>>What a useful tidbit of information.
>>
> 
> Doesn't the file_hint only apply to certain types of files on ODS-5
> volumes ? Are there specific values returned when the systen cannot
> profile those values ?
> 

Well, just get onto a VMS process, and type HELP.

All kinds of useful information.

Ok Mike, what part of your life suffers such that you have time to sit and read 
all of VMS HELP?  :-)

Dave

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2005 20:37:36 +0000 (UTC)
From: gartmann@non.immunbio.mpg.de.sens (Christoph Gartmann)
Subject: Re: DCL-W-OKTAB?
Message-ID: <ctgs6f$4bh$1@news.BelWue.DE>

In article <BrwbVRtJ4rje@eisner.encompasserve.org>, Kilgallen@SpamCop.net (Larry Kilgallen) writes:
>In article <ctg07p$33r$1@news.BelWue.DE>, gartmann@non.immunbio.mpg.de.sens (Christoph Gartmann) writes:
>> In article <41FB0531.61F0888A@comcast.net>, David J Dachtera <djesys.nospam@comcast.net> writes:
>>>Christoph Gartmann wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> Hello,
>>>> 
>>>> what does %DCL-W-OKTAB mean beyond "command tables are already in latest
>>>> format"?
>>>
>>>In response to what command string?
>> 
>> This is the error I find in the HTTP_STARTUP.LOG and in NETSERVER.LOG when I
>> try to start the OSU WWWserver after a reboot :-(
>
>But what was the _command_string_ in the log that provoked that response ?
>
>If it was anything but SET COMMAND, then I would presume the program
>being run is returning binary garbage to DCL.

Unfortunately I don't know which command caused the error. What I see is (from
NETSERVER.LOG):

        --------------------------------------------------------

        Connect request received at 29-JAN-2005 14:07:38.98
            from remote process MPI7::"0=SYSTEM"
            for object "WWW_INIT"

        --------------------------------------------------------

Server client limit computed as 26
%DCL-W-OKTAB, command tables are already in latest format
%DCL-W-OKTAB, command tables are already in latest format
%SYSTEM-W-NONEXPR, nonexistent process
 \2580011E\


I thought if I understand the error I could figure out what is wrong with the
system. The error occurs whether I run the server under its restricted own
account or under the SYSTEM account. So it is not a matter of privileges.

Regards,
   Christoph Gartmann

-- 
 Max-Planck-Institut fuer      Phone   : +49-761-5108-464   Fax: -452
 Immunbiologie
 Postfach 1169                 Internet: gartmann@immunbio dot mpg dot de
 D-79011  Freiburg, Germany
               http://www.immunbio.mpg.de/home/menue.html

------------------------------

Date: 29 Jan 2005 22:04:44 -0600
From: Kilgallen@SpamCop.net (Larry Kilgallen)
Subject: Re: DCL-W-OKTAB?
Message-ID: <kClXUgj6AP8J@eisner.encompasserve.org>

In article <ctgs6f$4bh$1@news.BelWue.DE>, gartmann@non.immunbio.mpg.de.sens (Christoph Gartmann) writes:
> In article <BrwbVRtJ4rje@eisner.encompasserve.org>, Kilgallen@SpamCop.net (Larry Kilgallen) writes:

>>But what was the _command_string_ in the log that provoked that response ?
>>
>>If it was anything but SET COMMAND, then I would presume the program
>>being run is returning binary garbage to DCL.
> 
> Unfortunately I don't know which command caused the error. What I see is (from
> NETSERVER.LOG):
> 
>         --------------------------------------------------------
> 
>         Connect request received at 29-JAN-2005 14:07:38.98
>             from remote process MPI7::"0=SYSTEM"
>             for object "WWW_INIT"
> 
>         --------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Server client limit computed as 26
> %DCL-W-OKTAB, command tables are already in latest format
> %DCL-W-OKTAB, command tables are already in latest format
> %SYSTEM-W-NONEXPR, nonexistent process
>  \2580011E\

So you need a SET VERIFY at the start of the command procedure for object
WWW_INIT.  Perhaps there is one already present under the control of some
logical name.

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2005 21:52:14 +0000 (UTC)
From: klewis@OMEGA.MITRE.ORG (Keith A. Lewis)
Subject: equiv of LIB$GET_FOREIGN from DCL?
Message-ID: <cth0ie$n0t$1@newslocal.mitre.org>

I have a DCL procedure that needs to know where it was invoked from.  It
currently uses F$ENVIRONMENT("PROCEDURE"), but there's a problem with
searchlists.  For example, if the procedure was invoked by 
    @SYS$SYSROOT:[SYSMGR]MYDCL
but it really lives in SYS$COMMON, F$ENVIRONMENT("PROCEDURE") will point to
SYS$COMMON, which is not what I want.  I want the procedure to be able to
tell the difference between the user typing
    @SYS$SYSROOT:[SYSMGR]MYDCL
and
    @SYS$COMMON:[SYSMGR]MYDCL

If this were a C or PL/I program I would use LIB$GET_FOREIGN to get the
command line and then parse it.  Does anybody know of a way in DCL?

The current workaround is to have identical copies of the procedure at all
points on the searchlist, but I'd rather not have to remember to copy it
every time I add to the list.

--Keith Lewis              klewis {at} mitre.org
The above may not (yet) represent the opinions of my employer.

------------------------------

Date: 29 Jan 2005 14:54:13 -0600
From: young_r@encompasserve.org (Rob Young)
Subject: Re: Fortune article and subsequent commentary
Message-ID: <nCakTSMr8zQ9@eisner.encompasserve.org>

In article <41FB0726.18CFC6F6@comcast.net>, David J Dachtera <djesys.nospam@comcast.net> writes:
> Rob Young wrote:
>> 
>> In article <l9qdnU8AQ9IjVGfcRVn-qQ@metrocastcablevision.com>, Bill Todd <billtodd@metrocast.net> writes:
>> > Top billing at OpenVMS.org today has been a Fortune article on the
>> > failure of the HP/Compaq merger and follow-up industry commentary.
>> > While the former is of course no news here (they do give a well-deserved
>> > ovation to Walter Hewlett for the accuracy of his calls during the
>> > merger battle, and could have created a great one-two punch by observing
>> > that Carly's abject failure to live up to the expectations she herself
>> > set mirrors that of Itanic), one statement in an interview with Rob
>> > Enderle ("The interview is an inside look at the thinking of one of HP's
>> > trusted confidants") stands out:
>> >
>> > "HP's weakness is in having so many operating systems. They're trying to
>> > exit from the operating system business all together."
>> >
>> > While that too was clear to at least some of us, others seem to have
>> > been reluctant to accept it.
>> >
>> 
>>         Say it... I know you just wanna pucker your lips and say it:
>> 
>>                         "Death of VMS"
> 
> Ain't it a bitch living in total denial?
> 

	Ha.

	Go back 10 years - here is a comp.os.vms headline:

	"Death of VMS"

	Tell you what, when/if they put the knife in VMS (and sure - you
	have my permission to prattle on about Death of VMS must be
	a satisfying thing somehow), you can trot out:  "See Rob , told you!"

	Guess what?  Big Deal.  You prattle on about something long
	enough and 25 years later it happens, so what?

	"It could of been prevented."

	Sure.  And there are whiners somewhere that are still upset
	that RSX is no longer being developed.  I'm sure someone
	is very upset that GM knifed the Oldsmobile division too and
	"that too could have been prevented!"  Its about business and
	a ton of armchair quarterbacks always want to make it better
	and sure some things are probably done wrong.  Big Deal.

	But today, you can bet there are many reasons to keep developing
	VMS , as others point out VMS was an easy early-on keeper in
	merging HP/Compaq, etc.  But no explaining, no amount of positive
	news is going to sway some people.  They've been convinced for
	10-15 years now that VMS is dying.  It is truly comical thinking
	about how some trot out "Death of VMS" as a mantra year after year 
	after year.  And funnier still is folks that purchase that same
	mantra from Gartner and Aberdeen and the lot.  You wonder if
	Gartner/Aberdeen ever feel a bit sheepish?

				Rob

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2005 16:46:50 -0500
From: JF Mezei <jfmezei.spamnt@teksavvy.com>
Subject: Re: Fortune article and subsequent commentary
Message-ID: <1107034539.7b2f77004fc30e07ff80625654825072@teranews>

Rob Young wrote:
>         Go back 10 years - here is a comp.os.vms headline:
> 
>         "Death of VMS"


Digital tried to get rid of VMS, but its financials turned so sour that
Palmer was told to stop killing the only cash cow in the company.

Compaq tried to kill VMS, but they were told that they would loose too
many customers who fed Compaq with the money needed to subsidize its PC
business which was no longer profitable.

HP doesn't need VMS, it sells ink that generate the profits to subsidize
the rest of the company.

While HP can brag about VMS having 4 quarters of sales growths, --- and
nobody is complaining about that, any bragging is necessary as part of
marketing --- the reality is that it doesn't same anything about
installed base growth or continued attrition.

I can grow sales from 10 to 15 new customers per quarter, a 50% increase
in new customer sales, but if during the same period, I lose 16
customers from the installed base, the installed base is still shrinking.

We may complain about HP and Compaq never wanting to release hard
numbers about VMS. Perhaps it is because the hard numbers are pretty sad
looking with serious erosion of the installed base. But one thing is
certain: they haven't closed the door in such a possibility by providing
hard numbers to prove thet VMS is thriving and expanding.


Palmer inflicted mortal wounds on VMS. Neither Compaq nor HP have tried
to fix those wounds, they have simply kept VMS on life support. So no,
it insn't dead as many had predicted. But is VMS safer today than it was
in early 2001 ? I'd say NO. 

Does VMS still have a chance ? Yes. 


But just becauuse VMS still has a chance doesn't mean that HP will want
to give it that chance. VMS is a slow byt solid business which doesn't
yield any of the stuff that HP is being measured on.  

And if VMS were to be extyremely succesful, its success would still be
hidden under the layers of accounting where its success would be diluted
by the rest of HP's faltering enterprise business.

And as long as VMS isn't seen by the public/press/shareholders as a big
profitable success with long term potential, then HP can spin a decision
to kill VMS in a way that will please the press/shareholders.

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2005 15:19:07 -0800
From: Z <Z@no.spam>
Subject: Re: Fortune article and subsequent commentary
Message-ID: <wUUKd.19499$sV2.3949@fe03.lga>

Rob Young wrote:
> 	"It could of been prevented."

... could HAVE been.

Geez. Doesn't noone speek English no more?

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 30 Jan 2005 02:47:08 GMT
From: rdeininger@mindspringdot.com (Robert Deininger)
Subject: Re: Fortune article and subsequent commentary
Message-ID: <rdeininger-2901052147080001@user-105n8hs.dialup.mindspring.com>

In article <VqCdnR0CBuARW2bcRVn-iQ@igs.net>, "John Smith" <a@nonymous.com>
wrote:

...


>Perhaps a well reasoned, well written e-mail, supplying information is in
>order.

Where will you find someone to write that e-mail?

------------------------------

Date: 29 Jan 2005 22:07:09 -0800
From: "AEF" <spamsink2001@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Fortune article and subsequent commentary
Message-ID: <1107065229.554742.28550@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com>

John Smith wrote:
> Bill Todd wrote:
> > Top billing at OpenVMS.org today has been a Fortune article on the
> > failure of the HP/Compaq merger and follow-up industry commentary.
> > While the former is of course no news here (they do give a
> > well-deserved ovation to Walter Hewlett for the accuracy of his
calls
> > during the merger battle, and could have created a great one-two
> > punch by observing that Carly's abject failure to live up to the
> > expectations she herself set mirrors that of Itanic), one statement
> > in an interview with Rob Enderle ("The interview is an inside look
at
> > the thinking of one of HP's trusted confidants") stands out:
> >
> > "HP's weakness is in having so many operating systems. They're
trying
> > to exit from the operating system business all together."
> >
> > While that too was clear to at least some of us, others seem to
have
> > been reluctant to accept it.
>
>
> Seems to me that Carol J. Loomis, the author of the Fortune article,
has
> taken a position about carly(tm), and HP -- she certainly has the
platform
> from which to do it.
>
> I wonder if Ms. Loomis would care to hear about the gutting of a
> line-of-business at HP for her next story  -- namelyVMS and the fall
in
> revenues, the mealy-mouthed 'no comment, it's the quiet period'
pre-merger
> when every product was commented on by HP except VMS, the lack of
> advertising and marketing of VMS, etc......
>
> Perhaps a well reasoned, well written e-mail, supplying information
is in
> order.
>
> How do I contact a Fortune editor or writer?
> Writers can be contacted using the following construction: first
initial
> plus last name@fortunemail.com.

Sounds like a great idea! It's certainly worth a try.

However, please note the following screwy twist on addresses: In the
new Google groups, all addresses in normal usable form are partially
munged, except, apparently, as I look above right now at it, in the
reply! (I don't as I write this if it will make it unmunged into the
posted reply!) Well, if one wants Usenet readers who use Google groups
to read a mail address without the munging and without having to fake a
reply to de-munge it, one will have to do the usual tricks -- like
changing person@place.bla to person (at) place.bla -- not to hide them
from spammers, but to reveal them to human readers!

Warning: Even further digression follows:

I still can't believe the new Google groups beta is as bad as it is.
The only improvements are greatly increased posting speed (seconds
instead of hours), the hiding of long quotes, and the less frequent
need to click a link to read the rest of the message. They finally
allow a global change to "fixed font", but it's still not as good as
the old version's use of fonts. Other things about it are worse. Oh
well. One step forward, three steps back!

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 29 Jan 2005 16:44:18 -0600
From: Chris Scheers <chris@applied-synergy.com>
Subject: Re: INPSMB errors
Message-ID: <41FC11C2.7000408@applied-synergy.com>

Peter Weaver wrote:
> John Dundas wrote:
> 
>>Peter,
>>
>>In article <35vdd1F4s48u5U1@individual.net>, "Peter Weaver"
>><WeaverConsultingServices@sympatico.ca> wrote:
>>
>>>Did you put a "$ PASSWORD" card in your reader?
>>
>>Yes.
>>
>>
>>>Who owns the queue that is running the INPSMB symbiont? (SHOW
>>>QUEUE/FULL queuename)
>>
>>$ sho que/fu sys$batch
>>Batch queue SYS$BATCH, idle, on SIMH::
>>  /AUTOSTART_ON=(SIMH::) /BASE_PRIORITY=4 /JOB_LIMIT=1
>>/OWNER=[SYSTEM] /PROTECTI ON=(S:M,O:D,G:R,W:S)
>>$ sho dev/fu cra0:
>>
>>Device CRA0:, device type CR11, is online, record-oriented device.
>>
>>    Error count                    0    Operations completed
>>    0 Owner process                 ""    Owner UIC
>>    [SYSTEM] Owner process ID        00000000    Dev Prot
>>    S:RWPL,O:RWPL,G,W Reference count                0    Default
>>buffer size                  80
>>
>>$
>>
>>>I think that if the queue is not owned by the same username that you
>>>have on your JOB card then you need a PASSWORD card. But that was a
>>>long
>>
>>Right; got that.
>>
>>
>>>time ago and I could be totally wrong now. If all else fails you
>>>could install INPSMB with CMKRNL privilege, but that would turn off
>>>all
>>
>>That did it!  The job executed and did what I expected.
>>
>>
>>>security you have on your system and leave it wide open to anyone who
>>>wants it.
>>
>>I wonder.  Is it really that bad?  It's bad enough that a $PASSWORD
>>card has the password in clear text.  But does installing INPSMB with
>>CMKRNL create any other problems, or is this the way it is supposed
>>to work?
>>
>>Thanks for the eureka moment.
>>
>>John
> 
> 
> The problem with doing that is now anyone can do something like;
> 
> $ create hack.com
> $ deck
> $ job system
> $ set def sys$system
> $ mcr authorize modify myacct/priv=setpriv
> $ eod
> CTRL-Z
> $ assign hack.com sys$input
> $ mcr inpsmb
> 
> Since you gave INPSMB the privlege then the user does not need to know
> the password to do whatever they want.
> 
> I thought there was supposed to be a queue setup with the INPSMB image
> as the symbiont? And that queue had to have the same owner as the job,
> or the job needed the password??? Or maybe I am just remembering
> wrong??? Something like
> 
> $ INIT/QUE/PROCESS=INPSMB/OWNER=nonprivuser/ON=CRA0: CARD_READER

Is this really true?  I've never used IMPSMB, but looking at the code, 
it appears that the PASSWORD card is required.

Since the user name and password are validated, it appears that the only 
way you could misuse INPSMB is if you already knew the password to the 
target account.  Where is the security issue?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Chris Scheers, Applied Synergy, Inc.

Voice: 817-237-3360            Internet: chris@applied-synergy.com
   Fax: 817-237-3074

------------------------------

Date: 29 Jan 2005 20:43:11 GMT
From: bill@cs.uofs.edu (Bill Gunshannon)
Subject: Re: Setting colors
Message-ID: <362aqvF4qto45U1@individual.net>

In article <P%QKd.6881$mA7.5228@news.cpqcorp.net>,
	"FredK" <fred.nospam@nospam.dec.com> writes:
> X11 allowed applications to shoot themselves in the foot by having
> dependencies on the pixel format.  That explains your old application.
> 

Not unique to X11.  I frequently get complaints from Windows because
I run 32bit TrueColor and some application doesn't work roght with it.
Heck, I have even had applications tell me I needed to change to 8bit
in order to run them.


bill

-- 
Bill Gunshannon          |  de-moc-ra-cy (di mok' ra see) n.  Three wolves
bill@cs.scranton.edu     |  and a sheep voting on what's for dinner.
University of Scranton   |
Scranton, Pennsylvania   |         #include <std.disclaimer.h>   

------------------------------

Date: 29 Jan 2005 18:51:19 -0500
From: "Gareth V. Williams" <graff@cfa0.cfa.harvard.edu>
Subject: Re: [OT]: What if.....
Message-ID: <41fc2177@cfanews.cfa.harvard.edu>

Dave Froble <davef@tsoft-inc.com> wrote:
: John Smith wrote:

:> http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9589_22-5551795.html?tag=nl.e540-2
:> 
:> 
:> ...." What if Digital had succeeded?
:> Digital Equipment is the lost tribe of technology. It came up with the
:> AltaVista search engine, the Alpha and StrongARM processors, and the PC
:> lines Venturis and Celebris--easily two of the best space-age gladiator
:> brand names ever. Its heritage can be seen in AMD's Athlon chip and the
:> PlayStation 2, and its efforts helped paved the way for Microsoft to sell
:> server software. ...."
:> 
:> 
:> 

: Just a point of curosity.  Weren't the StrongARM processors licensed from 
: another company?

  The origin of the StrongARM chip is the ARM-1, a 26-/32-bit RISC
processor developed by Acorn Computers in the U.K. as a replacement
for the aging 6502 8-bit and intended for use in Acorn's follow-up to its
BBC Micro range.  The Archimedes A305 and A310 were introduced in
1987 with an ARM-2.  (If memory serves, the ARM-1 was only used in
a 2nd processor add-on for the BBC Micro.)  A later variant, ARM 3
was used in the Archimedes A540.  Subsequent variants including ARM 6xx
and ARM 7xx followed, all of which were used in Acorn machines.  At
some early point in the development of the ARM chip, the ARM division
at Acorn was formed into a separate company.

  ARM (the company) and Digital then combined forces to develop
StrongARM.  ARM brought experience of low-power consumption devices
and Digital brought high clock speeds.  The XScale is a further
development that uses essentially the same instruction set as
StrongARM.

  I think the ARM website has a history somewhere.

   Gareth
(who has an ARM-3 micro, a StrongARM micro and several Alpha-powered
machines in his office and at home)


-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gareth V. Williams, MS 18, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A.
Associate Director, IAU Minor Planet Center
gwilliams@cfa.harvard.edu        http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/mpc.html
OpenVMS & RISC OS: refined choices in operating systems

------------------------------

End of INFO-VAX 2005.059
************************