From: utzoo!decvax!cca!mo@LBL-UNIX@sri-unix
Newsgroups: net.unix-wizards
Title: Re: questions without answers
Article-I.D.: sri-unix.3136
Posted: Mon Sep  6 16:57:40 1982
Received: Thu Sep  9 06:59:25 1982

From: mo at LBL-UNIX (Mike O'Dell [system])
Date: 3 Sep 1982 09:06:58-PDT
I can't tell you about Basic interpreters, but I can tell you
about the compat stuff.  While it isn't really documented, it
is solid, at least, solid enough to run the PDP-11 C compiler,
assembler, loader, and other development tools on a routine basis.
Almost all the sites running the Greep ARPAnet front-end do the
construction work on Vaxes and download into various 11-style
machines.  The only problem you might have is I don't think it
does floating point very well or at all (either case probably
implies a user-mode emulator with attendant performance problems).
So for the part that I use, it seems solid, but don't be surprised
if it gets poorer reviews running Basic.  There was a Basic done
by Bill Webb at the U of British Columbia Biology Lab which was
compatible with various micro Basic's (most notably Microsoft, I think)
via a switch which specified particular collections of misfeatures.
I thought Bill was going to put it on a Usenix tape, and who knows,
maybe he did!  You can probably get in touch with Bill and find out.
As for other Basics, has noone EVER implemented one in C??  I in fact
gave it some thought and just to show my forward-thinking, I looked
at the new Standard Basic. My Goodness, the little munchkins on that
committee were busy.  Another "inclusive-or" language. Sigh....

	Hope this helps,
	-Mike