Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site utcs.UUCP Path: utzoo!utcs!ian From: ian@utcs.UUCP (Ian F. Darwin) Newsgroups: net.unix-wizards Subject: Re: Hacking OS sources Message-ID: <264@utcs.UUCP> Date: Mon, 10-Dec-84 21:56:37 EST Article-I.D.: utcs.264 Posted: Mon Dec 10 21:56:37 1984 Date-Received: Mon, 10-Dec-84 22:21:45 EST References: <129@decwrl.UUCP> Organization: University of Toronto - General Purpose UNIX Lines: 27 >> You can buy UNIX sources and hack them. You can buy VMS >>sources and hack them. Much cheaper, you can buy VMS >>microfiche. >Hacking microfiche is difficult and joyless. True. To put more clearly what I meant to say in the first place: If you want to hack source code for your operating system, that option is available under VMS as well as UNIX. Most places simply choose not to hack VMS. I deal with some that do. If most don't, it may have to do with several things: (1) VMS sources are a significant expense. (2) There is an established mechanism for reporting problems to Digital. (3) Problems visibly get fixed, and there's an established open mechanism for setting priorities on many kinds of problems. The three reasons that you mention may be true. However, in addition I would propose that one major reason more people hack UNIX than VMS is that it's much easier to hack a system written in a programming language than, paraphrasing Kernighan, having to `grovel around in the mud in Assembler'. At least when I looked at VMS sources around 1980 it was all in assembler; I doubt they've switched to PLS in the interim :=). -- Ian Darwin, Toronto {ihnp4|decvax}!utcs!ian