Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!portal!cup.portal.com!Henry_Burdett_Messenger
From: Henry_Burdett_Messenger@cup.portal.com
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: Porting utilities to the ST.
Message-ID: <6915@cup.portal.com>
Date: 27 Jun 88 08:35:39 GMT
References: <203@eutrc3.UUCP> <1615@alliant.Alliant.COM> <1043@atari.UUCP>
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
Lines: 48
XPortal-User-Id: 1.1001.1746

> And could it be that even from DEC 
> UNIX is about a third the base price of VMS. 
  
I don't make marketing policy; if it were up to me, we wouldn't sell it at 
all. But if our customers want to shoot themselves in the foot, I guess 
we'll just have to help them. 
  
> Wow and VMS comes with what, 
> golly gee an assembler and some system monitors. 
  
Gosh, and when UN*X even gets a system monitor, let me know! 
  
> Geese if I want to use 
> a compiler I have to pay how much more.  You have obviously not been involved 
> with a company that need to get alot out of little money. 

Know how much programmer time costs in relation to program development 
tools? 
  
> Also imagine trying to rewrite VMS for the 
> ST. 
  
I've thought about it quite often, actually. If the memory management unit 
had a little more guts... :-) 
  
> Talk about a system eats the system.  UNIX, because of a basic 
> simplicity runs 2 to 3 times as fast as VMS (my own bench marks ran as a 
> user on both operating systems running on identically configured MicroVAX 
> II's at 3 in the morning with nobody else on. 
  
Sounds like a VERY naive use of VMS, to me. Actually UN*X generally runs
about 10% slower than VMS on VAXen. Remember that the VAX and VMS were 
developed *simultaneously* to take advantage of each other's strengths. 
  
> please don't badmouth those people who are porting UNIX 
> utilites to the ST.  Don't use them if you don't want to but I use them 
> often and really appreciate the hard work that have gone into them. 
  
I appreciate the work that goes into *any* software tool (I do _that_ for 
a living). My comments were merely directed at the 'if it isn't UN*X, it's 
junk' crowd. I personally avoid UN*X, since it's in the serious dark 
ages compared to VMS. And going from GEM/TOS -> MINIX/X11 isn't going to 
help performance much... 
  
Henry B. Messenger (DEC can have its own opinions; I have mine) 
ody else on.

	So untill you can come up with VMS for the ST or wri