Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!super!udel!mmdf From: rsine@nswc-wo.arpa Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Multitasking Message-ID: <4289@louie.udel.EDU> Date: 28 Sep 88 16:54:05 GMT Sender: mmdf@udel.EDU Lines: 58 I know I really shouldn't be writing this here, but I can't let something this blatant go by and perhaps give other net users the wrong idea. Get ready to be blasted David. In message-Id: <2259@ssc-vax.UUCP> David Geary writes: > I am teaching C on a Vax here at work, and I know *nothing* > about VMS. I don't know how or *if* it's possible to start up > another process in VMS. First of all it is possible. Secondly, there's many ways to do it. The easiest of which is by using the Spawn command. I would strongly suggest you read the DCL dictionary. If you don't read the whole book at least look up the Spawn command. If you're teaching programming on a VAX/VMS system the people ought to be able to write their own program to execute the compile/link as a seperate process while they are editing. I suggest you give the RTL book a looking over. Then graduate to system services, please. I don't write Fortran code I write VMS Fortran code. Get the distinction? >(nor do I care ;-) You certainly should care and I don't think it's funny. Read on. > I have about 12 students, and about 25 terminals. After one > class of painful waiting for the linker on the Vax, many of my > students have learned a neat trick: > Compile and link on one terminal (about a 3 minute process - yes > about as slow as compiling C on an Amiga off floppies), and then > move over to another terminal and log into it, and use the > editor while the linker does it's work. That "trick" is probably helping to cause the compiles/links to take so long. One of the worst thangs you can do to degradate the performance of a VAX/VMS system is to have a bunch of logins taking place. If my VAX/VMS system compiled programs as slowly as my Amiga using floppies I'd be tuning my system. > Think my students would appreciate multitasking? They are already using one of the most powerful multitasking/multiprocess/ multiuser operating systems known to mankind. You must be kidding, to compare the AmigaDos operating system to the robust VMS operating system is a futile practice of obsurdity. > Well, it was the ONLY reason I chose the Amiga over the Atari > ST. I debated about which one to buy (I have friends who have > both machines), but multitasking was the feature that sold me. That's the exact reason I bought the Amiga over the ST, I wanted multitasking like I have at work (i.e. VMS). If all of your comments were a joke please excuse me I thought you were serious. If you wish to discuss this further (or seek assistance) I am on ArpaNet - rsine@nswc-wo.arpa Ran