[comp.os.vms] Why does VMS have the following unnatural size limitations?

forrest@blia.BLI.COM (Jon Forrest) (07/28/87)

I am puzzled why VMS, a virtual memory operating system, imposes
limits on the number of command lines that DCL remembers and on
the length of the command prompt. I am a VMS systems programmer
by choice but every now and then using Unix reminds me that
some aspects of VMS don't seem well thought out from the user
interface point of view.

Jon Forrest

forrest@blia.BLI.COM
ucbvax!mtxinu!blia!forrest
{pyramid|voder}!blia!forrest

P.S. This is not intended to degenerate into a general Unix
vs. VMS discussion.