bhamidip@s.cs.uiuc.edu (10/06/88)
I am tired of using csh and sh for the RT. Does anyone out there have a version of ksh that works with AIX that I might be able to get (for a price?). Just an aside since I am posting this anyway: Does anyone really like AIX? I had the unenviable job of setting up some RT's to do some simple networking with a 3812 pageprinter and everything just seemed to be more difficult than it needed to be. Manuals for AIX are more valuable than gold! Comments, gripes, and general meanderings(sp) welcome. bhamidip@s.cs.uiuc.edu
dennis@gpu.utcs.toronto.edu (Dennis Ferguson) (10/07/88)
If you aren't tied to particular applications which require AIX, and you're at a University, I think ACIS 4.3 is still a much better operating system for the machine. It is cheaper. It runs the disks and network interfaces faster, or did not too long ago (I had both systems side by side about 6 months ago). No VRM(!!). The most current version comes with X11R2 as well as both NFS and the Andrew File System. It is quite vanilla 4.3BSD, which means you get to have file names longer than 14 characters and a terminal driver that won't delete your prompt and stuff like that. It also means you can move software from a lot of other machines by simply recompiling it (mostly. The C compiler they use is fussier than pcc, and actually complains about things that even lint won't find. Good for software development, though. If you can get your code through that compiler without complaint it is very likely to port well). Support is interesting. The system comes with full sources, meaning you can get by without support if you're into doing it yourself. You can also arrange for support via uucp. You can submit problem reports this way, and get fixes and updates back. I like the manuals, too. You essentially get the parts of Volumes I and II which are additional to the 4.3 distribution. The new stuff in Volume II is well written, complete and to the point. My experience with both operating systems would also lead me to agree that AIX generally is more complicated to deal with than ACIS 4.3. A particularly acute memory is that of the upgrade from the original RT processor to the newer one (it required, in addition to replacing cards, reformatting of the disks, which meant deinstalling and reinstalling the operating system). The AIX-oriented book that came with the upgrade kit was a depressing 120 pages or more. The replacement documentation that came with the ACIS 4.3 upgrade was no more than a dozen pages of concise, idiot-proof instructions. I like ACIS 4.3 on the RT. I'm still not too fussy about AIX on anything, though my salesman keeps telling me they're working hard to improve it. Dennis Ferguson University of Toronto