BillW@sri-kl@sri-unix.UUCP (08/11/83)
From: William "Chops" Westfield <BillW@sri-kl> We (some SRI people) attended a little session on the Pro toolkit (the only way to generate complied programs for the 350 currently). Here is some of the data: Basically what you get are the rsx11 compliers, with special libraries and taskbuliders that put things together for the 350. As a result, there is quite a lot of power around: BASIC+2, FORTRAN, COBOL, FMS, DIBOL, PASCAL, and MACRO-11. these get compiled with the toolkit (rsx) compilers, "linked" together with the pro task builder, and downloaded to the 350 with a program called PFT. they are then installed into the menu system - each task gets a directory which contains an INSTALL file, Libraries, menu files, help files, data, forms, and so on. the install file contains pointers to the files used by the application, so that libraries can be shared... It actually might be a reasonable application building environment. Certainly the list of compilers is rather larger than for most PCs, and they are after all, proven pdp11 software. however: there is no way to test programs out under compatability mode on the vax. thus you must download each revision of the program. Even DEC admits that the downloading of the files is the slow link in the program devlopment process. I regard this as about the 3rd most complex system of buliding a program that ive seen. Just behind JCL and CICS. Oh for the EXEC PROGRM of by beloved pdp10s. Rumors: version 1.5 of P/OS is many times faster than the current version of P/OS. version 2.0 of P/OS will allow you to get rid of the %&$% Menus. The resident compilers will be here in a couple of Months. 350s are being pushed so that DEC can make room for the micro-vax. Enjoy BillW