On Fri, 2 Nov 2007 09:08:02 -0500, Paul Gilmartin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>Now, I see that METAL C is LE independent. But, I surmised, >to be POSIX compliant it must have some RTL (well, I suppose >it could all be done with macros, expanded at compile time. >Unlikely.) So, I wondered whether this new RTL would come >with new license requirements. Other plies in this thread >have said, "No." > Ok, let's not let the train go too far off the tracks. This thread diverged on the discussion of PL/(S, AS, X) vs. Metal C. The PL/... variants: - ARE NOT Posix compliant - DO NOT have a runtime library - DO NOT have standard services for input and output - DO NOT have built in heap/stack/storage management (other than a primitive to simply GETMAIN/STORAGE (OBTAIN) an area to accomodate the savearea and variables declared by the module - ARE insufficient for general purpose programming in many other ways, just like assembler Then, what good is PL/...? System level programming, which implies a fundamental binding to the underlying operating system and the hardware (and in many cases, oddball environments - think SRB, system locks...). Other than the fact that it is a 3GL, it really doesn't purport to be a general purpose language for anything. This is role that Metal C chooses to play for us unwashed masses. It is for systems level activities on a particular class of system. That being said, it's up to the programmer to deal with the above problems in their own way. Do I get input from SYSIN? Open a DCB. Do I use an operator REPLY for input? Issue a WTOR. Do I use MODIFY? Extract the CIB. Just like assembler. Additionally, I'd suspect that I could find a bright C programmer and get them useful on METAL C faster than PL/X. IBM doesn't do anything without some level of informed self interest. Perhaps they are having trouble locating good PL/X programmers themselves? Bait and switch? I don't think so. Unrealistic expectations? More likely. Scott Fagen Enterprise Systems Management ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
