HP announced the evaluation release of OpenVMS version 8.0 for Itanium-based HP Integrity servers. This release is for selected ISVs including BEA, Cerner, Computer Associates, Brooks Automation, Attunity, Synergex, Legato and TECSys. These partners have begun porting their applications to the OpenVMS Industry Standard 64 (OpenVMS I64) operating system, utilizing the HP rx2600 server. In addition, HP partners have committed porting over 450 applications to this new version to date.
HP Announces OpenVMS Evaluation Release Version 8.0 for Itanium
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Why was my comment modded down? I know OpenVMS is not a desktop OS but I just wanted to know if it can be used as one. I have an Itanium box here so I could try it one day…
It did sound trollish your previous comment. OpenVMS is a server OS.
>I know OpenVMS is not a desktop OS but I just wanted to know if it can be used as one
You just answered your own question then.
Does OpenVMS play DIVX, MP3, etc…
It’s a server system not designed for desktops. OpenVMS was in the mini computer system range.
could probably make it into a wacky desktop, I’m sure. Hell, look at Unix on the desktop now – was it ever initially intended as such? Er, no….
Well given that you can run X on VMS no doubt there are people out there already porting GNOME and KDE lol
I wouldn’t mind having a look at VMS but i don’t got an Alpha
Last time I’ve heard it… it’s cost a lot. So why the fuck do you want to use to play mp3 or use it as a workstation OS?
You are crazy :
…you could get this stuff from Sector7…
http://www.sector7.com/openvms-to-windows-unix.htm
I was too lazy to try to find the pricing just now, but it is probably a lot more than you are interested in paying to play around with VMS
Actually, OpenVMS is free if you want to sign up for the hobbyist program. All you need is an Alpha system, cheap on E-Bay, and you are ready to go.
At the command level, VMS is very similar to DOS so picking up the basics can be done in mere minutes.
The only thing that skews Unix or Windows users alot is the file system.
The tree directoy structure concepts are the same but the naming convention is a little different.
Additionally, being able to multiple versions of the same file can be a little strange at first but it is great for rolling back code and change control.
If you have the chance, I highly recommend you give VMS a try. It is rock solid.
VMS can display either a CDE style desktop or an older Motif windowing style.
Either is very easy to navigate.
Like Unix, VMS’s real power is at the command line but you can pull up a terminal window at will.
For those of you who want to try VMS without buying a VAX or Alpha off e-bay…
http://deathrow.vistech.net/
It’s a great way to try it out! Very complete VMS environment for the curious. Even has a guest account for those who don’t want to do too much, just to see what this whole VMS thing is about.
All you need is a telnet or ssh client, or a Java enabled browser.
I just may try OpenVMS on my Alpha, probably wouldnt keep it as my main OS, but it’d be interesting to see what it’s like. Does anyone know which compiler it comes with? CCC is still a bit better than GCC for speed on Alphas, so it’d be nice to have a CCC-compiled OS for that box, though speed is really not a problem on it.
I’ve always wanted to try Tru64 on that box, but i never found a “hobbyist” license deal for that.
For those that want an Alpha, check ebay, you can get a 400-500Mhz EV56 21164 based Alpha for 300-400$, and thats a system thats ready to go. Thats how i got mine, just needed to add a video card, and a bigger disk drive, and voila, kickass workstation.
Thanks for the link, i’m currently logged into the box as the demo account. Interesting system, i feel like the first times i tried linux, where doing anything was cool. I found out that they do use the Compaq C Compiler, so that’s cool.
Now if only i could get that damn ‘hello world’ program to actually run…
I don’t konw anyone still using it.
Alpha OpenVMS uses Compaq C v6.5 as the latest and is what you will find on a VMS 7.3-1 system.
Additional compilers for FORTRAN, C++, etc are also available.
When you receive a distribution, it comes with all of the software available. To enable the various applications, all you need to do is load the required license key.
VMS is alive and well in critical infrastructure areas such as financials, the military, and hospitals.
The problem is that VMS does not get alot of press time like the various unix and ms os’s.
When it comes to system reliability, disaster recovery, high availability, security, and fault tolerance, VMS is virtually impossible to beat.
I know of a certain public college system that uses VMS extensively. (As far as I know, all SUNY colleges.)
It handles enrollments, grades, course scheduling, and with certain add-ons I’m told it can handle a lot more.
http://www.yrl.co.uk/~phil/vms/vms_tutorial.html
1. Enter in hello_world.c program such as
/*
Command Structure to Compile:
CC /LIST/STANDARD=VAXC/EXTERN=COMMON_BLOCK/COMMON/SHARE/NOMEMBER program_name.c
*/
#include stdio
#include stdlib
main ()
{
printf(“Hello World”);
}
2. Compile the code
CC /LIST/STANDARD=VAXC/EXTERN=COMMON_BLOCK/COMMON/SHARE/NOMEMBER hello_world.c
3. Link the object file
link hello_world.obj
4. Run the code
run hello_world
gets
Hello World
I’m sure there are still Desktop users of VMS. It certainly used to be a popular operating system in the technical workstation market. But this was some time ago. You’ve got CDE and Mozilla. There’s also a bunch of POSIX compatibility hanging around that makes porting to OpenVMS easier than one would think. However, you can’t expect all the fun little doodads that you could have on a more popular platform, like Solaris or Linux.
I strongly reccommend the VMS Hobbyist program. DEC’s been historically quite friendly to OS hobbyists — check out the number of old-time copyrighted DEC OS that one can run through SimH. Interestingly enough, SCO has been helpful to hobbyists too, through their Ancient Unix program. I wish Wang, the non-DEC portions of HP, IBM (1) and so on were similarly friendly…
Yours truly,
Jeffrey Boulier
1. A number of old IBM operating systems are available to run through SimH or Hercules, but these are all ones that were not copyrighted by IBM, and all the tapes that provided the sources for these were salvaged by the individual hobbyists. Hey, any IBM execs out there: if you let me run a more modern VM/CMS I promise to run my copy of Hercules on a new IBM PC!
From an internals point of view all of the MS Windows NT and successive versions (2000, XP) are VMS derived based on Dave Cutlers work.
For more details, check out http://www3.sympatico.ca/n.rieck/docs/Windows-NT_is_VMS_re-implemen…
This one is even better:
http://www.winntmag.com/Articles/Print.cfm?ArticleID=4494
Wonder if HP could pull a “Sco” type lawsuit on Microsoft for basing NT internally off VMS
p.s. Before the flames roll in and all, i’m only joking
Courtesy of the Hobbyist program I also have licenses for 104 layered products, compilers etc. OK, some language variant duplicates in there, but it’s plenty to go at.
A good variety of compilers in there too – Ada, Basic, Cobol, C, C++, Fortran, Pascal, and that’s just off the top of my head.
For more details of the Hobbyist program, visit
http://www.openvmshobbyist.org/
VMS already works fine from a desktop environment. VMS was
very popular as a deskside/desktop OS from the mid 80s to the
early 90s, before PCs came into their own. I am typing this
in from an older VMS Alpha that measures 19″x19″x4″. Don’t
expect as many applications for it as for PCs or other popular
systems. Also, DEC/Compaq/HP haven’t been pursuing the
workstation/desktop market.
Again. hobbyist licenses are free and systems are frequently
available from Ebay (search for Alphastation)
You don’t need to be quite as elaborate as Andy Robert’s post above. (I’d actually discourage using any of those qualifiers, unless you’re porting code from VAX!) The only difference from what you Unix-heads may be used to is that the compiler doesn’t call the linker directly after compilation.
$ create hi.c
#include <stdio.h>
main() { printf (“Hi!
“); }
[Ctrl-Z]
$ cc hi ! Creates compiled object HI.OBJ
$ link hi ! Creates executable image HI.EXE
$ run hi
Hi!