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Aucbvax.5903 fa.info-vax utcsrgv!utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!info-vax Thu Jan 21 23:36:40 1982 unix vs. vms. >From RJF@MIT-MC Thu Jan 21 23:31:03 1982 RJF@MIT-MC 01/22/82 01:10:39 Re: unix vs. vms. To: info-vax at MIT-AI The most telling points in this comparison are as follows, in my opinion: 1. VMS runs on one computer line: the DEC VAX-11. UNIX runs on several computers, and will undoubtedly run on others in the future. The degree of portability of programs from one UNIX system to another is substantial. Work done on VMS is less portable. 2. While UNIX may not have exactly the features you want, there is a somewhat receptive community considering changes, and thus mis-features may be corrected. Even whole subsystems (e.g. file system) can be altered. VMS, by comparison, has a much more diverse constituency, including COBOL types, the code is expensive to change (even to get a copy of the code in machine-readable form is moderately big bucks), and it seems that DEC is (probably for good financial reasons) not eager to shake its own boat.

I believe these reasons are the primary ones behind ARPA's choice of UNIX as the VAX operating system for VLSI and Image Understanding contractors, and also the reasons for the Dept of Energy choosing VAX UNIX as the first priority system for Applied Math software development.

if you wish to respond to me directly, please do so. I am not on info-vax.

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