C on IBM machines (was: Proposed Enhancement to select/case)

[Michael Meissner]

In article <268 at cadlab.sublink.ORG> staff at cadlab.sublink.ORG (Alex
Martelli) writes:

| meissner at osf.org (Michael Meissner) writes:
| >Reality check time -- as far as I know, there is no C compiler for the
| >AS/400.  It would be an interesting experience, in a sick sort of way
| >from what little I've heard about the internals of this beast.  Also,
| 
| I don't know either, but I do know that IBM is *COMMITTED* to release
| a C for AS/400, as well as a Fortran - both of these languages are a
| crucial part of the Common Programming Interface (CPI) of Standard
| Application Architecture (SAA), and AS/400 is "the heart of SAA"
| (with OS/2 being the feet and VM and MVS together the head, I guess).

Ok, it looks like I have not kept up with the annoucements.  Also, I
think I was originally thinking of the Sytem 38 rather than the
AS/400.  From what little I know of the System 38, I think it would be
a C hostile machine (it has a single level memory, pointers much
bigger than integers, EBCDIC, etc.).  I assumed that the AS/400 would
have the same 'features', since it's being touted as the System 38
replacement.  However, what little I read of the trades, indicates
that SAA is more of a promise than a complete story.  Some pieces are
there, and some aren't.....

| >up until last year or so, C had real little penetration in the 370
| >market placem, except on Amdahl's version of unix.
| 
| Little but sometimes crucial, as in SPSS (Statistical Package for the
| Social Sciences - IBM wouldn't sell many new 370-like beasts to
| Universities without the humanity depts. plugging for them because
| of it...), the REXX-Compiler for VM by IBM itself, the prototype
| dictation-driven 'voice typewriter' by Jelinek et al in Yorktown,
| etc.  That's not really the point though - the point is, rather,
| that if you have a beautiful portable C application, and relish the
| thought of getting the beeg moola application SW on mainframes goes
| for, you'd BETTER think about problems related to portability to
| non-ASCII machines.  What equivalent economic incentive is there to
| push you to worry about portability to one's complement machines?

Actually, I tend to think that it is absurd to think about getting a
huge payback from new mainframe software these days.  Yes, in the
olden days of yore, software licenses went for quite a bit of change,
but with the advent of relatively cheap PC software, it's having an
effect of driving prices down.
--
Michael Meissner	email: meissner at osf.org		phone: 617-621-8861
Open Software Foundation, 11 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA, 02142

Do apple growers tell their kids money doesn't grow on bushes?