Text editors under UNICOS?

[Hugh LaMaster]

In article <4713 at alvin.mcnc.org> spl at mcnc.org.UUCP (Steve Lamont) writes:

>Seriously, there is nothing wrong with editing files on a Cray, assuming
>that the Cray is reasonably local to you and reasonably responsive.

:

>for most editing tasks, you simply cannot beat the efficiency.  (User,
>not system)

I agree with almost all of this, but would add one comment.  "They" who
claim that text editing is "inefficient use of a Cray" should have some
numbers to back them up.  Let them prove that:

1) It is more cost effective to edit on another system, counting the cost
of moving the file over to be edited via the network, etc.  Don't forget
the cost of reading the entire file from disk on the Cray,
writing it over the network, reading it back, and writing it to disk, not
to mention the CPU and memory utilization by the network layer in the kernel,
etc.  Then, add the incremental cost of providing computing 
resources on your editing machine.

2) The cost *savings* (if any) are in any way significant, as a percentage of
dollars and/or CPU utilization on the system, on the system in question,
looking at the amount of editing that people are actually doing.

Then, if they can prove *that*, you can invoke the user efficiency argument.

What is lacking is hard evidence that "editing" is a problem in the first
place.  But, just speculating, my experience is that the most precious
resource on Crayxyz's is not interrupts or CPU, but memory, so I guess that if
you were looking for a problem you might try to demonstrate that editing
is hurting your memory utilization and causing a significant increase in
swapping.

"System efficiency" in the narrow sense is obviously not synonymous with
"getting the job done using the least system resources", but for some reason
people forget that when the subject is editing.

*sarcasm on*
"editing" on "Crays" has been a bugaboo for quite a while.  Eventually,
people who are morally opposed to it will retire :-)  I guess we shouldn't
be using interactive debugging either.  Isn't it obvious that it is more
efficient to insert print statements and resubmit the same job over and over
to debug it?  After all, you can prove that CPU and memory utilization on the
system are higher when you debug in batch mode...  Also, programs which do
I/O should be banned, since they lower CPU utilization...
*sarcasm off*

  Hugh LaMaster, m/s 233-9,  UUCP ames!lamaster
  NASA Ames Research Center  ARPA lamaster at ames.arc.nasa.gov
  Moffett Field, CA 94035     
  Phone:  (415)694-6117