From: arne@vajhoej.dk   
      
   On 12/19/2024 1:56 AM, David Meyer wrote:   
   > Does VSI have a preferred or official language for system programming   
   > for OpenVMS?   
   >   
   > I know system programming for VAX/VMS was done in MACRO-32 and BLISS-32,   
   > and at least some system programs were written in C when Alpha was   
   > introduced.   
   >   
   > VSI has the BLISS reference manual on the Legacy shelf.   
   >   
   > Have all the MACRO and BLISS programs been ported to C or C++, or will   
   > they be in the future?   
      
   Brooks already explained what VSI actually has in the VMS code base.   
      
   Since I am not with VSI then I can better speculate and my   
   guess is that:   
   - VSI would like to rewrite all the remaining Bliss and Macro   
      to make maintenance easier   
   - VSI does not have the money to start a systematic migration   
      of all the remaining Bliss and Macro because migrating that   
      many millions of lines would be too expensive (I stuffed some   
      random numbers into a COCOMO style model and it said 1500   
      man years!)   
      
   If you are really asking what language you should use for   
   writing VMS code interfacing closely with the OS (more close   
   than just using documented LIB$ and SYS$ calls), then I will   
   suggest C. C is officially supported for writing device drivers   
   nowadays and I believe they have a subset of the C RTL that is   
   safe to call in inner modes.   
      
   Arne   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)