30 Jan
2003
30 Jan
'03
6:07 a.m.
Andreas Freiherr wrote:
as I wrote in an earlier mail, my primary operating
system on the PDP-11
is RSX-11M (maybe sometime /PLUS is added).
Jerome Fine replies:
I thought I saw a comment on RT-11. Not a problem.
I had been modifying the XC handler once (we needed a
PASSTHROUGH option
for transparent binary serial I/O to support a paper tape punch from
FORTRAN), but this was my closest encounter with "the system" so far.
Everything else was merely porting existing FORTRAN code to RT-11. I
have never looked into monitor data structures, so I'd have to collect
knowledge (RTFM) before I could make useful contributions to a discussion.
I have managed to avoid ethernet under RT-11. Eventually, I will
look at it. But not today.
I understand Megan has a lot more knowledge and
experience with RT-11,
and the discussion appears to me to be already in progress. You'll no
doubt get far better hints there.
Thus far the only comment from Megan Gentry is that there
will be a problem in compatibility with V5.03 up to V5.07
for any changes that I will make. When I proposed a solution
for V5.03 that would be compatible with V5.07, the "far better hints"
only considered what Megan opposed. While I would value any
method that Megan would suggest that ensures that all of the extra
code to V5.03 could also be used with V5.07, until they are
provided, they can't be evaluated.
At this point, Megan might be too busy looking for a new job -
GOOD LUCK with that situation!!
Good luck for your project, anyway!
Andreas
While I haven't heard, thus far, from anyone who understands
the internals of RT-11 sufficiently to comment on the actual
details of what I have proposed, my overall concept is that
I want any bug fixes and enhancements made to be available
to all hobby users. Since the hobby license from Mentec
allows V5.03 of RT-11 (released in 1985) to be used with
the Supnik emulator, V5.03 seems where I should start.
If, as seems extremely unlikely right now for at least the
next 10 years, Mentec changes its stand and allows V5.06
of RT-11 (released in August 1992 - so it is already over
10 years old) to be available to hobby users, then the same
code will be available immediately.
After I do the Y2K/Y10K bug fixes, I will ask about a
few enhancements such as a PATH HANDLER, booting
an MSCP RT-11 partition (i.e. a non-zero partition which
V5.06 already can do because one instruction was omitted
from the boot code for V5.03), and many others
including
some that are just for emulators. If no one else is able to
help, it will be a one person group to fix the bugs.
Sincerely yours,
Jerome Fine
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