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HP OpenVMS Systemsask the wizard |
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The Question is: We are evaluating the option of porting an 18-year old legacy application from our network of 10 MicroVAX 3100 model 40 running OpenVMS v6.2 to some level/configuration of OpenVMS Alpha machines, still to be determined. (Our other option is to dump the a pplication and build/buy new.) Our application is primarily written in VAX Basic (v 3.8) and uses VAX FMS (v 2.4) for it's screens. We also have a few COBOL programs. In addition, we use DEC LN08 printers for our output and make use of PPL3 for formatting (bolding, special fonts, etc .). My questions are 3: 1. The porting documentation seems to say there's a native BASIC compiler, which is good, but it doesn't have a section about any differences between BASIC compiled on the VAX and BASIC compiled on the Alpha (as it does for COBOL and several other languag es). Is there anywhere to get this information for BASIC, or are there no differences to be concerned about? 2. Is VAX FMS still available on the Alpha machines or do these screens need to be re-written using a different tool? 3. Are the old DEC LN08 printers compatible with Alphas and can we continue to use PPL3 for formatting our print? Thanks for any insight/direction you can give me! The Answer is : Please contact the Compaq Customer Support Center -- questions of code migration can range from the trivial to the involved. (In the OpenVMS Wizard's experience, most migrations from OpenVMS VAX to OpenVMS Alpha are toward the trivial end of the spectrum.) There are relatively few differences between VAX BASIC and DEC BASIC, though there is one salient difference: BASIC on OpenVMS VAX provides a compiler and an interpreter, while OpenVMS Alpha provides the compiler. With a recent VAX BASIC compiler, you can use BASIC/FLAG=AXPCOMPATIBILITY (starting in V3.6) to flag incompatibilities in your existing code -- the features flagged include DEF* (note that DEF is supported), use of HFLOAT, all graphics statements, and (in some versions, prior to its availability on OpenVMS Alpha) the FIELD statement (FIELD is now supported). FMS is considered a mature product for support purposes, and is available. The DEClaser 3250 (LN08) is generally capable of ANSI serial operations, and will operate quite nicely on OpenVMS Alpha. Most Postscript printing on OpenVMS uses the DECprint Services (DCPS) package.
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