Re: [MI400] MI compiler that supports target release

[Simon Coulter <shc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On 28/09/2004, at 5:10 PM, James H. H. Lampert wrote:

> Unfortunately, it apparently doesn't any more. At V2, it was a licensed
> product; at V3, it was a PRPQ; at V4, it was long gone.

It was still available as a PRPQ for V4 because I ordered it. Release 
level is 420 although documentation for it is still the V3 stuff. My MI 
compiler still uses PL/1 although mine was not based on the IBM 
example. No idea if it is still available nor if the V4 PRPQ works on 
V5. At some point I'll probably have to rewrite it--C (bleuch) most 
likely.

I think Hawkeye's Pathfinder used to be written in PL/1 (still may be 
for all I know), along with a number of other applications which is why 
the PRPQ was maintained after the LPP was dropped.

> It was never a particularly good subset. As I recall, list-directed
> (sort of like C stdin/stdout) and data-directed (sort of like a really
> good implementation of FORTRAN's NAMELIST) I/O wasn't there, and the
> terminal support was particularly lousy.

Subset G I believe. It did most of what was needed on S/38 and OS/400 
given display file and database support. It was created back in the 
S/38 days because General Motors was considering buying a truckload of 
S/38s and required PL/1 because that's what their applications were 
written in. IBM ported the compiler but I understand GM chickened out 
of the deal and went with a competitor.

Pity. If they had started using PL/1 we might have got all the missing 
bits. ILE PL/1 would be a much pleasanter environment than C (or even 
RPG IV or COBOL).

Regards,
Simon Coulter.
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