Facts About Programing Using The Openvms Platform

By Author: Roland Hughes
Total Articles: 3
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The Open virtual memory system is a computer server operating system. OpenVMS, previously known as VAX/VMS, was first developed in 1976.

The Open virtual memory system is a computer server operating system. OpenVMS, previously known as VAX/VMS, was first developed in 1976. The operating system then ran on the 32 bit virtual memory computers, which were referred to as VAX. VMS also runs on alpha and Itanium based computers, in addition to the original VAX hardware. When DEC came out with the 64-bit Alpha platform to replace the 32-bit VAX they provided a clean migration path for VMS customers. Most simply re-compiled their in-house systems. This migration proved to much of the industry that VMS was VMS was VMS, the platform didn't matter.

Years later, when HP killed off the Alpha platform for no other reason than to push the INTEL built Itanium platform into the market, OpenVMS Engineering took great pains to make the migration as easy as possible for the customer base. Those who heeded the advice of OpenVMS Engineering and eliminated their assembly code prior to the migration found, after a token few source code ...
... tweaks, once again VMS was VMS was VMS.

Integration with Open Source platforms

The OpenVMS operating system is not open source. In the recent past, several CAPI tools have been developed to assist porting of Linux platforms. Commands and programs can easily be ported from Linux systems. OpenVMS makes it easy to develop TCP/IP port services which make data available to Java and other Web services. RDB, the premier database for OpenVMS, can be accessed by Java programs running anywhere in the world as long as they have the proper credentials. In truth, an RDB database running on an OpenVMS cluster is the ultimate high availability solution.

The Original Cloud

While the term did not exist when VMS was introduced, it was and still is the original cloud. VMS is one of the few operating systems which completely clusters. Neither Windows nor Linux cluster. They both claim to cluster and offer various pieces of clustering technology, but neither actually get it right. While the definition of a complete cluster would typically fill several pages, the minimum you need to know is: a complete cluster provides total transactional survivability for ALL data sources within a transaction WITHOUT requiring human intervention, NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS.

That's a tall order. VMS has delivered on that order without fail for decades. The trading companies who were running distributed OpenVMS clusters lost all/most of their personnel and all of their equipment during the events of 9/11, yet they continued trading to the end of the business day without losing a single transaction.

Today, you don't think about such things as computer outages until you hear about them on CNN. When you go onto the Internet you always expect your favorite Web site to be there. When companies try to implement clouds with lesser operating systems using lesser equipment and a single location, you get the news stories about massive outages effecting hundreds if not thousands of companies. When you implement your cloud using OpenVMS clusters scattered across multiple data centers on multiple regional power grids with cluster wide IP aliasing, no such outages occur. The original cloud is quite simply always there.

Hosts different programming applications

OpenVMS has long been the choice of steel and paper mills around the world. In truth, it supports a wide variety of industries because of its rock solid nature and vast development tool set. If you belong to a currency exchange there is a high probability that your currency exchange is trusting the safety and security of OpenVMS. RDB and MySQL are among the supported database architectures. When it comes to development languages and application frameworks you have just about everything from FORTRAN to COBOL to BASIC to C to Java to C++ and even ports of the Qt framework. When it comes to choosing a platform for service oriented architecture hosting and development you simply cannot make a more solid choice than a distributed OpenVMS cluster.

Recently, a stock exchange in China, which was running HP-UX and unable to break into the top 10 ranking of stock exchanges switch to modern OpenVMS. As of 2011 they were ranked 5th in the world with a lot of talk about when, not if but when they would reach number one.

Security features

The open VMS operating system provides detailed security audits and alarms for the users. The main security features include system identifiers, resource identifiers, security identifiers and pass by descriptor standards. The platform has enhanced security support systems from SEVMS. The NCSC has rated the platform at category B1 for its security measures. The platform also has a rating of E3 from the ITSEC. These ratings are commendable for an operating system and thus users are assured of the safety and integrity of their information. Therefore, the OpenVMS is adequate for service oriented architecture and general application development since the information stored by different departments is safe.
Resource: http://www.theminimumyouneedtoknow.com/qt_book.html