On 9/14/2023 7:12 PM, Chris Townley wrote:
> On 14/09/2023 23:32, bill wrote:
>> On 9/11/2023 3:45 PM, bill wrote:
>>> On 9/11/2023 3:01 PM, Brian Schenkenberger wrote:
>>>> How does a COBOL program return a status (ie. R0) to a calling
>>>> program? I found a reference to RETURN-CODE but compiler balks at that.
>>>>
>>>
>>> In Unix ending the program with:
>>>
>>>      STOP RUN RETURNING {literal-1}
>>>                         {identifier-1}
>>>
>>>
>>> will make a return code available to the shell.
>>>
>>> If you want a status returned to DCL I expect that would do it.
>>>
>>> bill
>>>
>>> {I really need to get a VMS system running here again.}
>>>
>>
>> OK, in case anyone is still interested in any of this.
>>
>> OpenVMS COBOL does not support the RETURNING clause on a STOP RUN.
>>
>> If you wish to pass a STATUS back to DCL you have to put the
>> desired value in the predefined variable RETURN-CODE before
>> using STOP RUN.
>>
>> I tried it and it works fine.
>>
>> I really miss doing COBOL.  Kinda miss Fortran, too, but not
>> as much.  And then there was Pascal.  A shame we lost all the
>> good languages.
>>
>> bill
>>
>
> Pascal IS available for x86
>

I have Pascal on pretty much every system I still run here at home.
What I lack is Pascal Programs to work on. :-)

bill

On 2023-09-11 19:01:26 +0000, Brian Schenkenberger said:

> How does a COBOL program return a status (ie. R0) to a calling program?
> I found a reference to RETURN-CODE but compiler balks at that.

If it doesn't need to be portable COBOL, which seems likely given SYS$MGBLSC...

CALL "SYS$EXIT" USING BY VALUE RETURN-STATUS
And for errors...

CALL "LIB$SIGNAL" USING BY VALUE ERROR-STATUS

--
Pure Personal Opinion | HoffmanLabs LLC

On 9/14/2023 8:11 PM, bill wrote:
> On 9/14/2023 7:12 PM, Chris Townley wrote:
>> On 14/09/2023 23:32, bill wrote:
>>> I really miss doing COBOL.  Kinda miss Fortran, too, but not
>>> as much.  And then there was Pascal.  A shame we lost all the
>>> good languages.
>>
>> Pascal IS available for x86
>
> I have Pascal on pretty much every system I still run here at home.
> What I lack is Pascal Programs to work on.  :-)

There are still some custom Pascal application running on VMS.

But Pascal is pretty rare in the open source world.

Anyway a quick google gave one good candidate:

https://github.com/HeidiSQL/HeidiSQL

Easy task : port to Lazarus.

Difficult task : port to VMS Pascal using X for GUI.

Arne

On Friday, 15 September 2023 at 10:11:23 am UTC+10, bill wrote:
> I have Pascal on pretty much every system I still run here at home.
> What I lack is Pascal Programs to work on. :-)
>
> bill
Well someone needs to port QIX.PAS (and associated support files) to x86 vms
The (vms) world is waiting...
Phil

On 9/15/2023 6:46 AM, Phil Howell wrote:
> On Friday, 15 September 2023 at 10:11:23 am UTC+10, bill wrote:
>> I have Pascal on pretty much every system I still run here at home.
>> What I lack is Pascal Programs to work on. :-)
>>
>> bill
> Well someone needs to port QIX.PAS (and associated support files) to x86 vms
> The (vms) world is waiting...
> Phil

I do not have x86 VMS and don't anticipate having it any time
soon, if ever. Is it not running on Alpha VMS? If it is won't
it take nothing more than a recompile?

bill
[ As a side note, I have no idea what QIX is or means.]

On 2023-09-15 14:49, bill wrote:
> On 9/15/2023 6:46 AM, Phil Howell wrote:
>> On Friday, 15 September 2023 at 10:11:23 am UTC+10, bill wrote:
>>> I have Pascal on pretty much every system I still run here at home.
>>> What I lack is Pascal Programs to work on. :-)
>>>
>>> bill
>> Well someone needs to port QIX.PAS (and associated support files) to
>> x86 vms
>> The (vms) world is waiting...
>> Phil
>
> I do not have x86 VMS and don't anticipate having it any time
> soon, if ever.  Is it not running on Alpha VMS?  If it is won't
> it take nothing more than a recompile?
>
> bill
> [ As a side note, I have no idea what QIX is or means.]

Probably https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qix. I have some vague
recollection of seeing an implementation running on a VT100.

Johnny

On 9/15/2023 11:53 AM, Johnny Billquist wrote:
> On 2023-09-15 14:49, bill wrote:
>> On 9/15/2023 6:46 AM, Phil Howell wrote:
>>> On Friday, 15 September 2023 at 10:11:23 am UTC+10, bill wrote:
>>>> I have Pascal on pretty much every system I still run here at home.
>>>> What I lack is Pascal Programs to work on. :-)
>>>>
>>>> bill
>>> Well someone needs to port QIX.PAS (and associated support files) to
>>> x86 vms
>>> The (vms) world is waiting...
>>> Phil
>>
>> I do not have x86 VMS and don't anticipate having it any time
>> soon, if ever.  Is it not running on Alpha VMS?  If it is won't
>> it take nothing more than a recompile?
>>
>> bill
>> [ As a side note, I have no idea what QIX is or means.]
>
> Probably https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qix. I have some vague
> recollection of seeing an implementation running on a VT100.
>

I see. I don;t waste my time on games.

bill

Johnny Billquist <bqt@softjar.se> wrote:
>Probably https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qix. I have some vague
>recollection of seeing an implementation running on a VT100.

I wrote an implementation that ran under VWS on VMS 5.4 or so, I think. And
it was called qix.pas. If anyone is still running VWS today, I might have a
tape somewhere. It wasn't actually very good, but it got passed around on
net.sources I think.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

On 2023-09-15 00:31:26 +0000, Stephen Hoffman said:

> On 2023-09-11 19:01:26 +0000, Brian Schenkenberger said:
>
>> How does a COBOL program return a status (ie. R0) to a calling program?
>> I found a reference to RETURN-CODE but compiler balks at that.
>
> If it doesn't need to be portable COBOL, which seems likely given SYS$MGBLSC...
>
> CALL "SYS$EXIT" USING BY VALUE RETURN-STATUS
> And for errors...
>
> CALL "LIB$SIGNAL" USING BY VALUE ERROR-STATUS

Those would have stopped everything. I was writing a program in COBOL
for a customer which they could call to access data in a global
section. Sure, I could have witten it in a real language but I thought
I'd give them some "food for thought" and show them how to call VMS
system services and RTLs.

This exercise was something I hope I don't have to repeat. ;)

On Sunday, September 17, 2023 at 9:38:48 AM UTC-7, Scott Dorsey wrote:
> Johnny Billquist <b...@softjar.se> wrote:
> >Probably https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qix. I have some vague
> >recollection of seeing an implementation running on a VT100.
> I wrote an implementation that ran under VWS on VMS 5.4 or so, I think. And
> it was called qix.pas. If anyone is still running VWS today, I might have a
> tape somewhere. It wasn't actually very good, but it got passed around on
> net.sources I think.
> --scott

Speaking of COBOL, VMS, and games, I found a Tetris clone written in COBOL for VMS (using SMG$ calls) on GitHub!

https://github.com/pikapokec/OpenVMSCobolTetris

One of my classmates at Cal Poly Pomona had written a PacMan clone in DEC Ada called AdaMan (naturally). I think he also used SMG$ calls because I remember being a little surprised he had docs for the VMS APIs.

This was in the late 1990s, so we couldn't download PDFs of the docs, but there were bound copies of all the OpenVMS manuals in the computer lab, so in retrospect, I think he must've found "RTL Screen Management (SMG$) Manual" and used that with the Ada bindings, much like the author of the Tetris game used them with COBOL. Hooray for cross-language calling standard compatibility!

Regards,
Jake Hamby

On Wednesday, 11 October 2023 at 8:23:14 am UTC+11, Jake Hamby (Solid State Jake) wrote:
> On Sunday, September 17, 2023 at 9:38:48 AM UTC-7, Scott Dorsey wrote:
> > Johnny Billquist <b...@softjar.se> wrote:
> > >Probably https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qix. I have some vague
> > >recollection of seeing an implementation running on a VT100.
> > I wrote an implementation that ran under VWS on VMS 5.4 or so, I think. And
> > it was called qix.pas. If anyone is still running VWS today, I might have a
> > tape somewhere. It wasn't actually very good, but it got passed around on
> > net.sources I think.
> > --scott
> Speaking of COBOL, VMS, and games, I found a Tetris clone written in COBOL for VMS (using SMG$ calls) on GitHub!
>
> https://github.com/pikapokec/OpenVMSCobolTetris
>
A local user on the ACMS Retro Computer group (Facebook) has just posted screen shots of Tetris running
in a CDE session on an alpha running vms 7.3
There are instructions around about how to get Tetris from digiater.nl