VMS
/V.M.S/, n.
{DEC}'s proprietary operating system for its {VAX} minicomputer; one
of the seven or so environments that loom largest in hacker folklore.
Many Unix fans generously concede that VMS would probably be the
hacker's favorite commercial OS if Unix didn't exist; though true,
this makes VMS fans furious. One major hacker gripe with VMS concerns
its slowness -- thus the following limerick:
There once was a system called VMS
Of cycles by no means abstemious.
It's chock-full of hacks
And runs on a VAX
And makes my poor stomach all squeamious.
-- The Great Quux
See also {VAX}, {TOPS-10}, {TOPS-20}, {Unix}, {runic}.
Virtual Memory System
OpenVMS
VAX/VMS
VMS
<operating system> (VMS) {DEC}'s proprietary {operating
system} originally produced for its {VAX} {minicomputer}.
VMS V1 was released in August 1978. VMS was renamed "OpenVMS"
around version 5.5. The first version of VMS on {DEC Alpha}
was known as OpenVMS for AXP V1.0, and the correct way to
refer to the operating system now is OpenVMS for VAX or
OpenVMS for Alpha. The renaming also signified the fact that
the {X/Open} consortium had certified OpenVMS as having a high
support for {POSIX} standards.
VMS is one of the most secure operating systems on the market
(making it popular in financial institutions). It currently
(October 1997) has the best {clustering} capability (both
number and distance) and is very scalable with {binaries}
portable from small desktop {workstations} up to huge
{mainframes}.
Many {Unix} fans generously concede that VMS would probably be
the {hacker}'s favourite commercial OS if Unix didn't exist;
though true, this makes VMS fans furious.
FAQ
(http://cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/bngusenet/comp/os/vms/top.html).
Usenet newsgroup: news:comp.os.vms.
[How does its performance compare with other OSes?]
(1999-06-03)
VMS
Virtual Memory [operating] System (DEC, OS)