On Tue, 16 Dec 2008 14:38:32 -0600, John McKown wrote: > >A bit off, but has anybody else here looked at the "i" system (nee AS/400)? >You want to talk about OCO! It has some really interesting capabilities. But >it has NO way to write anything in assembler. The OS is basically divided in >two. The "high level" part is called OS/400 (i5/OS). It is written at the MI >(Machine Independent) level. The "low level" part is called the SLIC (System >Licensed Internal Code). None of this code is ever shown outside of the >AS/400 development lab. You cannot even write your own language! Because you >cannot create a "program object". And something can be executed only if it >is marked as a "program object". > >This is not a system for bits-n-bytes techies! You simply cannot get to the >bits-n-bytes level. > So no ISVs? Or they code at the MI level.
But I could draw a parallel to z: SLIC == microcode, millicode MI == assembler for z. Mac OS was somewhat like that, through OS 6 or so. But ISVs were allowed to span the boundary, and produced languages that allowed end users to span the gap likewise. OK. Through OS 6, Mac was sold with no networking software and no way to create an executable. But it could read PC diskettes. And nerds of a certain persuasion flamed about being unable to download software to PCs and run it on Macs, because it was not marked executable on the PC disk. -- gil ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@bama.ua.edu with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html