1.  Welcome

Kednos has closed its doors!

After many years supplying PL/I compilers to OpenVMS and Tru64 UNIX users around the world, from October 2016, Kednos will cease trading.  The PL/I compilers, run-time libraries and integration tools will no longer be updated or supported by Kednos.  Licenses for commercial purposes can still be obtained on an "as is" basis, here.

This website will remain as a place to download software kits for those still holding valid licenses.  It is also still possible to request a hobbyist license and use the compilers in a non-commercial capacity.

What is PL/I?

PL/I is a powerful high-level programming language that is a superior alternative to using Fortran for scientific applications, COBOL for commercial applications and C for systems programming. Enjoy using the King of Programming Languages and don't worry about buffer overrun exploits.

Why should you use PL/I?   Find out!    How does PL/I compare to C?

From this site you may download both documentation and kits for the PL/I compiler for OpenVMS for both Alpha and VAX. As well as PL/I Run-Time Library kits for OpenVMS VAX, Alpha and I64. Also, you may download the kits for the PL/I compiler for Tru64.

2.  Documentation

This page is the starting point for accessing documentation for all Kednos software products.

All manuals are produced using either DECdocument from Touch Technologies, Inc. or Javadoc from Oracle.

Kednos PL/I for OpenVMS

The following documentation is related to all versions of Kednos PL/I for OpenVMS on all supported architectures.

• Software Product Description PDF|PS|HTML
• Installation Guide PDF|PS|HTML
• User Manual PDF|PS|HTML
• Reference Manual PDF|PS|HTML

Documentation for HP OpenVMS is available in HTML and PDF format from HP here.

All documentation for all OpenVMS products (including Integration products) can be downloaded below as a single saveset.as a single savset.  It is possible that the BACKUP savset file attributes may be scrambled.  To correct this download the DCL procedure, RESET_BACKUP_SAVSET_ATTRIBUTES.COM and execute it, passing the saveset name as the first parameter.

• OpenVMS Products Documentation Bundle ZIP|BCK

Kednos PL/I for Tru64 UNIX

The following documentation is related to all versions of Kednos PL/I for Tru64 UNIX (formerly Digital UNIX and OSF/1).

• Installation Guide HTML
• User's Manual HTML
• Reference Manual HTML

Documentation for HP Tru64 UNIX is available in HTML and PDF format from HP here.

Integration Products

The documentation for all integration products can be found on their respective pages.  The links below will take you to the documentation for the relevant product.

• Java-To-VMS Toolkit
• SDL Extenions

2.1  Articles

3.  Integration

Overview

The following sections provide a range of tools and libraries for integrating PL/I on OpenVMS with other native languages. Although all native languages on OpenVMS adhere to the common calling standard, there are some situations where building up the necessary modules and include files can be a large and drawn out task. The tools offered here attempt to ease this difficulty.

The following tools and libraries are currently available:

• J2VMS, a interface between the Java Virtual Machine and the native calling standard of OpenVMS,
• SDLEXT, a collection of Structure Definition Language (SDL) compiler backends that generate output for Java (to be used with J2VMS) and other languages;

Use the menu on the left hand side to navigate to the language integration you are interested in.

In many situations the tools presented here are as useful to other languages as they are PL/I. For example, the J2VMS Java->OpenVMS interface can be used to call routines and manipulate data structures from any language.

Examples

The following is a growing collection of complete working examples that attempt to properly demonstrate the use of these integration tools.

3.1  SDL

Overview

Structure Definition Language (or SDL) is a language for defining data structures, constants, external symbols and entry points. The SDL compiler is a tool for taking those definitions and generating language specific include files.

The SDLEXT product offers a collection of backends that generate output for the following languages:

• Java, for use with the J2VMS interface
• XML Schema Definition.

Software

SDLEXT ships in a combined PCSI kit. This means that the single kit contains software that will install on OpenVMS VAX, Alpha and I64.

• SDLEXT V2.0 PCSI software kit PCSI|ZIP.

The SDL compiler kit is available on the OpenVMS Freeware distribution. It is also available online here. The last release (EV1-65) of ALPHA_SDL can also be downloaded (including source) from here.

Documentation

The following documentation covers the SDLEXT software product:

• SDLEXT User Guide & Release Notes HTML|PS|PDF|ZIP

All manuals are produced using DECdocument from Touch Technologies, Inc.

Documentation for the SDL compiler and language can be viewed in either HTML, PS or PDF formats. The original VAX SDL RUNOFF manual can be viewed here.

3.2  Java

Overview

J2VMS is a generic calling interface for accessing native code on OpenVMS. By using a collection of classes that mimic the argument passing mechanisms of compiled languages and a helper class that is reminiscent of LIB$CALLG it is possible to call any routine found in a shareable run-time library. Also included is the ability to manipulate OpenVMS data structures using a method similar to that offered in the BLISS programming language.

Originally conceived and written by Jim Brankin, J2VMS disappeared into obscurity for some time. Kednos has since resurrected this software package and begun active development of the interface. Below is documentation and software for the latest release.

Articles relating to J2VMS have been published in the OpenVMS Technical Journal. Calling OpenVMS Native Routines From Java was published in V12. WSIT and J2VMS: A Comparative Analysis is an unpublished article that attempts to compare the merits of HP's Web Services Integration Toolkit and Kednos' Java-to-VMS Toolkit..

Software

The following J2VMS software product kits are available for download:

• J2VMS PCSI software kit, PCSI|ZIP. This kit contains V1.3 of J2VMS and is for both OpenVMS Alpha and I64.

The last release from www.j2vms.co.uk (now defunct), Version 1.2 is available from here.

Java for OpenVMS Alpha and I64 can be downloaded from HP at their website here.

Documentation

The following documentation covers the J2VMS product:

• J2VMS User Guide & Release Notes HTML|PS|PDF|ZIP
• J2VMS V1.3 API Specification HTML|ZIP

All manuals are produced using DECdocument from Touch Technologies, Inc. and Javadoc from Oracle.

For all Java on OpenVMS Alpha and I64 related documentation please visit the following HP websites:

• Software Documentation for Java 1.4.2, 5.0 and 6.0 (I64 only)
• Frequently Asked Questions

For documentation related to the Java language and API then please consult the Oracle website.

Examples

The following are a collection of examples demonstrating the J2VMS interface. Some have corresponding native language examples that can be used to compare the two environments. All Java examples are included in the software product kit.

$ javac -classpath "/sys$library/j2vms$vs.jar" put.java
$ java -classpath "/sys$library/j2vms$vs.jar:./" put

$ javac -classpath "/sys$library/j2vms$vs.jar" get.java
$ java -classpath "/sys$library/j2vms$vs.jar:./" get

  DISK_DRIVER -- Programming example to demonstrate use of
  OpenVMS disk drivers using RMS and QIO services.  The module
  first uses RMS $CREATE to create a file called MYDATAFIL.DAT in
  the default directory and then writes one hundred 512-byte (1 disk
  block) records, each of which contains the record number
  repeated 512 times, using RMS $PUT.  It then uses QIO services
  to access, randomly read and write, and close the file, swapping the
  contents of each pair of records.  If any errors are detected,
  the program exits with the error status associated with the
  error.

$ javac -classpath "/sys$library/j2vms$vs.jar" disk_driver.java
$ java -classpath "/sys$library/j2vms$vs.jar:./" disk_driver

$ javac -classpath "/sys$library/j2vms$vs.jar" lock.java
$ java -classpath "/sys$library/j2vms$vs.jar:./" lock

$ javac -classpath "/sys$library/j2vms$vs.jar" get2.java
$ java -classpath "/sys$library/j2vms$vs.jar:./" get2

4.  Hobbyist

Overview

Kednos is a proud supporter of the OpenVMS Hobbyist Program.  This program came about as result of the efforts of OpenVMS Hobbyist #1, Pat Jankowiak, the late John Wisniewski and David Cathey from Montagar.  Since then a number of vendors have offered their software products to hobbyists and non-commercial users for a great fee, NOTHING!

Kednos is happy to offer their PL/I compilers for OpenVMS VAX and Alpha under this same licensing arrangement.  To begin you need to qualify for a regular old OpenVMS hobbyist license.  If you do, then you can apply for a Kednos hobbyist license here.  The remainder of this page consists of information and pointers to resources useful to OpenVMS hobbyists.  If you believe there is an error or ommition, then please contact us at here.

Public Access

If you don't have an Alpha or VAX system with which to install the hobbyist PL/I compiler on, there are a number of public access systems available (for non-commercial use) that do have the Kednos PL/I compiler installed.  The following is a list of such systems currently available.

• eisner.decus.org is possibly the oldest public access OpenVMS system.  It is an Alpha system running a host of hobbyist software, including the Kednos PL/I compiler.
• FAFNER was a VAX 7000/820 system running OpenVMS V7.3.  However, FAFNER has since been shutdown and replaced with a DS20 called FASOLT. It too has the Kednos PL/I compiler installed.  FASOLT's system manager also offers other classic systems for temporary use.

If you know of a system not listed here, please contact us here.

Emulated/Simulated Systems

If you would rather have your own personal system, yet still don't have the necessary hardware then maybe you sohuld consider and emulated system.  There are a number of VAX and Alpha emulators available for free use, although some only non-commerically.  The following list covers all emulators know to Kednos at this time.  If you know of an emulator not listed here, then please contact us with the details.

• SIMH is possibly the best know simulator available.  It supports a whole host of systems from DEC as well as other vendors.  Included in this is a MicroVAX 3900 and a VAX-11/780.  Both of these will run OpenVMS and in-turn will run the Kednos PL/I VAX compiler.
• ts10 is another emulator family.  Originally developed as PDP-10 emulator it has since grown to include PDP-11 and VAX systems.  The VAX system emulated ar the VAXserver 3900 and MicroVAX II.  This emulator will boot OpenVMS and support the Kednos PL/I compiler.
• Stromasys (formerly SRI) offers a collection of emulators for commercial use (SPARC, HPe3000, VAX, Alpha and PDP-11).  Their VAX and Alpha emulators will run OpenVMS and the Kednos PL/I compilers.
• es40 is an opensource AlphaServer ES40 emulator.  It boots OpenVMS Alpha and has been known to run on Windows, Linux, OpenVMS MacOS X and Solaris.  It will also run the Kednos PL/I compiler.
• Advanced Virtualisation Technologies offer both VAX and Alpha commerical emulators capable of running OpenVMS and tje Kednos PL/I compilers.

Links

The following is a collection of links to other supporters of the OpenVMS Hobbyist programme.  Further this great community programme and grab some more hobbyist software for you system, today!

• OpenVMS Hobbyist Program, the place to go for hobbyist licenses for all HP software, including OpenVMS.
• Process Software offers hobbyist licenses for their MultiNet, TCPware, PMDF, or PreciseMail Anti-Spam Gateway networking products.
• Hoffman Labs has ported the Lua programming language to OpenVMS Alpha and I64.  It is available both commerically and under the hobbyist program.  You can visit the product page here.
• GrayMatter Software announced the availability of their ScriptServer form printing software product to hobbyists.

5.  Kits

All software product kits for OpenVMS are compressed with Zip from Info-ZIP with the qualifier /VMS (-"V") to preserve OpenVMS file attributes. All software product kits for Tru64 UNIX. are packaged with tar and gzip. To download a kit, right-click on the link and select 'Save Link As...' (or your browser's equivalent).

For documentation relating to all PL/I products, procede to the Documentation page. Documentation for all Integration products can be found at their respective pages.

• Latest version of the OpenVMS PL/I compiler for Alpha and VAX.

  • A new kit is available as of January 18, 2007 and resolves a number of outstanding issues for the Alpha compiler. Please refer to the release notes for more information. This version, consolidates the fixes to all outstanding issues.

  • A new kit is available as of October 25, 2003 and resolves a number of outstanding issues for the VAX compiler. Please refer to the release notes for more information. This version, 3.8, consolidates the fixes to all outstanding issues.

• Just the OpenVMS shared runtime libraries; Alpha RTL and VAX RTL.

• Latest version of the Native IPF PL/I Run-Time Library  for Translated Images

  • A new production kit is available as of January 14, 2009. This RTL provides support for executing PL/I images that have been compiled and linked on OpenVMS Alpha and subsequently translated, using the AEST utility, for execution on OpenVMS I64. Please refer to the release notes for further information.

• Latest Unix version of the PL/I compiler for Tru64 UNIX (formerly Digital UNIX and OSF/1).

• SDL Extensions software kits can be downloaded here.

• Java-to-OpenVMS Toolkit (J2VMS) software kits can be downloaded here.

ECCN Number EAR99 so no Export Control License is required.

6.  Examples

There are a number of PL/I Programming Examples for the OpenVMS environment which have been culled from this site.

These examples of PL/I code in the OpenVMS environment, range from simple applications to systems programming and has a search engine to assist you in locating specific examples. Suppose, for example, that you are looking for coding examples calling SYS$QIOW. Enter, PLI-EXAMPLE + SYS$QIOW into the search engine.

Both PL1 and PLI are used in this data base. Click on these links and enter specific items into the search engine to further refine the search.

7.  Resources

This section presents a number of resources useful to PL/I and OpenVMS users alike.  Please report any broken links or suggestions to webmaster@kednos.com.

PL/I Software

The following are a collection of links to various websites offering utilities and libraries written in PL/I:

• The PL/I Software Repository is collection of PL/I source from many contributors and maintained by Robin Vowels.
• The PL/I Language is a website (recently back online) maintained by Peter Flass.  It offers quite a lot of information regarding PL/I including code samples, style guide and manuals.
• The source code for the final release of MULTICS, MR 12.5, is available from the MIT MULTICS History website.  Unfortunately very little, if any, of this code will compile without modification on a modern PL/I compiler.
• Lastly, there are also a large number of PL/I programs and examples under the Examples section.

Mailing Lists & Newsgroups

There exists on the internet a few forums for OpenVMS and PL/I. The following list covers some of the more popular and better known.

• PL1-L is a mailing list that covers the PL/I language in general. It is more targeted towards IBM developers and compilers. To join, visit the listserv website here.
• PLIEDIT - PL/I Editor for Eclipse, as well as offering the Eclipse editor plugin also has a discussion board that includes general PL/I discussion forums.
• comp.lang.pl1 is another forum for discussing PL/I. It is a usenet newsgroup so it can be accessed from either Google or your favourite NNTP client. Again, this is a more IBM centric newsgroup, but still a valuable general PL/I resource.
• comp.os.vms is an OpenVMS specific usenet newsgroup. It can be accessed either via Google or NNTP. There are also some language specific groups, listed here:
  
  • fr.comp.os.vms: a French language newsgroup. Access via Google or NNTP.
  • de.comp.os.vms: a German language newsgroup. Access via Google or NNTP.
• HP's IT Resource Centre (ITRC) includes a moderated, web-based technical forum. It requires registration and covers all HP products, including OpenVMS. With the signal to noise ratio getting worse at newsgroups like comp.os.vms most HP engineers now lurk here.

Games

OpenVMS isn't typically known for being a premier gaming platform, at least not these days. The following are a collection of of links (some local) to various games that have been ported to OpenVMS.

• Hexen, Doom, Bomberman and the Simple Directmedia Layer have all been ported to OpenVMS by Alexey Chupahin. They can be found at his website, here.
• Wolfenstein 3D and Spear of Destiny have been ported by Tim Sneddon. The software can be found here.
• The OpenVMS Hobbyist website has a few games in it's download section, here.
• The Halls Of ZK, an interactive fiction game set at Digital's Spitbrook facility.
• Lastly, the OpenVMS Freeware CD collection has received many submissions of games over the years.

7.1  Editors

The following are a collection of editors and development environments known to have support for PL/I. In some instances this may be just as simple as syntax highlighting, others offer PL/I integration into a larger development environment.

7.2  Code Management

The following are a collection of utilities for manageing source code on OpenVMS.  Some are open source, some are proprietry and in some cases they offer only client functionality.

Concurrent Version System

Otherwise known as CVS, this is a distributed version control system that grew out of RCS on UNIX-like systems. Unfortuantely there has never been a port of the server-side functionality of CVS to OpenVMS.  Client support has been available for sometime and older releases can be found on the Freeware V3 and V4 CDs.

Another Java-based CVS implementation is available, called jCVS.  Although there has been mention of work into supporting OpenVMS there does not appear to be anything more than this post to the jCVS forum.

Jouk Jansen has ported the latest unstable release, 1.12.13 to OpenVMS.  It is available from his website here.

Code Management System

Otherwise known as CMS, this is a non-distributed code management system developed and maintained at HP as part of the DECset collection of tools.  It runs on OpenVMS VAX, Alpha and I64.There are a number of supporting tools that add some level of a distributed nature to the system.

For Windows environments there is the DECset CMS and MMS clients.  Although details of these utilities seem to be missing from the HP website they are available and allow integration of CMS into the Visual Studio suite of tools.

For OpenVMS Alpha and I64 environments there is the Distributed Netbeans IDE.  Although this runs on Windows, the source code itself is located elsewhere on an OpenVMS system.

It is also worth mentioning the VDE software.  This is the code management system used to maintain OpenVMS.  It is available on the Freeware V4 and V7 distributions for those interested.  It does require a number of extra products, including CMS and Oracle Rdb.

Mercurial

Mercurial is often referred to by its command name, hg.  Mercurial is another distributed code management system, this time written in Python (there is no support for Python on OpenVMS VAX).  It does have support for client and server functionality on OpenVMS and can be used with both WASD and HP's port of Apache, Secure Web Server.

The OpenVMS port of Python, Mercurial and a host of other Python software has been performed by Jean-Fran�ois Pi�ronne and is available from his website, here.  There is also a forum for discussing Python and MySQL here.

Subversion

Subversion, also known as SVN, is yet another distributed code management system.  It was started as a project to replace CVS, providing many new features and fixing long standing bugs.  Since its creation it has grown and has replaced CVS in many areas.

Support for OpenVMS Alpha and I64 is provided through the Java client implementation, SVNkit.  It can be downloaded here. 

7.3  Benchmarks

The following are a collection of benchmarks that have been gathered from around the internet and translated into PL/I.

$ PLI HANOI+TIMER
$ LINK HANOI
$ RUN HANOI

$ PLI FIB+TIMER
$ LINK FIB
$ RUN FIB

$ PLI PRIME+TIMER
$ LINK PRIME
$ RUN PRIME

 ^*These results were obtained by translating an Alpha version of the benchmark using an experimental release of the OpenVMS Migration Software for Alpha to IPF Systems (OMSAI) binary translator from HP. Run-time support was provided by the Kednos Native IPF PL/I Run-Time Library  for Translated Images.

7.4  Rexx

Overview

Rexx is a programming language developed at IBM by Mike Cowlishaw in 1979.  It is largely based on PL/I.  Cowlishaw's original intention was to develop a language similar to PL/I, but easier for beginners and non-programmers to grasp.  Since its creation Rexx has been extended and implemented on many platforms in different ways.  This page is a repository for all OpenVMS related Rexx activity.

NetRexx

NetRexx is IBM's Java based version of Rexx.  It is entirely written in Java and consists of a compiler and run-time.  Rexx code is compiled to Java which is then compiled to Java byte-code.  Although not officially supported by IBM, it is possible to run NetRexx under OpenVMS.

• NetRexx Binary Kit, Documentation, Samples
• OpenVMS NetRexx Setup Procedures ZIP

After downloading and unpacking the IBM binary kit you should be left with a [.NetRexx...] directory tree.  Download the OpenVMS NetRexx setup procedures and unpack the, in the [.NetRexx] directory.  In this kit are two procedures.  The first is NETREXX_STARTUP.COM, to be included in the system startup procedure. It defines the system-wide product logicals.  The second is NETREXX_LOGIN.COM, to be included in the user's login procedure. It sets up the nrc and netrexxc compiler commands.  When adding NETREXX_LOGIN.COM to the user's login procedure it is important to run the Java setup procedure first.  An excert from a typical login procedure might look like this:

    $ if (f$search("SYS$MANAGER:JAVA$142_SETUP.COM") .nes. "")
    $ then
    $    @sys$manager:java$142_setup
    $    if (f$search("NETREXX_ROOT:[000000]NETREXX_LOGIN.COM") .nes. "") then -
    $        @netrexx_root:[000000]netrexx_login
    $ endif

NetRexx is a Java application so it responds to all the Java and DECC$* feature logicals.  At a minimum the following should be configured:

    $ set process/parse_style=extended
    $ define DECC$ARGV_PARSE_STYLE "TRUE"
    $ define DECC$EFS_CASE_PRESERVE "TRUE"
    $ define DECC$EFS_CASE_SPECIAL "TRUE"

To run a compiled program, simply use the Java VM, making sure to include the NetRexx run-time in the classpath.  The following example demonstrates compiling and running a NetRexx program.

    $ type hello.nrx
    /* This is a fully documented NetRexx program */

    say 'Hello World!'
    $ netrexxc hello.nrx
    NetRexx portable processor, version 2.05
    Copyright (c) IBM Corporation, 2005.  All rights reserved.
    Program hello.nrx
    Compilation of 'hello.nrx' successful
    $ java -classpath /netrexx_runlib/NetRexxR.jar:. hello
    Hello World!

It is also possible to run the program in the NetRexx Interpreter, with a couple extra options:

    $ netrexxc hello.nrx -exec -nojava
    NetRexx portable processor, version 2.05
    Copyright (c) IBM Corporation, 2005.  All rights reserved.
    Program hello.nrx
    ===== Exec: hello =====
    Hello World!
    Processing of 'hello.nrx' complete

Links

The following are a collection of links to other Rexx resources around the internet.

• comp.lang.rexx is a forum for discussing Rexx. It is a usenet newsgroup so it can be accessed from either Google or your favourite NNTP client.
• RexxLA is The Rexx Language Association.  They are an independant, non-profit organization dedicated for futhering the Rexx Programming Language.  They have been involved in the release of Open Object Rexx and the upcoming open source release of NetRexx.
• Mike Colishaw's Rexx Page was once the definitive reference for all things Rexx, it has been preserved by RexxLA.

8.  Site Map

Sitemap of www.kednos.com

1.Welcome	Kednos has closed its doors!,  What is PL/I?
2.Documentation	Kednos PL/I for OpenVMS,  Kednos PL/I for Tru64 UNIX,  Integration Products
2.1Articles
3.Integration	Overview,  Examples
3.1SDL	Overview,  Software,  Documentation
3.2Java	Overview,  Software,  Documentation,  Examples
4.Hobbyist	Overview,  Public Access,  Emulated/Simulated Systems,  Links
5.Kits
6.Examples
7.Resources	PL/I Software,  Mailing Lists & Newsgroups,  Games
7.1Editors
7.2Code Management	Concurrent Version System,  Code Management System,  Mercurial,  Subversion
7.3Benchmarks
7.4Rexx	Overview,  NetRexx,  Links
8.Site Map
9.Contact

OpenVMS Web-Ring  [ Home | Hub | Random | Prev | Next ]

9.  Contact

To contact someone regarding this website, hobbyist licenses, etc. Please use the form below.