
VAX/VMS internals and data structures
by Ruth E. Goldenberg · first published 1991
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2recommended by
8HN commenters
2018–2025first – last mentioned
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Search for a copy of "VAX VMS Internals and Data Structures". I have the version 4.4 book, but it appears later editions are available at Amazon and online as pdf. This is pretty dense reading and really goes into detail on the design and rationale for the design.…
on “History of the ISA: Digital Equipment Corporation” ↗Software Engineering Risk Analysis and Management by Charette. This unlocked the meaning of "risk" for mme and how it applies to engineering and systems. VAX/VMS Internals and Data Structures by Kenah. Not that anyone cares anymore but this provides a distinctively different description of operating system internals. Very different from Linux. Explains what goes on behind system calls;…
on “Ask HN: Name 3-5 books that had the most impact on your career and knowledge?” ↗The MS guy says there was no public NT internals doc. However many people refer to VAX/VMS Internals and Data Structures as being very similar. Both were architected by DNC.
on “A Kernel Engineer at Microsoft's Answer to “What Do You Think about ReactOS?”” ↗…they added the Win32 API, NTFS file system, GUI, and backwards compatibility with DOS, OS/2, and Win16, DEC engineers almost immediately noticed the two operating systems' internal similarities; parts of VAX/VMS Internals and Data Structures, published by Digital Press, accurately describe Windows NT internals using VMS terms. Instead of a lawsuit, Microsoft agreed to pay DEC $65–100 million, help market VMS, train Digital personnel on Windows…
on “The End of OS X” ↗…they added the Win32 API, NTFS file system, GUI, and backwards compatibility with DOS, OS/2, and Win16, DEC engineers almost immediately noticed the two operating systems' internal similarities; parts of VAX/VMS Internals and Data Structures, published by Digital Press, accurately describe Windows NT internals using VMS terms. Instead of a lawsuit, Microsoft agreed to pay DEC $65–100 million, help market VMS, train Digital personnel on Windows…
on “Windows 2000 64-bit for Alpha AXP” ↗…VMS internals to NT was so thorough that within a few weeks of NT's release, Digital engineers noticed the striking similarities. Those similarities could fill a book. In fact, you can read sections of VAX/VMS Internals and Data Structures (Digital Press) as an accurate description of NT internals simply by translating VMS terms to NT terms. ... "Why the Fastest Chip Didn't Win" (Business Week, April 28, 1997) states that when Digital…
on “Long gone, DEC is still powering the world of computing” ↗…added the Win32 API, NTFS file system, GUI, and backwards compatibility with DOS, OS/2, and Win16, DEC engineers almost immediately noticed the two operating systems' internal similarities; parts of 'VAX/VMS Internals and Data Structures', published by Digital Press, accurately describe Windows NT internals using VMS terms. Instead of a lawsuit, Microsoft agreed to pay DEC $65–100 million, help market VMS, train Digital personnel on Windows…
on “Windows 2000 64-bit for Alpha AXP” ↗…they added the Win32 API, NTFS file system, GUI, and backwards compatibility with DOS, OS/2, and Win16, DEC engineers almost immediately noticed the two operating systems' internal similarities; parts of VAX/VMS Internals and Data Structures, published by Digital Press, accurately describe Windows NT internals using VMS terms. Instead of a lawsuit, Microsoft agreed to pay DEC $65–100 million, help market VMS, train Digital personnel on Windows…
on “Windows NT: Peeking into the Cradle” ↗…https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_NT#Development "Although NT was not an exact clone of Cutler's previous operating systems, DEC engineers almost immediately noticed the internal similarities. Parts of VAX/VMS Internals and Data Structures, published by Digital Press, accurately describe Windows NT internals using VMS terms."
on “Public Access OpenVMS System” ↗…User Mode, Volume II:Kernel Mode, Volume III: Security & Insecurity) https://newosxbook.com/home.html [15] https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/resources/windows-internals [16] VAX/VMS Internals and Data Structures http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/dec/vax/vms/training/EY-00014-DP_VMS_Internals_and_Data_Structures_1984.pdf [17] https://xinu.cs.purdue.edu
on “Ask HN: What Comes After John Lions' Unix Commentary?” ↗