[HECnet] BLISS-16?

Steve Davidson jeep at scshome.net
Mon Oct 10 15:24:18 PDT 2011


Internally, that compiler was known as BLISS-16C (C for cross-compiler).

The TRANSF utility in RT-11 was eventually written in BLISS-16C (and
common BLISS) so that one source pool could be maintained across the
various operating systems (RT-11, RSX-11, VAX/VMS).

EDT (I was the project leader for V3.10) used BLISS-16C for the builds
on RSX-11M, IAS-11, and RSTS/E (RSX run-time environment) and BLISS-32
(eventually BLISS-64) for VMS.

-Steve 

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-hecnet at Update.UU.SE 
[mailto:owner-hecnet at Update.UU.SE] On Behalf Of Johnny Billquist
Sent: Monday, October 10, 2011 10:14
To: hecnet at Update.UU.SE
Subject: Re: [HECnet] BLISS-16?

All of RMS-11 is written in BLISS-16. Parts of the RSX kernel 
is written in BLISS-16, and also parts of DECnet-RSX is 
written in BLISS-16. 
Cross-compiled on VMS, and the result transferred back to the 
RSX system for the full build. Listings and stuff from the 
BLISS-16 compiles are distributed as a part of the RSX distribution.

	Johnny

On 2011-10-10 16.01, Paul_Koning at Dell.com wrote:
I don't know that DEC used Bliss at all for PDP-11 
software.   The only place I ever saw it was in an Algol-68 
compiler written at Carnegie-Mellon (the original 
perpetrators of Bliss).   That was a different edition, 
though, called Bliss-11 and hosted on a PDP-10.

	paul

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-hecnet at Update.UU.SE 
[mailto:owner-hecnet at Update.UU.SE] On 
Behalf Of Johnny Billquist
Sent: Monday, October 10, 2011 9:58 AM
To: hecnet at Update.UU.SE
Subject: Re: [HECnet] BLISS-16?

Hi, Steve.

Looking for the cross compiler. (Like I said, BLISS-16 for 
VMS... :-) ).

I've seen one reference for uBLISS, but I have no idea of 
the status of that one. Was it even usable? Why did DEC not 
use it internally for the Bliss stuff for PDP-11s?

	Johnny

On 2011-10-10 15.55, Steve Davidson wrote:
Johnny,

Are you looking for the cross compiler (BLISS-16C) that ran on VAX
(VMS) generating code for the 11's, or are you looking for the 
compiler that ran directly on the 11's (uBLISS AKA microBLISS)?
BLISS-16C while hard to find may be available, the other 
one I have 
only seen (and used) once in the 80's while at DEC and 
don't expect it to be available anywhere.

I will check to see if I have a copy of either, but it may 
take a while!
I'm not sure what condition the tapes I have are in - it has been 
decades since they were last accessed.

-Steve

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-hecnet at Update.UU.SE
[mailto:owner-hecnet at Update.UU.SE] On Behalf Of Johnny Billquist
Sent: Sunday, October 09, 2011 22:09
To: hecnet at Update.UU.SE
Subject: [HECnet] BLISS-16?

Do anyone have BLISS-16 for VMS? I guess it might be bundled with 
BLISS-32, but I don't know. I would like to test it some, 
and I have 
a VAX box running VMS, but my distribution CDs are far 
away, and I 
don't know if I have BLISS in there, but I thought I'd start by 
asking here before I try to get access to CDs 2000 km away...

	Johnny



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