Hacking OS sources

[Ian F. Darwin]

	>> You can buy UNIX sources and hack them.  You can buy VMS
	>>sources and hack them.  Much cheaper, you can buy VMS
	>>microfiche.  
	>Hacking microfiche is difficult and joyless.

	True.  To put more clearly what I meant to say in the first
	place:

	If you want to hack source code for your operating system, that
	option is available under VMS as well as UNIX.  Most places
	simply choose not to hack VMS.  I deal with some that do.  If
	most don't, it may have to do with several things: (1) VMS
	sources are a significant expense.  (2) There is an established
	mechanism for reporting problems to Digital.  (3) Problems
	visibly get fixed, and there's an established open mechanism
	for setting priorities on many kinds of problems.

The three reasons that you mention may be true. However, in addition
I would propose that one major reason more people hack UNIX than VMS is
that it's much easier to hack a system written in a programming
language than, paraphrasing Kernighan, having to `grovel around in the
mud in Assembler'. At least when I looked at VMS sources around 1980 it
was all in assembler; I doubt they've switched to PLS in the interim :=).
-- 
Ian Darwin, Toronto
{ihnp4|decvax}!utcs!ian