Re: [Linux-decnet-user] Hello

[Patrick C. <pa...@ty...>]

On Thu, Apr 01, 2004 at 01:39:28PM -0500, David Mitton wrote:
> 
> Hello there,
> 	I've just joined this list, and I don't know how much time I have to 
> 	spend on the subject.  But I'd like to offer some help if possible and a 
> few comments.
> 
> - I see that you've rescued a set of DECnet specs from Matt Thomas.  They 
> are no longer visible on the HP website.
> 
> I have a copy of DAP 7.3.1 dated 21-April-1995 (in text and .RNO) that I'd 
> be willing to contribute.  You only seem to have V5.6 (which is mostly good 
> enough)
> I was the DAP Architect for a number of years until Aug 1995

I'd love to see a later DAP specification. There are bugs and missing features
and some small incompatibilities in FAL that might be cleared up by that...
 
> Someone recently gave me a hard copy of a LAT spec.  I needed some info for 
> an IETF RFC reference.  It was interesting that I could not get a complete 
> answer out of the "official" folks.  Seems that LAT is winding down.

LAT I'm happy not to see, for two reasons. 1: It was a pure reverse-engineering
job and I'd like to keep it that way for legal reasons and 2: I'm sure I've
missed a lot out (In fact I know I have as Fred van Kempen told me last year!)
and the code is now such a mess that if I found out how it really worked I'd have
to rewrite it all and I just don't have the time for that !
 
> - I was also the designer/implementor of DECnet-DOS and it's 
> kernel.  Though the neurons are a bit rusty, I used to do a DECnet socket 
> programming tutorial at DECUS.  I don't know how well your sockets match 
> ours, but I may be able to dig up some old material.

Actually, one of the DAP incompatibilities is with DECnet/DOS :-)
 
> - One of the FAQ pages says that "DECnet was designed for the VAX", well 
> I'm sure a few of the contributors could tell you that PDP-11 and 
> DECsystem-10 DECnets predated VMS by a number of years.  Most DEC 
> architectures were little endian.  The VAX by it's heredity continued that.
> 
> - Oh Steve W., I did find a use for raw sockets, to implement MOP functions.
> 
> - I used to like to say I was the last one to implement DECnet Phase-IV, in 
> PathWORKS for Windows 95. (we rewrote my DOS TSR kernel as a protected mode 
> Windows component, because no one else would)
> Now I find that you guys have taken my claim away.  sigh  ;^p
> 

-- 

patrick