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From: Simon Clubley <clubley@remove_me.eisner.decus.org-Earth.UFP>
Newsgroups: comp.os.vms
Subject: Re: Clair Grant on VMS code base
Date: Fri, 4 Apr 2025 18:00:53 -0000 (UTC)
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On 2025-04-03, Arne Vajh�j <arne@vajhoej.dk> wrote:
> On 4/3/2025 2:15 PM, Simon Clubley wrote:
>> On 2025-04-01, Arne Vajh�j <arne@vajhoej.dk> wrote:
>>> He looks at size 6.2 -> 7.2 -> 8.2 -> 9.2 and .mar vs .c 6.2 -> 9.2.
>>>
>>> https://vmssoftware.com/resources/blog/2025-03-31-how-big-is-vms/
>> 
>> How the hell does DCL have 30,000+ lines of code ? :-)
>> (Even allowing for the fact most of it is in Macro-32)
>
> Just for fun I downloaded bash and counted. 117 KLOC.
>

Wow. I had no idea it was now that big. OTOH, bash has got a _lot_ more
functionality in it than DCL does.

>> Also, regarding those BLISS/Macro-32 figures across the various modules
>> in general, I wonder how much smaller the code would have been if it had
>> been written in C ?
>
> C is a relative high LOC/FP language.
>
> Most LOC/FP tables have C in the 100-125 range and macro-assembler
> in the 200-250 range.
>
> If we adjust for VAX instructions being more powerful/complex
> than average ISA, add a random number and subtract wind speed I
> will estimate the Macro-32 / C ratio to be around 1.5-1.75.
>
> If you buy that then the DCL 33 KLOC would be 19-22 KLOC in C
> to be compared with bash 117 KLOC.
>

The problem with that analysis is what DCL does.

It basically parses, validates, and executes commands it has been given.
That is something which can be implemented a lot more easily and concisely
in a HLL with abstracted data structure capabilities (which includes
even C) than an assembly language with no such capabilities.

Simon.

-- 
Simon Clubley, clubley@remove_me.eisner.decus.org-Earth.UFP
Walking destinations on a map are further away than they appear.