Internet Info 1997 December/Internet_Info_CD-ROM_Walnut_Creek_December_1997.iso/faqs/comp/answers/computer-lang/pli-faq

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From: [e-mail] (Robin Vowels)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.pl1,comp.answers,news.answers
Subject: PL/I Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
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Date: 15 Oct 1997 16:24:07 +1000
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Summary: This posting contains a list of Frequently Asked
    Questions (and their answers) about PL/I --
    Programming Language/I.  It should be read by anyone
    wanting to read the newsgroup comp.lang.pl1.
    It is of interest to anyone wanting to read any
    of the comp.lang.* newsgroups.
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Archive-name: computer-lang/pli-faq
Posting-Frequency: three-monthly (Jan Apr Jul Oct)
Last-Modified: 2 October 1997
Version: 1.6

        FREQUENTLY-ASKED QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
        ====================================

(Q1) What is PL/I?

     PL/I is a general-purpose programming language, which
     is used for solving problems in a variety of fields
     such as commerce, science (including mathematics,
     physics, chemistry), engineering (incl. civil, electrical,
     aeronautics), medicine and so on.  It can be used for
     system programming, and the facilitites are such that
     it is rarely if ever necessary to resort to machine-language
     or assembly-language programming to solve problems.

     It has more power than Pascal, Fortran 90, BASIC, C, and
     COBOL, and has comparable facilities to Ada.
     The main areas where PL/I is superior include interrupt
     handling, the built-in debugging aids, the macro
     processor facilities, string-handling and input-output
     (see below).

     The language has good documenting and self-documenting
     facilities;  programs are easy to read and to understand.
     It bears some resemblance to Fortran and BASIC.

     The language is suitable for beginners, as well as for
     anyone wanting to become a professional.

     An excellent summary of PL/I can be found at:

         http://www.torolab.ibm.com/ap/pli/pliwhat.html

     [a plain text version is attached at the end of this FAQ.]

     Sample codes can be found at the following URLs:

    http://www.cs.rmit.edu.au/~rav/SEARCH.html
    http://www.cs.rmit.edu.au/~rav/SEARCHR.html
    and
    http://www.cs.rmit.edu.au/~rav/VERIFY.html

    (these are in plain text form).

     Sample codes of a tutorial nature are found at:

    http://www.cs.rmit.edu.au/~rav/INSERT_SORT.html
        http://www.cs.rmit.edu.au/~rav/LISTS.html

    (Click on the keywords for an explanation.)

(Q2) On what systems is it available?

     PL/I is available on at least the following systems:

     *    IBM PC and compatibles (80x86).

        *  IBM PL/I for OS/2:
        Professional Edition

        There is also the PL/I Toolkit, which is accompanied
        by the live editor LPEX..
        ---available from IBM

        *  Liant Open PL/I, for 80x86 & Pentium running UNIX SVR3 and SVR4
        ---available from Liant Software Corporation
           959 Concord Street
           Framingham, MA 01701-4613
           Tel. [phone]  Fax [phone]
        (their PL/I generally is available on Unix-based systems)

    * Windows NT -- available from Liant

    * Windows 95/NT -- available from IBM

     * IBM AS/400
            --- available from IBM

     *    IBM mainframes
        --- available from IBM

     *    HP 9000 HP-UX
        ---available from Liant Software Corporation (address sbove)

     *    SPARC SunOS 4.x, Solaris 2.x
        ---available from Liant

     *    IBM RS/6000 AIX
        ---available from Liant Software Corporation;
        ---also available from IBM as PL/I Set for AIX.

     *  Data General AViiON with DG-UX
        ---available from Liant.

     *  Digital Equipment Corp. on Open VMS and Alpha AXP systems
        ---available from Digital Equipment Corporation.
        UniPrise, Inc. now provides compilers for these systems.
           (PL/I for Digital Unix)

     *  Stratus Computer, Inc.
        ---available under VOS on all Stratus computers except AX/R-S.

(Q3) How can I try out PL/I?

        There is a demo copy on

        ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/ps/products/pli/demos/

(Q4) What do the compilers provide?

    All compilers provide enhanced versions of the ANSI standard (the IBM
    AS/400 PL/I compiler adheres to SAA rules).  There's a
    summary of what you'll find in PL/I at
    http://www.torolab.ibm.com/ap/pli/pliwhat.html

        In the case of IBM PL/I for OS/2, PL/I Set for AIX,
        Windws 95 and Windows NT, a number of new language features
        is provided and include:

    (a) list processing in which the pointers (handles) are
        bound to the structures with which they are linked;
    (b) ordinals;
    (c) user-defined types;
    (d) Unsigned integer type;
    (e) New DO loop options that cause the loop to
        terminate without overrunning the limit (specifically
        for ordinals and unsigned integers);
    (f) A much-enhanced macro-processor.
    (this is not an exhaustive list)

    There are also 97 new built-in functions, including
    extra-special DATE/TIME functions, string-handling
    functions, housekeeping functions (e.g.,
    where-am-I-called-from?), and ordinal functions
    (including a function to supply the name of an ordinal!).
    General details are appended to this posting.

(Q5) What textbooks are available?

    Some of the best include:
       R.A. Barnes,     "PL/I for Programmers", North-Holland, 1979.
       J.K. Hughes,     "PL/I Structured Programming", 3rd Ed., Wiley, 1986.
       G.F. Groner,     "PL/I Programming in Technological Applications",
                 Books on Demand, Ann Arbor, MI, 1971.
       M.E. Anderson,   "PL/I for Programmers", Prentice-Hall, 1973.
       D.R. Stoutemyer, "PL/I Programming for Engineering & Science",
                 Prentice-Hall, 1971.
       R. Reddy & C. Ziegler, "PL/I: Structured Programming and
                 Problem Solving", West, 1986, ISBN 0-314-93915-6.

    New books:
          E. Sturm, PL/I fuer Workstations (in German language),
                 Vieweg-Verlag (1997). 278 pages,
                 ISBN: 3-528-24792-4
                http://www.uni-muenster.de/URZ/Mitarbeiter/EberhardSturm/pl1buch.html
       R. Vowels,        "Introduction to PL/I, Algorithms, and
                 Structured Programming", 3rd Ed., Sept. 1997,
                 ISBN 0-9596384-9-0  725 pages, A4 size
                 [details at
                 http://www.cs.rmit.edu.au/~rav/CONTENTS.html]
                             Comes with a disc containing all the programs,
                             procedures, and functions from the book.  The
                             disc was first published in October 1996.

    The following are good PL/I reference manuals. (They also
    highlight the additions that the OS/2 version provides
    compared with the mainframe version; thus you can use
    it as a reference on either system.)

       IBM, "PL/I for OS/2: Language Reference", 1994 edition
       IBM, "PL/I for OS/2: Built-in Functions", 1994 edition

(Q6) Is there a newsletter?

    "The PL/I Connection" is published by Team PL/I.
    To request a free subscription, send email to:
    [e-mail]

    Recent copies are accessible at:
    http://www.torolab.ibm.com/ap/pli/plinews.html

(Q7) Is there a home page?

    There are at least eight of interest:
       http://www.software.ibm.com/ad/pli/
        (the PL/I Home page)
       http://www.software.ibm.com/ad/pli/pliwhat.html
        (this gives you an overview of PL/I)
       http://www.liant.com
        (then click on the LPI button)
       http://www.dec.com/home.html
        (then select OpenVMS ..., or you may find the direct
         link quicker ->
       http://www.uniprise.com/
       ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/Digital/info/SPD/25-30-21.txt (might not work)
       ftp://ftp.digital.com/pub/Digital/info/SPD/25-30-XX.txt
       http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Languages/
        Or if you prefer, you can start on http://www.yahoo.com/ and take
        it from there.  When the Languages display comes up,
        look for PL/I.  Click on that, and then you can
        go to different sites.

           http://www.utu.fi/~sisasa/oasis/oasis-pli.spml
                The PL/I Oasis lists several interesting PL/I sites.

       http://www.cs.rmit.edu.au/~rav/PLI.html

       http://www.cs.rmit.edu.au/~rav/FAQ.html
        Is the HTML version of the FAQ for PL/I.

       http://www.cs.rmit.edu.au/~rav/PLI_RESOURCES.html
        This is the PL/I resource page.  It links to
        PL/I codes, books, reading materials including
        direct links to all issues of the PL/I Newsletter.
        It is currently under construction.

       http://www.gre.ac.uk/~hs574
        The DarkStar Site contains resources for PL/I
        including Books 'n' Links.
        Visit the DarkStar Site, there's a lot more in store.

           http://www.worldweb.net/~jcanterb/pli/
        is a new Unofficial PL/I Resource and Resume Page
        created by Jerry Canterbury,  The purpose of this
        page is twofold.

        First, it attempts to gather links to *all* PL/I
        Internet resources in one location.

        Second, it will allow those who have a need for
        PL/I skills to connect with those who have PL/I
        skills.  If you have PL/I on your resume, Jerry
        will add a link to your resume if you want.

    Contributions of codes etc are welcome.
        Send (in plaintext ASCII) to:
        [e-mail]

     Other possible sites are as follows:

    Japan: http://www.ibm.co.jp/pc/prod/sa/0272.html

    If you know of any other home pages, please advise the author.

(Q8) Where can I find discussion groups?

     *  A PL/I newsgroup was established in January 1996
        following the passing on 3 January 1996 of voting for
        the newsgroup "comp.lang.pl1" (350 votes for, 18
        votes against).

     *    Join PL1-L@PACEVM on the internet.
       To subscribe, send a note to [e-mail]
       In the body of the note, enter:

       SUB PL1-L yourname

       To post a comment, send it to PL1-L@PACEVM
       (or to             [e-mail] )

     *    On Compuserve, enter: go os2df1
       Then go to subsection 6: "Rexx and other languages".

     *  Russian: Discussion of PL/I in Russian takes place on
        relcom.comp.os.os2.prog

     *  German: Seems to take place at:    de.comp.sys.amiga.misc

     *  Or consider attending a SHARE or GUIDE PL/I presentation
    as either a spectator or presenter.  Postings appear from
    time to time in comp.lang.pl1

(Q9) How did PL/I originate?

     PL/I came into being as a result of an attempt to produce
     a revision of FORTRAN.  Such were the changes necessary that
     it was not possible to introduce the new features needed
     to bring FORTRAN up-to-date, and to be compatible with
     existing programs, that it was decided to introduce a
     new language that included the best features of the
     then main languages FORTRAN, COBOL, and Algol.

     Originally, the new language was called "New Programming
     Language", or NPL.  However, as these initials were
     already taken by the National Physical Laboratory in
     Britain, the name became PL/I (for Programming Language One).

     The new language contained features not then seen before in
     a general-purpose programming language -- including interrupt
     handling, array operations, list processing, and a macro
     pre-processor.

     There is some controvesy over the name -- whether it is PL/I
     or PL/1.  The first manuals (for the first compiler, the
     IBM PL/I (F) compiler) called it PL/I, not PL/1. The ANSI
     standard calls it PL/I.  The title of the first reference
     manual is:
     IBM, "PL/I Language Reference", 1965.

     The title of the manual for the first compiler is:
     "IBM System 360 PL/I (F) Language Reference Manual", 1966.

     Since then, almost all manufacturers and textbooks
     called it PL/I.

(Q10) What tools are available?

     Some are: [This question is under construction]

     PL/I Analyzer is a reverse engineeering and re-engineering tool,
     available from Leverage Technologies, 6701 Democracy Blvd,
     Suite 324, Bethesda MD 20817, U.S.A.       Tel [phone]
     email: [e-mail]
     http://stout.levtech.com/levtech-marketing/PLI-Analyzer.html

     MicroFocus offers tools to accompany PL/I for OS/2.  For more infomation,
     contact them at Suite 400, 2465 East Bayshore Road, Palo Alto, CA 94303, U.S.A.
     http://www.mfltd.co.uk/

     PLIFORM is a PL/I source code formatter, available from
     Magicon, Inc.  You'll find them at:
     909 University Ave, Suite 22, Los Gatos, CA 95030-2345, U.S.A.

     Another PL/I formatter is available (details available soon).
     You can download a trial version at:

                         ftp www.neosoft.com
                         userid: anonymous
                         <password is your e-mail address>
                         cd /pub/users/d/djones/format
                         binary
                         get format.exe
                         quit

     Further details from the author at: [e-mail]

(Q11) Where can I read about PL/I?

     Peter Elderon's white paper on Object Oriented Programming
     for PL/I can be viewed at :

     http://www.cs.rmit.edu.au/~rav/PLI_OO.html

     A white paper on object-oriented PL/I programming can be
     found at:

     http://www.ionet.net/~mclapper/

     An interesting article on PL/I appeared in the Enterprise
     Systems Journal in December 1995.  You can view it at:

     http://www.cs.rmit.edu.au/~rav/ENTERPRISE.html

     A paper about PL/I and C is available at:

     http://www.uni-muenster.de/URZ/Mitarbeiter/EberhardSturm/PL1andC.html

_______________________________________

 You can now order - and receive - IBM's PL/I for Windows online!  Check out
 the Electronic Showcase Delivery page at

      http://ism.boulder.ibm.com/es/ESDPilot/startme.htm

 There is also a link to this from the PL/I home page.

 ESD is currently a pilot program and is available in EMEA countries and
 the US.

================================================================

Details about IBM PL/I for OS/2:
-------------------------------

Date:         Wed, 10 Aug 1994 22:01:00 PDT
From: Paige Vinall 8-543-2106 <[e-mail]>
Subject:      Re: Summary of IBM announcement 294-408
X-To:         "(language) PL1 discussions"
              <[e-mail]>

Introducing Three New Products for Today's Programmer
-----------------------------------------------------
PL/I is well known as a powerful, proven language that was designed
with the programmer in mind.

Today's programmer is developing complex client/server applications.
Today's programmer is expected to be more productive; to write more
code in less time and to write better quality applications in the
most cost effective environment.

IBM introduces three new members of the PL/I Family that have been
designed with today's programmer in mind:  PL/I for OS/2 Professional
Edition, PL/I for OS/2 Toolkit.

Get Client-Server Right with PL/I
---------------------------------
If your company has a large inventory of PL/I applications, you are
probably looking for a way to take advantage of new technologies while
leveraging the investments you have already made.  Are you wondering
if there's a way to reduce your mainframe overhead and program more
productively, without compromising the power and flexibility that made
PL/I an excellent investment over the years?

PL/I for OS/2 Professional Edition and the PL/I for OS/2 Toolkit can
relieve your mainframe by letting you move your applications to a
powerful development environment on the PC.  The PL/I for OS/2
products provide a visual PM front-end for developing VSAM, DB2,
CICS, and IMS Client Server/2 applications.

Continue to use your PL/I expertise while optimizing for the creation
of database and transaction-driven applications that will execute on a
mainframe, as client/server applications, or on a stand-alone PC.


Benefit from the Ease of Use and Performance of OS/2
----------------------------------------------------
OS/2 has many powerful features that makes it an attractive environment
for PL/I development.  Here are just a few:

     - Ease of use through an object-oriented iconic "drag and drop"
       interface which makes OS/2 easy to learn and use
     - Performance that is predictable and consistent
     - True multithreading that lets you use multiple programs
       simultaneously
     - 32-bit addressability means you can tap the potential of today's
       advanced microprocessing technology

With these features, OS/2 can raise your computing capability to a whole
new level by allowing you to work quickly, easily, and intuitively.

PL/I takes advantage of these innovative features in OS/2.  The PL/I
for OS/2 products include header files that let you develop OS/2
Presentation Manager applications; a visual tool that generates PL/I
code as you 'paint' Presentation Manager applications, and PL/I supports
OS/2's multi-threading capability to further improve performance.

Together, PL/I and OS/2 provide you with a powerful, reliable
application development solution that increases your choices and
multiplies your opportunity to get bigger and better benefits from
your PL/I code and from your system.

Access DB2 with PL/I for OS/2
-----------------------------
If you depend on data stored in a DB2 database across multiple platforms,
you probably want to access it from your PL/I applications, whether they
are running on MVS or OS/2.

PL/I for OS/2 Professional Edition includes a preprocessor that supports
DB2/2 and lets you embed SQL statements in your PL/I programs.  If you
have a distributed database connected by DDCS/2, you can access data
stored in other DB2 products, from PL/I applications on OS/2.

You can now access DB2 data on multiple platforms from PL/I products on
multiple platforms.  PL/I's database solution lets you build new
client/server applications or extend the life of your existing mainframe
PL/I applications.


Develop CICS Applications in a Client/Server Environment
--------------------------------------------------------
CICS is the transaction management solution of choice for many
businesses.  If your company uses CICS for online transaction
processing, you can take advantage of the client/server support
provided by both CICS OS/2 and PL/I for OS/2 Professional Edition.

PL/I for OS/2 Professional Edition includes a CICS preprocessor that
lets you develop CICS applications on OS/2.  CICS OS/2 and PL/I
for OS/2 Professional Edition provide powerful facilities
for improving your productivity in the development and debugging
of new applications.  PL/I for OS/2 is a valuable tool for
development of CICS applications for running on CICS/VSE and
CICS/ESA systems.

The transaction management solution provided by CICS OS/2 and PL/I for
OS/2 Professional Edition lets you build new client/server applications
or extend the life of existing mainframe applications.


Use PL/I to Develop IMS Client Server/2 Applications
----------------------------------------------------
If you have IMS data or transactions on a mainframe, you can now
access them from applications written in a more productive
environment.

Using PL/I for OS/2 Professional Edition and IMS Client Server/2, you
can develop client/server applications that call IMS data or invoke
IMS transactions that are running on a mainframe.  By combining these
two products, you can access your mainframe IMS data and transactions
from a more flexible environment, while preserving data integrity.

Developing and maintaining applications that access mainframe IMS
can be very easy with PL/I.  You can develop graphics-based
applications with PL/I for OS/2 Professional Edition.  This simplifies
the process by letting programmers paint an application, therefore
automating the application development process.  Did you have any
idea IMS applications could be this easy to write?


Tailor PL/I for Your Organization
---------------------------------
PL/I is a powerful language that affords programmers a lot of
flexibility.  You can, for example, alter the severity of compiler
messages or suppress them completely.  When debugging your
program, you can get a listing of diagnostic messages that identify
errors in the source program. Your program listing can also
include an attribute and cross reference table which tells you not
only in which lines a variable is referenced, but also in which
lines it is altered.


Improve Your Productivity with PL/I for OS/2 and WorkFrame/2
------------------------------------------------------------
PL/I for OS/2 provides a cost effective visual desktop development and
test environment.  PL/I for OS/2 with WorkFrame/2, a GUI project
manager, makes application development simpler and more straight-
forward.  Using PL/I for OS/2 and Workframe/2 you can, for example,
set compiler and other options and link them to a specific program or
project for repeated use.  Using WorkFrame/2, you can also identify
and locate error messages and edit your source code without ever
leaving your work session.


Clean Up Your PL/I Applications with a Graphical Facility
---------------------------------------------------------
With PL/I for OS/2's powerful GUI debug facility, you can set change,
entry, or statement breakpoints.  Other debugging features
include the ability to trap conditions and monitor changes
in variables during execution of your program.


Benefit from New PL/I Language Features
---------------------------------------
The following is a list of some new language enhancements in the
PL/I for OS/2 products:
-- Strongly typed enumerations, typed structures and unions,
   and user-defined types make it easier for you to identify
   potential problems at compile time.

-- PL/I's various storage classes--including automatic,
   static, controlled, defined, and based--increase the
   flexibility of the language.

-- A choice of linkages and parameter-passing mechanisms
   lets you call C, C++, REXX, and Fortran applications from
   within your PL/I applications.

-- The new PACKAGE statement allows you to group
   related declarations and procedures that share name
   scope.

-- A state-of-the-art macro facility is now available in
   PL/I for OS/2.

-- With restricted expressions and named constants, you can
   create parameters in your source code so that when
   one item changes, all related items automatically
   adjust.


Mainframe Compatibility
-----------------------
PL/I for OS/2 Professional Edition supports
EBCDIC character data and hexadecimal float data.  It
also provides SAA language level checking and other
features that improve compatibility with mainframe PL/I.

PL/I for OS/2 Professional Edition includes
additional function that
enhances its compatibility with the mainframe compiler,
preprocessor support for DB2/2 and CICS OS/2, and support
for IMS CS/2.  PL/I for OS/2 Professional Edition was
designed for programmers who develop or maintain mainframe
PL/I applications and are looking for a reliable client/server
solution.

The PL/I for OS/2 Toolkit consists of additional tools,
including a graphical prototyping tool and a code generator
that can help you develop graphical user interfaces.  The
PL/I for OS/2 Toolkit can help you streamline the programming
process, to offer a complete development environment for PL/I
for OS/2 PM applications.  It can be used as both a prototyping
tool and a code generator to develop user interfaces.


Installation Information
------------------------
PL/I for OS/2 is available on 3/5" diskettes and includes an
automated installation program.  Generated object programs
run under IBM OS/2 Version 2.0 (or later).

IBM WorkFrame/2 Version 2.1 is included with the PL/I for OS/2
package and requires OS/2 Version 2.1 if you choose to install
it.

Order PL/I for OS/2 Today
-------------------------
To order PL/I for OS/2, contact an IBM representative.  Or, from
the following countries, please call the corresponding number:

Austria           0222 21145 2500
France            05 03 03 03
Italy             167 018001
Netherlands       030 384040
Switzerland       01 436 62 33
United Kingdom    0705 564414
United States     1-800-IBM-CALL

Please ask for part number 10H7848 (Professional Edition),
The Toolkit (part number 1322966) is a feature of the
PL/I for OS/2 Professional Edition.
From anywhere, at anytime, you can send your questions to the
PL/I development team.  Our fax number is 1 408-463-4820.

**************************

Features of PL/I for OS/2 Professional Edition
==============================================
List Price: [New price $949 as at 20/7/95] [was $1250 (US)] including IBM Service

-- All features of PL/I for OS/2
-- Support for EBCDIC character
   and hexadecimal float data
-- SAA language level checking
-- Support for DB2/2, including
   an SQL preprocessor
-- Support for CICS OS/2, including
   a CICS preprocessor
-- Support for IMS Client Server/2

Features of PL/I for OS/2 Toolkit
=================================
List Price: $155 (US) including IBM Service [New price as at 20/7/95]

-- Visual PL/I, a tool to build PM applications
-- A programming aid designed to help you convert C header
   files to PL/I header files
-- OS/2 Developers Toolkit 2.1

*****************************************************************
CICS, CICS OS/2, DB2, DB2/2, IBM, IMS Client Server/2, IMS CS/2,
OS/2, Presentation Manager, and SAA are trademarks of the
International Business Machines Corporation.
*****************************************************************


Paige Vinall

Path: goanna.cs.rmit.oz.au!munnari.oz.au!news.Hawaii.Edu!ames!agate!howland.reston.ans.net!swiss.ans.net!solaris.cc.vt.edu!uunet!juniper.almaden.ibm.com!VNET.IBM.COM
From: [e-mail] (Paige Vinall)
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: Wed, 14 Sep 94 07:32:09 PDT
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: PL/I's leave (Was: Re: Goto Pro's and Con's)
Organization: PL/I Development, IBM
Disclaimer: This posting represents the poster's views, not those of IBM
News-Software: UReply 3.1
References: <[e-mail]>
Lines: 32

In <[e-mail]> Paul Long writes:
>Well, you certainly speak from a position of authority, but I could swear
>that, about 15 years ago, leave was extended to accept the number of levels
>to leave.  I think I even remember using it.  Could there have been two
>extensions: first to the number of levels, then to a label?
>
I don't think so.  At least not IBM's implementations.  It could be
that another company allows a numeric expression on a leave statement.
It would make maintenance a pain when a new loop was inserted.
Maybe BASIC allows this?

>BTW, at one time I really liked PL/I.  I used it in college quite a bit and
>did my first consulting work with it.  Are you just maintaining it for legacy
>systems, or is there still life left in the old bird?  And when is
>Object-PL/I comng out.  :-)
>
We promoting it for both legacy systems and new work.  IBM is using it
for our own development.  We delivered PL/I for OS/2 and are now
working on PL/I for AIX/UNIX.  We are also looking at OO PL/I but
I don't think that is as important as getting on other platforms.

If you have ideas or suggestions, you might want to subscribe to
the PL/I bitnet mailing list.  It is [e-mail].  To
subscribe, send a note to [e-mail].  In the
body of the note, enter:

[The listserver address is changed.  See the answer to Question 7
above -- RV].

  SUB PL1-L yourname

To post a comment, send it to [e-mail].

Paige Vinall - PL/I Development Manager, IBM
Internet: [e-mail],  Phone: [phone]
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From: [e-mail] (Per Magnus Banck, Electoral Information Service, Sweden)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.misc
Subject: Re: PL/I Compiler Vendors wanted
Date: 21 Jul 95 12:24:22 MET
Organization: Decus Sverige (Sweden)
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Distribution: world
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
NNTP-Posting-Host: ns.decus.se

Charles Stump ([e-mail], 3ugqro$[e-mail]) wrote:
> I am looking for contact information for PL/I compiler vendors. Anyone
> have any names and/or phone numbers?

As I do not know what Your specific need is, here are a quick list:

*  IBM   (e-mail: teampli @ vnet.ibm.com )

   It looks as they made big efforts in the new version for OS/2.
   I can't say more for the moment, have not OS2 loaded yet.

   Standalone version for some $ 200 [dont know exact amount].
   Fullblown version with DB2 and CICS, mainframe access and the lot
   for around $1000+.

*** Digital ( http://www.dec.com/home.html )

   Their PL/1 compiler on OpenVMS for VAX is very good. I have used
   since around 1982 in writing many system programming tools.
   And it generally saved me all the trouble of assembly language.

   It is also available for RISC Ultrix (and OpenVMS for Alpha I belive).

   IMHO, they make much to little advertisment about this jewel.

*** Liant  ( email: dickp @ lpi.liant.com )

   Versions for various versions of UNIX. Mature (version 5).
   Also claims to have versions for NT and MSDOS (anyone tried?).

   Seems somewhat expensive to starters but very able tool for
   doing migration with.

*** Others

   Data General had a compiler back in the early 80'ies. Lost track.
   Data Research hade a compiler for CP/M.
   Rumours is that Prime also had a compiler for Prime/OS.

There is a mailing list for PL/1 at LISTSERV @ vmd.cso.uiuc.edu

IBM have also lauched a newsletter called the PL/I Connection.
You call use the address above.

Please, keep in touch.

=========================================================================
  Per Magnus Banck                  Email:  [e-mail]
  Electoral Information Service     Phone:  [phone]
  Box 3082, S-17103 Solna, Sweden   Fax:    [phone] (attn: Banck)
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