🚀 go-pugleaf

I have no special info on VMS 5.0 but have heard somewhere that it may
support symmetric multiprocessing. This will be a major change if it's
true. Consider: VMS uses hardware priority level for much of its internal
synchronization (I'd say all, but surely there are some exceptions...)
and this breaks on multiprocessors (at least without some fairly
sophisticated hardware mods). The rumor was that V5.0 will replace all
the priority set/reset code with software locking. (Could we be inching
closer to RSX11M/VAX ...? <<grin>>).
	Anyhow, it'd be interesting to know if the rumor is true, since
it'll have substantial effects on anyone's kernel mode code, even if
the setipl macros get rewritten to do things the new way...
	DEC has spoken of major structural changes to modularize VMS
in the 5.0 time period also. Executive libraries, etc... all stuff we've
seen before on the PDP11 in RSX11M+ and IAS...
	plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose.
	(sorry for lack of accents...)
	Glenn Everhart
	Everhart%Arisia.decnet@ge-crd.arpa
	Everhart%Arisia@rca.com