Re: floating point doesn't work on our awk

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4 total messages Started by Steve Burbeck Wed, 27 Feb 1985 15:21

#11

Author: Steve Burbeck
Date: Wed, 27 Feb 1985 15:21

31 lines
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>Floating-point doesn't work on our awk. (We have a 3220 running
>Edition VII, no floating-point hardware, floating point is trapped
>by the kernel and works in C.)
>Is there a fix?

1) this has been reported on the net some months ago by someone.
   The only fix I know of is to use an older version of awk.  You
   are using the v2.4 version I would guess.  Our version (v.2.2.1.1
   or v.2.3 dated Aug 23 1980) works with floats just fine.

2) But this brings up again the question of why PE doesn't make itself
   responsible for maintaining and distributing a bug list so that each
   site doesn't have to find out for itself about each bug.  I'll bet
   that you wasted quite a bit of time before you gave up and decided
   it wasn't something you were doing, it was a bug in awk.  At the
   last Interchange meetings, both Axel and Carl made rather strong
   arguments to PE about just this problem.  There was no response.

3) Another related point is that it would be helpful if PE would at least
   include a list of all commands that have been changed in each new
   distribution.  There are two benefits.  First, if a command such as
   awk seems to have a problem, you could at least see whether it has
   been changed (and hence may be suspected of harboring a new bug).
   Second, if a new distribution has few changes it would be easier to
   install just the changes into your currently working system than to
   have to install the whole thing, and then add back in your own site
   dependent system changes (e.g., uucp patches, permission changes,
   etc.).

					Steve Burbeck
					Linus Pauling Institute

Re: floating point doesn't work on our awk

#12

Author: David Sherman
Date: Wed, 27 Feb 1985 21:12

18 lines
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Steve is absolutely right. Which brings up another question:
just who *is* responsible for UNIX development, maintenance
and bug fixes (including Edition VII) at P-E? Are they on the
net? If not, why not? If the answer is that the only people who
really understand Edition VII are TWG or Wollongong people who
are no longer around, then at least let us know.

I think the effort Earl Wallace and the Western Support people
have put into tying the pe.cust net together is excellent. And
now that we have the net, can we optimize its use by making sure
the right people are on it?

Dave Sherman
The Law Society of Upper Canada
Toronto
-- 
{utzoo pesnta nrcaero utcs hcr}!lsuc!dave
{allegra decvax ihnp4 linus}!utcsri!lsuc!dave

P-E UNIX(tm) Support (sic)

#13

Author: Brent
Date: Thu, 28 Feb 1985 14:50

32 lines
1925 bytes

X
    I've had problems with P-E fixing (actually *not* fixing) things
like awk, sh -c, things like this.  The way I understand it, bugs 
that can be handled quickly by the 1-800-PECARES are done "quick
and dirty".  If they can't figure things out, it goes to the "development"
group.  These are the people who are responsible for the port of 
UNIX.  The SCRs go to them as well.  They are apparantly not responsible
to anyone to give account of the status of the SCRs they have or 
haven't fixed.  When pressed, they will give you a list of your 
outstanding SCRs, broken down into two groups: those they
haven't fixed, and those they won't fix.

**FLAME ON**
    Where does P-E get off asking $4,500 per year for telephone
support of UNIX???  I got a price quote from AT&T on the 3B2.
Their full telephone support of UNIX is $250 per year.  And they
guarantee an answer to any question within 48 hours, from Ritche
himself, if necessary.  They also send software updates via uucp. 
How can P-E hope to remain competetive???
**FLAME OFF***

    What can we do?  Well, does anyone know of third party houses
that run P-E Unix, have source, and will write software support
contracts?  I have heard of a group called Cognitive Systems Inc.
that will arrange Xelos licenses for P-E 32XX.  Anyone out
there know about such?

    We're going to figure this thing out yet.

-- 
            Brent Laminack  (akgua!itm!brent)

Re: P-E UNIX(tm) Support (sic)

#14

Author: David Sherman
Date: Sun, 03 Mar 1985 02:37

13 lines
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In article <235@itm.UUCP> brent@itm.UUCP (Brent) writes:
||    What can we do?  Well, does anyone know of third party houses
||that run P-E Unix, have source, and will write software support
||contracts? 

Maybe the net is the answer (see the discussion in pe.cust.general).
You got problems? Ask them here. I'll see what I can do. After all,
I get some of my own problems answered in this newsgroup.

Dave Sherman
-- 
{utzoo pesnta nrcaero utcs hcr}!lsuc!dave
{allegra decvax ihnp4 linus}!utcsri!lsuc!dave

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