VMS

This must have been the finest operating system ever in existence. Created for DEC's VAX, it was a great inspiration for DOS and the Windows NT line, though not all of its features were implemented.

VMS used a 39.3;# naming scheme, # being the version number of the file. Unlike other operating systems, saving an edited file would not overwrite the old one, but create a new version. Useful when you had second thoughts about your changes, it did tend to fill up disk space rather quickly. You had to specify the version number when deleting a file, PURGE would delete all but the latest. Theoretically, you could store 32767 file versions.

Most commands were identical to the ones later used in DOS, though DOS added more abbreviations. You could browse your previous commands with the up arrow, edit and reenter them. You will find this feature in DR-DOS and the NT line.

Phil's VMS Tutorial
VMS Introduction of the Oklahoma State University
Information about the VMS operating system
eVAX is a free, Open Source virtual VAX simulator for MacOS, Windows, and Unix Systems, written entirely in portable C code

Compaq bought DEC, hp bought Compaq, but VMS is by no means dead, it is used in the Alpha stations, POSIX support has been added and it is now called OpenVMS.

If you use it for non-commercial purposes only, you can get a free VMS license. Check out the OpenVMS Hobbyist site for details.

Last modified 2005-06-30