Roy Buzdor writes:

> Stan Perkins wrote:
>  >
>  > Hello,
>  >
>  > I just acquired an HP3000/37 running MPE-V
>
>  Congrats...it may just outlive you... (:
>
>  > I am familiar with other HP computers/workstations/OSes,
>  > but this is my first experience with the 3000 series. Is
>  > there some sort of "getting started" guide available,
>  > either on the Web or in hardcopy, that can explain the
>  > essentials of the hardware and the OS?
>
>  There used to be a system manager's intro book...15 years
>  ago...do they still put the manuals out on CD-ROM?  There
>  might be something that could help you on that.
>
>  > Also, the system has only COBOL II installed. I would
>  > like to get a Basic interpreter/compiler at a reasonable
>  > cost.
>
>  The 3000 is a mini, not a micro.  We used to joke (15 years
>  ago) that everthing on the 3000 was either free (like IMAGE)
>  or cost $6000, like TDP, Fortran, COBOL, etc.
>
>  There should be an SPL compiler on the system.  It is
>  close to Pascal.  If you know Basic, you should be able
>  to catch on to SPL.  Be cautious, though.  It is the
>  system assembler, and you could cook your goose quickly.
>  And, as HP used to point out, "if you do anything in
>  Priv Mode, we will charge you to fix it".


Everything that Roy writes is correct -- but isn't necessarily cast in stone.
BASIC and SPL are both now off of the official corporate price list for MPE/V
machines -- and I suspect are soon to be unsupported. Nonetheless, both are
too good to be simply disposed of.

I have offered in the past to host downloadable versions of both BASIC/V and
SPL on our web site so that they may be downloaded by anyone, at no cost. They
are not particularly big programs. I have further offered to have someone here
type in the manuals for both in HTML format, so that the manuals could be
read, searched and printed on-line.

The time may still be too early for that to occur, but if the decision is ever
made to completely abandon these products, it would be my pleasure to do
precisely this. The offer stands.

You can get a sense of the current status of these products at:

     http://www.hp.com/ssg/vin/list.html

They are both listed as "Class C" products and are still supported, in CM mode
only, on MPE/iX machines, but are no longer available for purchase or support
on a Micro. The question is, does that mean that they are available for free
distribution to such machines? Probably not at the moment, but we don't seem
to be that far away from such a decision.

Wirt Atmar