Alan writes:
> I would think the ultimate goal would be to allow for a NMi
> (Native Mode Intel) object code compiler for the MPE code to
> allow the CM and NM MPE/nmf (name your flavor) code to run
> at true full performance native environment[...]

> Perhaps those looking at putting all this together might also look at
> having several variations of an MPE "virtual machine" that code could
> operate in.

Nahhh.  Nothing needs to be this complex.  We would simply give you the
ability to make procedure calls from the emulator environment into the
outside host OS environment (Linux, say), and also give you a library
from Linux that could load and call procedures inside the virtual 3000.
This one facility solves all your problems in this area.

It would look very much like the current CM to NM switching facility to
the programmer.

You could compile a native Linux COBOL program that links with a library
that makes "switch" calls to get to Image inside the virtual 3000, and
you could write an emulated C program that calls into some new native
service under Linux.

So interoperation isn't that hard to provide.  The technical
implementation has some interesting challenges in a couple of places,
but nothing that's harder than anything else.

Gavin