Program Language Changes The following items address changes in the various programming languages on the Alpha system: *** Ada *** For performance reasons, the Ada Language aligns data on 4 byte boundaries. While this is usually not a concern for users, it may cause problems when dealing with structures. The problem occurs because the system adds "filler" bytes into the structure to align the data. If your program relies on the assumption that structures be stored contiguously in memory, you may need to turn off this memory alignment "feature". Contact MCIS for more information on turning off the memory alignment "feature". ***** BASIC ***** BASIC is not currently available on OCEAN. MCIS and Digital Equipment Corp. hope to make the BASIC compiler available during the summer of 1994. Realize that programs previously written in BASIC can be converted to run on OCEAN using the VEST command. For more information on the VEST command, see the section on Binary Translation in the document concerning User-Written Programs. For those users who need a BASIC compiler before the summer of 1994, please contact MCIS for workarounds. *** C *** The C compiler on OCEAN is considerably stricter than the C compiler on MIAVX1. The compiler rules can be releaxed by using the /STANDARD=VAXC qualifier on the CC command. For performance reasons, the C Compiler aligns data on 4 byte boundaries. While this is usually not a concern for users, it may cause problems when dealing with structures that contain char or short data types. The problem occurs because the system adds "filler" bytes into the structure to align the data on 4 byte boundaries. If your program relies on the assumption that structures be stored contiguously in memory, you may need to turn off this memory alignment "feature". Use the /NOMEMBER_ALIGNMENT qualifier on the CC command to turn off this "feature". Realize that this qualifier will cause a performance degradation in your program. *** C++ *** A C++ compiler is now available on OCEAN. Use the CXX command to compile programs. Use the HELP CXX command for more information. ***** COBOL ***** MCIS is not aware of any significant changes in the COBOL compiler on the OCEAN system. ******* Fortran ******* MCIS is not aware of any significant changes in the Fortran compiler on the OCEAN system. ****** Pascal ****** For performance reasons, the Pascal Compiler aligns data on 4 byte boundaries. While this is usually not a concern for users, it may cause problems when dealing with records that contain char or char array data types. The problem occurs because the system adds "filler" bytes into the record to align the data on 4 byte boundaries. If your program relies on the assumption that structures be stored contiguously in memory, you may need to turn off this memory alignment "feature". Use the /ALIGN=VAX qualifier on the PASCAL command to turn off this "feature". Realize that this qualifier will cause a performance degradation in your program. **** PERL **** A PERL interpreter is now available on OCEAN. Use the PERL command to run programs. Use the HELP PERL command for more information. ********** Questions? ********** If you have any questions or concerns about the new OCEAN system, please contact MCIS at 529-7318 and ask for Patti Gregg.