Hacking OS sources

[Pete Kaiser 225-5441 HLO2-1/N10]

>Henry Spencer:
>
>> You can buy UNIX sources and hack them.  You can buy VMS sources and hack
>> them.  Much cheaper, you can buy VMS microfiche.
>
>Hacking microfiche is difficult and joyless.

True.  To put more clearly what I meant to say in the first place:

If you want to hack source code for your operating system, that option is
available under VMS as well as UNIX.  Most places simply choose not to hack
VMS.  I deal with some that do.  If most don't, it may have to do with several
things: (1) VMS sources are a significant expense.  (2) There is an established
mechanism for reporting problems to Digital.  (3) Problems visibly get fixed,
and there's an established open mechanism for setting priorities on many kinds
of problems.

Perhaps VMS installations, more than UNIX installations, regard it as more
cost-effective to have DEC support what they sell; it will be interesting to
see -- if it's possible -- what proportion of DEC's ULTRIX-32 customers buy
and modify the sources.  If UNIX installations find it cost-effective to hack
sources, that may have to do with what they pay for the sources.  Does anyone
have figures at hand for the prices to both academic and commercial users of
UNIX and VMS source code in machine-readable form?

Naturally it's ideal to have the full source code for your OS (and, for that
matter, for everything running on your system ... dream on ...), but if for
some reason you don't buy the VMS source (I'm assuming it's real money), you
can still get a lot of mileage out of the microfiche in terms of understanding
what the system does, and learning from existing code.  The microfiche is
pretty cheap.

I'm under the impression that there's no such thing as "soft sources" for sale
for UNIX at a lower price than "hard sources".  Am I mistaken?

---Pete
kaiser%jaws.dec at decwrl.arpa, kaiser%belker.dec at decwrl.arpa
{allegra|decvax|ihnp4|ucbvax}!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-jaws!kaiser