3 ms·

In VMS, revision control was built into the file system. It was easy to retrieve older versions of files. Unix didn't have anything like that until rcs was in

by snarfy 10y ago

In VMS, revision control was built into the file system. It was easy to retrieve older versions of files. Unix didn't have anything like that until rcs was invented, and even then it was a tool, not something built in like what VMS had.

ajdlinux 10y ago
I wonder what the VCS landscape would have looked like if git was being developed on top of VMS rather than Linux...
- dekhn 10y ago
  filename.c;1 filename.c;2 filename.c;3 git checkout filename.c;2
dorfsmay 10y ago
Any idea if it was a full copy of the files, a rolling diff, or a Copy On Write at the block level?
jbuzbee 10y ago
Brings back memories. If I recall correctly, when you had this turned on, files would get a hidden extension of .1 .2 .3 etc. And you could specify how many revisions to keep around? I also recall on our system, most of the time this was turned off because disk space was so precious. But I do recall this feature saving my bacon a time or two...
- atsaloli 10y ago
  Yep! It goes up to 32k by default, but you can limit it: "The /VERSION_LIMIT qualifier for the CREATE/DIRECTORY, SET DIRECTORY, and SET FILE commands lets you control the number of versions of a file. If you exceed the version limit, the system automatically purges the lowest version file in excess of the limit. For example, if the version limit is 5 and you create the sixth version of a file (ACCOUNTS.DAT;6), the system deletes the first version of the file (ACCOUNTS.DAT;1). To view the version limit on a file, enter the DIRECTORY/FULL command. The version limit is listed in the File attributes: field." OpenVMS Manual http://h41379.www4.hpe.com/doc/731final/6489/6489pro_006.html http://h41379.www4.hpe.com/doc/731final/6489/6489pro_006.htm... I thoroughly enjoyed using DCL (Digital Command Line -- the VMS shell) and VMS (with the wall of documentation, like http://www.pkl.net/~matt/photos/machines/tn/pict0157.jpg.html http://www.pkl.net/~matt/photos/machines/tn/pict0157.jpg.htm...). It always felt structured and orderly, unlike UNIX systems, which are more "organic". :) (I love UNIX too!)
  - DonaldFisk 10y ago
    This wasn't unique to VMS. Symbolics Genera had this capability. ITS, VME-B, and I think TOPS-10, also had numbered file versions.
    - atsaloli 10y ago
      Fair enough. My computing career started in the nineties on VMS at the Help Desk of Brandeis University, my work-study job.
rgacote 10y ago
The original MacOS was also supposed to copy this revision capability -- imagine, built in document versioning. Versioning was surfaced in the API but apparently never implemented. Had to always be set to 0 (1? long time ago).
dekhn 10y ago
This always caused me to run out of disk space (my quota was 512k).

by snarfy 10y ago

ajdlinux 10y ago

I wonder what the VCS landscape would have looked like if git was being developed on top of VMS rather than Linux...

dekhn 10y ago
filename.c;1 filename.c;2 filename.c;3 git checkout filename.c;2

dorfsmay 10y ago

Any idea if it was a full copy of the files, a rolling diff, or a Copy On Write at the block level?

jbuzbee 10y ago

Brings back memories. If I recall correctly, when you had this turned on, files would get a hidden extension of .1 .2 .3 etc. And you could specify how many revisions to keep around? I also recall on our system, most of the time this was turned off because disk space was so precious. But I do recall this feature saving my bacon a time or two...

atsaloli 10y ago
Yep! It goes up to 32k by default, but you can limit it: "The /VERSION_LIMIT qualifier for the CREATE/DIRECTORY, SET DIRECTORY, and SET FILE commands lets you control the number of versions of a file. If you exceed the version limit, the system automatically purges the lowest version file in excess of the limit. For example, if the version limit is 5 and you create the sixth version of a file (ACCOUNTS.DAT;6), the system deletes the first version of the file (ACCOUNTS.DAT;1). To view the version limit on a file, enter the DIRECTORY/FULL command. The version limit is listed in the File attributes: field." OpenVMS Manual http://h41379.www4.hpe.com/doc/731final/6489/6489pro_006.html http://h41379.www4.hpe.com/doc/731final/6489/6489pro_006.htm... I thoroughly enjoyed using DCL (Digital Command Line -- the VMS shell) and VMS (with the wall of documentation, like http://www.pkl.net/~matt/photos/machines/tn/pict0157.jpg.html http://www.pkl.net/~matt/photos/machines/tn/pict0157.jpg.htm...). It always felt structured and orderly, unlike UNIX systems, which are more "organic". :) (I love UNIX too!)
- DonaldFisk 10y ago
  This wasn't unique to VMS. Symbolics Genera had this capability. ITS, VME-B, and I think TOPS-10, also had numbered file versions.
  - atsaloli 10y ago
    Fair enough. My computing career started in the nineties on VMS at the Help Desk of Brandeis University, my work-study job.

rgacote 10y ago

The original MacOS was also supposed to copy this revision capability -- imagine, built in document versioning. Versioning was surfaced in the API but apparently never implemented. Had to always be set to 0 (1? long time ago).

dekhn 10y ago

This always caused me to run out of disk space (my quota was 512k).