4 ms·

> VMS was definitely more elegant Please, can you offer an example for this?

• mimixco 6y ago
  After 30 years away from it, I can't. But others have echoed my comments. Perhaps Bitsavers has some VMS doc. One thing was clear: you could learn VMS from the manuals. That wasn't the case with any Unix manuals I've ever seen.
  • michaelcampbell 6y ago
    > One thing was clear: you could learn VMS from the manuals. Is that a defining characteristic of "elegance"? So far from the threads here all I've come away with is that VMS was easier to learn and/or had better docs, not that it was necessarily any better at actually performing work.
    • mimixco 6y ago
      Turing proved that the only difference between any two computers is how easy they are to program and how fast they run. All computers are functionality equivalent in that every computer that can be made can solve all the same problems as any other computer which has ever (or can ever) be made. So, in that sense, yes. VMS was more elegant than Unix because its design, syntax, and documentation made it easier and faster for users to grok and complete their tasks. As far as how fast or well the programs run, that's all about implementation details.