ModulaWare Press Release

MaX V4: Modula-2 for Digital OpenVMS Alpha

ModulaWare now delivers V4.12 of the OpenVMS Alpha Modula-2 Compiler MaX with ISO 10154 Modula-2 standard library.

MaX directly generates Alpha AXP native code in OpenVMS object code files, has integrated disassembler and cross reference generator and features:

• Modula-2 as defined in N. Wirth's "Programming in Modula-2" (3rd. edition) with compilation qualifier /NOISO
• most of the important ISO 10154 Modula-2 language extensions, such as
  • array and record constructors,
  • complex arithmetic, empty records,
  • structured function types,
  • multi-dimensional arrays,
  • large sets,
  • additional whole number operators REM and "/",
  • redeclaration of pervasive identifiers (types and procedures),
  • generic real and complex number literals,
  • number conversion with VAL between any scalar and floating point type,
  • additional standard functions: INT, CMPLX, RE, IM, LFLOAT, LENGTH, MAX, MIN; module SYSTEM: MAKEADR, ADDADR, SUBADR, DIFADR, CAST, ROTATE, SHIFT
• whole-number arithmetic for 32 Bit as well as 64 Bit (SYSTEM.[UN]SIGNED_64)
• floating-point arithmetic for VAX- and IEEE-types (SYSTEM.F, D, G, S und T_FLOATING)
• complex arithmetic for VAX- and IEEE-types (SYSTEMF, D, G, S and T_COMPLEX)
• coroutines (very fast transfer/stack-swap (1 ~micro;s), with safe stack overflow check)
• instruction scheduling (enabled via compilation qualifier)
• packed and unpacked record types (enabled via compilation qualifier)
• OSF/Motif-, X11, VMS-, RMS-, MTH-, RTL-, OTS-, LIB-, STR-, ..., mixed language projects; call of procedures written in Oberon-2 or foreign languages such as C, Fortran, or Pascal
• any Modula-2 procedure may be called asynchronously by OpenVMS ASTs
• module dependency analyser/make-utility
• OpenVMS symbolic run-time debugger
• MaX is fully upward compatible with ModulaWare's OpenVMS VAX Modula-2 Compiler, MVR V4.12. Both compilers share the same compiler front-end. The symbol file format is compatible.
• The documentation consists of
  • Modula-2 language report and user's guide,
  • data sheet
  • implementation notes
  • ISO Modula-2 Library Interface Modules and Examples (130KB)
  • ISO Modula-2 Standard I/O Library Test Programs
  • Test Programs for ISO M2's Processes & Semaphores (46KB)
• Distribution media is 4mm DAT-cassette or TK-70 cartridge tape as OpenVMS backup-save-set. Other media on request.
• More MaX details