Welcome to VM/380 version 1.1!
------------------------------

This point release (1.1) is based on the VM/370 "SixPack" version 1.1, which fixes several bugs found in the 1.0 version.


VM/380 allows you to create 31-bit programs in Assembler or C that are binary compatible with IBM's z/VM operating system.  VM/380's goal is to look and feel as close to z/VM as possible.  Under the hood, this is often achieved in a radically different manner, but as far as possible, this is transparent to the end user or to an application program.


Major features of VM/380 include:

   o   The Gnu C Compiler, with both a "traditional" runtime library
       (PDPCLIB) and a "native CMS" runtime library (GCCLIB).
       Type HELP GCC for information on compiling C programs.  This
       version of GCC was built with the 31-bit version of PDPCLIB and
       is thus capable of compiling very large programs.

       For details on the System/380 31-bit architecture, see the
       System380.txt file, located in the same directory as this
       readme.

   o   A suite of batch files that enable you to use VM/380 remotely
       from a Windows command line prompt.  These are useful for
       automating VM/380 work.

       For details on these batch files, see the batch.txt file,
       Located in the same directory as this readme.

   o   An up-to-date, accurate, and fairly complete help system.
       Issue the CMS command HELP for more information.

   o   Extended parameter list support, meaning it is possible to pass
       mixed-case parameters to EXECs and C programs.

   o   Current line highlighting and multifile editing in EDIT.

   o   Other programs such as DIFF, FLIST, RESLIB, SCAN, VMARC are all
       available on the CMS Y disk.

This inaugural version of VM/380 is distributed as additional files that are added to a VM/370 SixPack version 1.1 installation.  It is designed to run on the Hercules/380 Emulator.

We recommend you login as CMSUSER (password of CMSUSER) for most general work.  This user's minidisks reside on their own volume (the 6th pack), making backup of your own work much easier.
This version of VM/380 is brought to you by Robert O'Hara, Paul Edwards, and Dave Wade. 



Installation:
-------------

Don't install VM/380 on top of an existing VM installation!  If you have an existing installation, rename it out of the way.

This zip file is set up to run on Windows.  Hercules runs on other platforms (Linux, Mac OS), however you will need to make slight adjustments to config files/scripts to run on your platform.  Also, note that the included 3270 emulator runs only on Windows.

1.  Install the current version of Hercules/380 from http://mvs380.sourceforge.net.  Ensure the directory contatining hercules.exe is in your path.  

2.  Unzip the VM/370 "Sixpack" version 1.1 into a directory of your choice, for example, "c:\vm380".  Make sure you choose the option to preserve relative file names.  vm370sixpack-1_1.zip is available for download from http://mvs380.sourceforge.net.

3.  Unzip "vm380-1_1.zip" into a the same directory in which you installed the sixpack.  Make sure you choose the option to preserve relative file names, and to overwrite existing files.  In the "VM" directory (or whatever you call it) there should be three subdirectories:  3270, Disks, and IO.

4.  If you plan to use the batch files, read "batch.txt" for more information.
 


Running VM/380:
--------------------

Run "vm380.cmd" and Hercules should launch, followed in a few seconds by a 3270 terminal emulator.

There are several userids defined:

CMSUSER (password of CMSUSER):  This userid is best for general work on the system.  It has several minidisks defined, all residing on a dedicated disk pack.  You can backup any work you store on these disks by simply making a copy of the disk pack's shadow file, Disks\Shadows\vm3350-61.

MAINT (password of CPCMS):  This is the system programmer's userid.  Logon here if you want to perform system programming tasks.  For example, you could edit the SIXPACK DIRECT A1 file to change the name of CMSUSER to your name, save the file, then issue the DIRECT SIXPACK command to update the sytem directory.

GCCCMS (password of GCCCMS):  Here you will find the source for the GCC compiler, plus useful EXECs set up to help you do bulk compilations of C programs.

Type HELP CMSCMDS for an overview of the available commands.

The included wc3270 emulator is launched from the "sixpack.cmd" file.  You can modify this command file to launch your preferred 3270 emulator.  You can get wc3270 from http://x3270.bgp.nu.  Note that due to limitations in Windows, it is not possible to launch a an emulator as anything but a 3278-2 from a command file.  If you want to use a 3278-4, create a shortcut to wc3270.  See the wc3270 documentation for more information on this.



Support:
--------

There is a lively group at http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/hercules-os380.  Please join and contribute!


---

Robert O'Hara
Redmond Washington, August 16, 2009.
