VMS /V-M-S/ n.
DEC's proprietary operating system
for its VAX minicomputer; one of the seven or so environments
that loom largest in hacker folklore. Many Unix fans generously
concede that VMS would probably be the hacker's favorite
commercial OS if Unix didn't exist; though true, this makes VMS
fans furious. One major hacker gripe with VMS concerns its
slowness -- thus the following limerick:
There once was a system called VMS
Of cycles by no means abstemious.
It's chock-full of hacks
And runs on a VAX
And makes my poor stomach all squeamious.
--- The Great Quux
See also VAX, TOPS-10, TOPS-20, Unix,
runic.