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From: raveling@isi.edu (Paul Raveling)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.hp
Subject: Re: HP a good platform for SW development???
Keywords: software development tools, availability
Message-ID: <10306@venera.isi.edu>
Date: 27 Oct 89 19:11:19 GMT
References: <875@mit-amt.MEDIA.MIT.EDU>
Sender: news@venera.isi.edu
Reply-To: raveling@isi.edu (Paul Raveling)
Organization: USC Information Sciences Institute
Lines: 38

In article <875@mit-amt.MEDIA.MIT.EDU>, peter@mit-amt.MEDIA.MIT.EDU
(Peter Schroeder) writes:
> 
> However, I've had a few frustrating experiences regarding the availability
> of software development tools. ...

	It's my impression that new software is often available
	sooner on Suns, but that software quality is generally
	better on HP's for any component available on both that's
	an HP product.

	Third party software is often built for Suns first, and is
	more difficult to port to HP's.  This can be blamed on quirks
	of Sun's Unix environment as easily as on HP's Unix environment,
	and could easily change if software vendors start using more
	HP's for initial product development.

	Although I use and support HP's at ISI, I'm occasionally
	asked to help with problems, usually X11-related, on Suns.
	In addition I occasionally make and test some of my own
	software on Suns before distributing it publicly.  In other
	words my exposure to Suns is limited, but even such limited
	use shows up minor problems ranging from terminal setup to
	C compiler bugs.  The last time I helped someone trying to
	get X11 up on a Sun we stumbled through several atrocities of
	OS behavior that left rebooting as the only recourse.

	There are a few Sun tools, such as perfmon, that I'd dearly
	love to have on HP's.  In general though, given a choice
	of an HP or a Sun, I'd pick the HP.  Don't forget the others
	though -- the DECstation 3100 seems like a good platform
	except for its screwed up keyboard design.  Maybe DS3100's
	or actual MIPS machines would be worth checking out also.
 

----------------
Paul Raveling
Raveling@isi.edu