Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!brunix!rjd From: rjd@cs.brown.edu (Rob Demillo) Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st Subject: Re: GNU/Sozobon C question Keywords: c atari st Message-ID: <25724@brunix.UUCP> Date: 17 Jan 90 03:45:45 GMT References: <1477@mcrware.UUCP> <75767@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu> Sender: news@brunix.UUCP Reply-To: rjd@cs.brown.edu (Rob Demillo) Distribution: comp.sys.atari.st Organization: Brown University Department of Computer Science Lines: 81 In article <75767@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu> Mustafa Thamer writes: > >What is the difference between Sozobon, GNU (gcc), and C compilers >like Laser C or MWC. Are they just different compilers or >improved/modified languages. I've heard a lot fo talk about >GNU stuff and was wondering what's the big deal.? > The GNU project stands for "GNU's Not Unix." It is composed of mostly volunteers, and overworked, underpaid hackers whose sole purpose is to port the UNIX(tm) OS, environment and accompanying utilities and tools into the public domain (with source code) on a variety of platforms. They are basing their philosophy on the old hacker ethic that knowledge should be free, and, to directly oppose AT&T's "no source code" license, they are rewriting everything from scratch and *giving* it away. It's a monumental effort, but there are company's out there supporting them. (Most micro computer and workstation companies have donated equipment to the project...it's gotten quite large.) Anyhow, there stuff seems to work fairly flawlessly. The have emacs, several compiliers, and most utilities running on a large group of plateforms. Which bring us to: gcc - this is GNU's public domain C++ compiler. It comes with source code for the Atari, and a Sun-Atari cross compiler. C++ is *not* C, but a metaset language encompassing most ANSI C syntax. The extensions are in the areas of Object Oriented Programming (OOPS) Systems. (MODULA is such a language.) These extensions allow you to have several job processing running "at once" (or seemly) by treating code functions as OOPS objects. We have gcc on the Suns at work, and it works quite well. I just got gcc for the Atari ST, but I haven't gotten around to installing it yet. It's quite huge. (With source, binaries, documentation, cross-compilers, etc if comes to a little over 14 Megabytes.) Other C compilers you asked about: Sozobon C: Another public domain C. And amazingly well done. It conforms with K&R standards, and supports GEM and AES calls. Its YAPAFS. (Yet Another Piece of Amazing Free Software.) There are a lot of talented people out there with a lot of time on their hands! MWC: Mark Williams C. This is a commercial piece of software. It comes with a UNIX-like environmental shell, and conforms (supposedly) to K&R. The two people who I personally know who have MWC don't care for it. I have no first hand experience with it, so I can't judge. Laser C: Formerly Megamax C. This is also commercial. Frankly, I love it. It can either be operated from a UNIX shell (golum works quite well), or from its own menu oriented programming environment. Laser C shines the brightest in this latter environment. The shell caches your code and binaries during the first compile/link stage. After that, it changes only the modified parts of the source and binaries in cache. The results are impressive. Huge (and I am talking about 10's of 1000's of lines of code) compile and link at blinding speeds. It also comes with a debugger I've grown quite dependent on. Both Laser C and MWC sell for the $110-$140 range. Hope this all helps. - Rob DeMillo | Internet: rjd@brown.cs.edu Brown University | BITnet: DEMILLO%BRNPSG.SPAN@STAR.STANFORD.EDU Planetary Science Group | Reality: 401-273-0804 (home) "I say you *are* the Messiah, Lord! And I ought to know, I've followed a few!"