Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!ria!uwovax!7103_2622
From: 7103_2622@uwovax.uwo.ca (Eric Smith)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Re: GNU/Sozobon C question
Message-ID: <4703.25b43f5f@uwovax.uwo.ca>
Date: 17 Jan 90 14:48:15 GMT
References: <1477@mcrware.UUCP> <75767@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu>
Distribution: comp.sys.atari.st
Lines: 27

In article <75767@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu>, thamer@skiff.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.?

Well, they're all just compilers. But they all support different features.
There are two standards for C; K&R first edition (the original book by
Kernighan and Ritchie) and ANSI C, which is the new standard (and which
is covered in the second edition of Kernighan and Ritchie). All of the
compilers you mention are more or less compliant with K&R 1st edition,
and they all have (different) extensions to it. The GCC also complies
with the ANSI standard (and has extensions to *that* as well!).

I've used Laser, Sozobon, and the GCC. I only use the GCC now; I find the
other compilers quite limiting in the features available. On the other
hand, the GCC pretty much requires a hard disk and 2 megabytes of memory.
If you don't have this much, you might consider one of the alternatives.
Sozobon is a pretty decent compiler, and the price is certainly right.
And the commercial compilers do have the advantage of better documentation
and (often) nice graphics shells, if you care about that.
--
Eric R. Smith                     email:
Dept. of Mathematics            ERSMITH@uwovax.uwo.ca
University of Western Ontario   ERSMITH@uwovax.bitnet
London, Ont. Canada N6A 5B7
ph: (519) 661-3638