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From: toma@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM (Tom Almy)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.modula2
Subject: Re: how to make libraries
Message-ID: <7806@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM>
Date: 15 Jul 90 19:50:38 GMT
References: <1611.269E1B18@puddle.fidonet.org>
Reply-To: toma@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM (Tom Almy)
Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Beaverton,  OR.
Lines: 20

In article <1611.269E1B18@puddle.fidonet.org> Jason.Kankiewicz@f345.n109.z1.fidonet.org (Jason Kankiewicz) writes:
>Do you have any idea why Borland undertook the development of a Modula-2 
>compiler?  They must have known that a decent implementation would have  
>directly competed with their previously successful (and probably most  
>famous product) Turbo Pascal.

If the size of the market for all compilers was limited, that would be true.
But while there probably be fewer Pascal compilers sold, the combined total
for both compilers would be much larger (everybody who owned Turbo Pascal
would just have to buy Turbo Modula-2, and "complete the collection"). 

If anything they were scared off by fear of too small a market -- after all
they abandoned Prolog and BASIC for that reason. On the other hand, they
went after C with great success, and now more recently C++. Yet they haven't
destroyed their Turbo Pascal market.

Tom Almy
toma@tekgvs.labs.tek.com
Standard Disclaimers Apply
(I have Turbo Pascal, Prolog, C, and C++)