Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!crdgw1!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!samsung!umich!sharkey!msuinfo!news
From: draper@cpsin2.cps.msu.edu (Patrick J Draper)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.modula2
Subject: Re: Working with FST Modula-2: Opinions, anyone?
Keywords: modula, modula-2, fst, compiler
Message-ID: <1990Oct25.195628.324@msuinfo.cl.msu.edu>
Date: 25 Oct 90 19:56:28 GMT
References: <1990Oct25.030545.16556@coyote.uucp>
Sender: news@msuinfo.cl.msu.edu
Reply-To: draper@cpsin2.cps.msu.edu (Patrick J Draper)
Organization: Dept. of Computer Science, Michigan State University
Lines: 58

In article <1990Oct25.030545.16556@coyote.uucp> jmh@coyote.UUCP (John Hughes) writes:
>
>I've been using Roger Carvalho's Fitted Software Tools Modula-2
>compiler for quite a while now, and I've come to like it. Other
                                     ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Well I like it too. I've used FST for a couple of months now, and have
few complaints.

>than some I/O mechanisms I didn't agree with (and which were
>easily changed, since registered owners get the sources to all the
>library modules) I really haven't run into anything that seemed
>insurmountable.

The source code is the reason I registered. It's been a while - maybe
it'll arrive soon.....

>
>Granted, it may not be the best compiler for extremely large projects,
>or those that require object overlays and such. Then again, maybe it
>is... I don't know, since I haven't really done anything that fits
>into the catagory of what I consider "large" with it yet.

In my opinion, you can do large projects with FST. The only problem
you'll encounter is a huge *.exe file. From the standpoint of
reliability, FST is fairly bug free, and none of the bugs I've seen will
interfere with writing very large programs. The linker is kind of slow
compared to the compiler, and I really wish there was a way to
substitute an editor for the mc editor. Maybe if there was a compiler
switch to exit the compiler after errors instead of going to the
integrated editor. 

>
>So, does anyone have opinions about this shareware product? Is it
>suitable for large projects? How does it stack up against the
>commercial compilers? Should I consider switching to a commerical
>compiler?

The FST compiler is sweetness. I can't think of any better bargains
anywhere. The price and features are just right.

>By the way, for those not familiar with this product, it can be
>found on many BBS's around the US. The shareware distribution version
>is also available from the FST BBS at (214) 517-4629. There was
>also a conference on the BIX system, but I don't know the status
>of that.
>
>-John Hughes
>
>
>-- 
>==============================================================================
> John M. Hughes    | jmh@coyote.UUCP                  | Programmer at large,
> P.O. Box 43305    | john.hughes@emdisle.fidonet.org  | or large programmer.
> Tucson, AZ 85719  | noao!coyote!jmh                  | Take your choice,


Patrick Draper --- Michigan State University