Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!wuarchive!psuvax1!psuvm!uh2
From: UH2@psuvm.psu.edu (Lee Sailer)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: free software (was Query for the Net )
Message-ID: <90320.195811UH2@psuvm.psu.edu>
Date: 17 Nov 90 00:58:11 GMT
References: <1990Nov6.155810.20604@intelhf.hf.intel.com>
 <90311.140732UH2@psuvm.psu.edu> <1990Nov12.154623.2287@clinet.fi>
 <21683@well.sf.ca.us>
Organization: Penn State University
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>>There may be some compatibility problems with SAS (former
>>Lattice) C, but there is no way Lattice could match the
>>price/performance ratio offered by GCC. GCC comes free.

I've used my share of "free" software.  Some of it is a great bargain.
Sometimes commercial software is the biggest bargain of all, though.
Try this thought experiment:  Take 100 Amiga programmers.  Divide them
into two groups of 50, called A and B.  Assign each programmer in each
group the task of writing some non-trivial C program.

Group A calls Lattice and orders the compiler.
Group B starts FTPing around looking for GCC.
You pay them by the hour.


My bet is that by the time all 100 had finished their programs, you would
have paid the Lattice group a lot less.

On the other hand, group B would know a lot more about the GNU compiler.

                                                                     lee