Xref: utzoo comp.sys.amiga.hardware:5867 comp.unix.amiga:100 Path: utzoo!mnetor!tmsoft!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!julius.cs.uiuc.edu!news.cs.indiana.edu!msi.umn.edu!noc.MR.NET!gacvx2.gac.edu!gacvx2.gac.edu!scott From: scott@texnext.gac.edu (Scott Hess) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.hardware,comp.unix.amiga Subject: Re: unix and memory, sigh (was Re: What Happens I Message-ID: Date: 28 Jan 91 02:37:18 GMT References: <890@amix.commodore.com> <1991Jan24.014652.14960@kessner.denver.co.us> <1991Ja n26.002917.21545@lavaca.uh.edu> <1991Jan26.054948 <1991Jan27.183019.18321@scuzzy.in-berlin.de> Organization: Gustavus Adolphus College Lines: 43 Nntp-Posting-Host: texnext.gac.edu In-reply-to: src@scuzzy.in-berlin.de's message of 27 Jan 91 18:30:19 GMTLines: 43 In article <1991Jan27.183019.18321@scuzzy.in-berlin.de> src@scuzzy.in-berlin.de (Heiko Blume) writes: > When compiling, GCC takes up a meg of RAM just for DATA. do a 'make bigtest' on the flex source sometime, makes for a REALLY big process :-) >Now, sure, UNIX has virtual memory-- but it is not the Holy Grail. It provides >a nice 'catch' for when you do run out of RAM. It also provides a way of >telling you when it has done so-- it starts swapping to disk every time you >switch windows! Actually, it's worse than you might think - most GNU utilities make much use of virtual memory. Before complaining, though, remember that, in general, the more speed/space efficient a program, the harder it is to write, and the more expensive it becomes. GNU stuff is (nearly) free so don't expect it to be the fastest/smallest thing on the block. On the other hand, the GNU compiler does alot more than most PC compilers. Comparing with the IBM PC world (I'm sorry, I'm not so familiar with AmigaDOS compilers), gcc would have to be compared with Microsoft's command-line compiler, and even then the comparison is hardly valid. gcc is fairly good at optimization on the 680x0 architecture (sp?). It's also not designed to be an interactive compiler, which means they didn't have to worry so much about speed/space. Of course, this doesn't me I wouldn't like a quick&dirty, single-pass version of gcc. I work on NeXTs, which use exclusively gcc as their compiler - /bin/cc _is_ gcc, in fact. It's bad enough for me that I log into our file server and make/compile there, so that I need not swap out every other process on my local machine (8M only, alas). I don't want to sound like I'm complaining, though. With memory at $35/Meg, it would be wise to check in and see just how much 4M adds to your machine's functionality (check out a computer store or friend's machine, for instance). -- scott hess scott@gac.edu Independent NeXT Developer GAC Undergrad "Tried anarchy, once. Found it had too many constraints . . ." "Buy `Sweat 'n wit '2 Live Crew'`, a new weight loss program by Richard Simmons . . ."