Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!aero-c!jordan From: jordan@aero.org (Larry M. Jordan) Newsgroups: comp.lang.modula2 Subject: Re: BIX - BYTE - JPI - Chaos Message-ID: <1991Apr8.205015.12217@aero.org> Date: 8 Apr 91 20:50:15 GMT References: Sender: news@aero.org Organization: The Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, CA Lines: 38 I must disagree with Mr. Pournelle's condemnation of JPI M2 V2 whose failings--I admit there are failings--are being blown out of proportion. I refuse to believe that I am the only developer who has not stumbled onto any major failings. (As I have indicated earlier on this forum, I have used the V2 product without major incident on on two significant projects, using a lowly 8086!) I was not disturbed by increased disk space requirements--big deal! Or compilation rate-- We're still talking thousands of lines of code per minute! See Peter Coffee's review of Modula-2 compilers in a past issue of PC-Week). I'd gladly chose a 2000 LPM compiler/system that is part of a multi-language platform. I don't do everything in Modula-2. Even if I don't create multi-lang. apps., why should I have to learn a new editor, a new debugger and M.O.? That time is more important than 4000 vs. 2000 (arb. example) LPM compilation rates. True (and unfortunately so) the system is poorly documented when compared with Borland and Microsoft documentation standards. (Even the V1 docs. were pretty Spartan). I don't want an ARM (shouldn't have to suffer one for Modula-2), but would like more details on the object system--specifically about object creation/initialization; more details and many more examples on the use of the pragma system. Let's hope V3 docs show the lesson learned. I would not go back to V1. The OOP extension IMPO appears well integrated (I've implemented an OOP extension to M2 myself and was pleased with what JPI had done). This is still Modula-2. As to the C'ness complaints I've seen leveled at the product--hogwash. I'm not particularly enamored with C, but have not been tainted by using JPI M2! Regarding libraries...If the intent is to build a multi-lang. platform, then one will probably want to capitalize on REUSE. The same debugger, the same code generator, the same or a shared subset of core libraries. At the lowest levels who cares if the same resources are shared by C and Modula-2?! --Larry