Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!EMBL.BITNET!VOGT From: VOGT@EMBL.BITNET (Gerhardt Vogt) Newsgroups: comp.lang.modula2 Subject: Re: TopSpeed 3.0 First Impressions Message-ID: <594BE831A85F60031A@EMBL-Heidelberg.DE> Date: 20 Jun 91 17:21:00 GMT Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU Reply-To: Modula2 List Distribution: world Organization: The Internet Lines: 45 I have read the last two messages concerning TS 3.0 and I have a slightly different opinion about it. 1. Size of the System: It's true, the size of the System has increased, however less than mentioned in the postings. I have now 3 memory models installed for M2, C and C++, plus Source for the M2 library, plus all multi-language and windows stuff, the EXE-files are packed with DIET and I have 9.2 MB on my disk (2.2 MB of this for examples and Lib-Source) 2. Project files are more difficult and more powerful but who cares. I played a bit and it's not that difficult. And normally it's not necessary to change anything in the default pr files. If you like to play with it, it's a nice toy, if not it does not bother you. 3. The size of programs did not change as far as I can see. I have some rather big programs (> 20 source files) and I did not notice a difference. You should switch off error checking before you compare. And even if the EXE-files are bigger, the code must not necessarily be as well. My biggest program is a TSR so I can easily check it's real size when it's loaded in memory. 4. MGDemo works fine on my computer (386-33 with VGA). There was an error in an old version of the program, it did not switch in the proper mode but this was a Source problem not one of the compiler. (I have not checked the new program and I don't remember exactly what it was). 5. I can not run the M2 and the C version of the Window demo because I have not installed the MThread library but i can hardly believe that code generation should be extremely different between M2 and C. Maybe one program was tested with error check and the other without. The idea that WrStr might call printf is somewhat strange. printf is much more powerful than all M2-IO and normally all formatted C-IO is quite slow because of the overhead for interpreting format strings. All library functions have either a Modula or a Assembler implementation. I don't know why the writer of one of the mails thinks, the heap management would call C subroutines, the implementation is in MSTORAGE.MOD and calls COREMEM.A to do the low-level work. The system did not improve very much but it's worth to get the upgrade. Multi- language programming is a good thing and it's easier than in V 2. I would have liked some improvements in the environment and the debugger (it was better than Borland's three years ago but Borland has done a lot and JPI has not. Anyway, I like it Gerhard Vogt EMBL D-6900 Heidelberg W Germany