Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!harpo!seismo!hao!hplabs!sri-unix!HUNEYCUTT@GUNTER-ADAM
From: HUNEYCUTT%GUNTER-ADAM@sri-unix.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.micro.pc
Subject: C86
Message-ID: <15205@sri-arpa.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 10-Jan-84 23:57:00 EST
Article-I.D.: sri-arpa.15205
Posted: Tue Jan 10 23:57:00 1984
Date-Received: Mon, 9-Jan-84 01:49:43 EST
Lines: 43

From:  Doug  <HUNEYCUTT@GUNTER-ADAM>

Lauren, et al

  I've talked to George Eberhardt of CI a couple of times a week for the
past 7 months, as we're beta testing C86 on a Z-100 here.  Latest word 
about new stuff is as follows:

  New versions (as mentioned earlier) for release in early 84.  Will
  include small and large models, and full MS-DOS 2.0 and later support.
  This makes sense, as the package is under development on an XT.

  Cost is still around $400.  An overlay linker, similar to Lattice's,
  will be available 'soon', but won't cost anywhere near the $400 that
  Lifeboat charges over and above the $500 for Lattice C.  C86 currently
  supports overlays, but the usage is pretty kludgey.

  No royalties have been imposed for stuff you develop.  Also makes sense,
  since the output from an optimising compiler is relatively impossible
  to take apart.

  Some very interesting things are on the horizon.  The version currently
  in the works (release around mid-summer) runs the Byte benchmark in 
  around 4 seconds.  The original release ran it in 17 secs, and the 
  current optimizing beta runs it in around 12.  Also mentioned from two
  different sources in CI is a currently working C interpreter.  This could
  be handy.  Is uses most of the existing library for C86, and is reputed
  to be compatible with the compiler.  (not released yet, so this officially
  falls under the classification of 'rumor').

My dealings with vendors have shown me one disturbing thing about the recent
adoption of Lattice at the Microsoft C compiler.  This is that Microsoft
has liscensed Lattice THROUGH Lifeboat!  This means that for us to get a
vendor (Zenith, IBM, TI, etc) to offer us Lattice means a chain of 4 
organizations we would have to pass through to get bug reports, etc, back 
to the authors.  My dealings with both Lifeboat and Microsoft have been 
very discouraging from the user support standpoint.  CI has shown an interest
in user experiences greater than any I have experienced.  These facts alone
would convince me to buy C86, even if I didn't think that it was clearly
the better package.

Doug
-------