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From: todd@islenet.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.micro.pc
Subject: Re: Modula II query
Message-ID: <333@islenet.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 19-Apr-84 10:14:10 EST
Article-I.D.: islenet.333
Posted: Thu Apr 19 10:14:10 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 22-Apr-84 08:26:58 EST
References: <192@wdl1.UUCP>
Organization: Islenet Inc., Honolulu
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I just bought the $40 Modula-2 compiler from Modula Research Institute
(phone 801-375-7402 for order forms & licensing terms).  Unfortunately,
I have not had enough time to really make some tests (or even read the
entire manual for that matter!).  However, I can say the following:

	1. It works as advertised and expected
	2. It is the only current Modula-2 implementation for the ibm-pc
	   that supports the type 'real' without an 8087 installed
	3. It comes with enough info to write assembly routines for
	4. It comes with its own linker
	5. Source code for the compiler is available for $160
	6. It compiles very slowly (4 pass compiler)
	7. It compiles to M-Code (not native)
	8. Due to '7' it executes reasonably quickly (much faster
	   than interpreted BASIC or BASICA but not nearly as fast
	   as Lattice/Microsoft C (but then what does on the pc?)
	9. M2 from MRI at $40 is definitely worth getting for
	   learning purposes (I don't have any other M2 compiler
	   available to me).  However, I would not use it to write
	   production stuff.

If you want a good fast compiler, take a look at Turbo-Pascal.  It
has enough extensions to make it very usable too (case w/else, etc.).


Todd Ogasawara -- University of Hawaii -- Dept. of Psychology
          { dual, vortex, uhpgvax }!islenet!todd