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From: plb@omsvax.UUCP (Phil Barrett)
Newsgroups: net.micro.pc
Subject: Re: DeSmet C
Message-ID: <898@omsvax.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 7-May-84 16:04:10 EDT
Article-I.D.: omsvax.898
Posted: Mon May  7 16:04:10 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 13-May-84 00:27:43 EDT
References: <7170@unc.UUCP> <6903@umcp-cs.UUCP>
Organization: Intel Corp, Hillsboro, OR
Lines: 43

I too have been using DeSmet C for a while now and have generally
found it to be a reasonably decent product. There are a couple of
problems which limit the usefulness of the DeSmet package:
	a) the equivalent of libc is not very equivalent.
	   there seems to be no real distinction between
	   stdio functions and 'non-stdio' functions. For
	   example, fread and read are equivalent in that
	   fread does no buffering. Not a terribly severe
	   problem but its indicative of the apparent philosophy
	   behind the library.
	b) Creating .com files. Anybody generated .com files with
	   DeSmet's binder? If you have drop me a line. The problem
	   here is that to do a device driver (er loadable variety)
	   you must generate a .com file. (For those that care, its
	   a program that has ss=ds=cs --- SMALL model, one segment;
	   .com files can't have segment fixups; 0407 type for you 
	   PDP-11 Unixians) Programs generated with the DeSmet product
	   have 'split I/D', ie ss=ds but cs is different (0411 type).
	   Exec2bin (or whatever its called) bitches me out when I try 
	   to feed it a DeSmet program.
	   I've been thinking of munging the assembler output and
	   forcing everything into CS but thats gross :-).

Oh well, so I have a couple of problems with the package. Would I
do it again if I had it to do over? Absolutly yes. At a hundred
nine bucks a shot, its second only to Turbo Pascal as the bargain
of the century (in some ways its better cause you can actually 
write usefull code in c :-)   ).

BTW - I just got the latest C-Ware newsletter/catalog. It has a
graphics libaray for the DeSmet system for $30 (I think). It claims
basica graphics -- whatever that means. I ordered it for yucks, if
its decent, I'll post a review. Also, DeSmet has a debugger called
d88. I suspect that it will be similar to the Intel monitors
which Mark DeSmet designed while at Intel. If thats the case then d88
may be the best debugger for the PC. I ordered it also and will post
a review if its halfway decent.

					Phil Barrett
					Intel Corp
					Integrated Systems Operation
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