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From: tdn@cmu-cs-spice.ARPA (Thomas Newton)
Newsgroups: net.micro.mac
Subject: Megamax C Problems
Message-ID: <335@cmu-cs-spice.ARPA>
Date: Tue, 9-Apr-85 02:34:44 EST
Article-I.D.: cmu-cs-s.335
Posted: Tue Apr  9 02:34:44 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 10-Apr-85 04:47:52 EST
Organization: Carnegie-Mellon University, CS/RI
Lines: 42

So far, I have run into the following problems with Megamax C:

    BUGS
    ----
    (1) The Toolnames file is not quite right and needs to be changed
        before using CONVERT.  This problem is fairly trivial to fix.
        The most important fix is to remove 'Double' from 'Toolnames';
        otherwise, the compiler stops recognizing the stuff in fmath.h.

    (2) Programs created using Megamax C do not seem to be compatable
        with SkipFinder.  The Mac dies with a 'deep s**t alert ID' of
        3 whenever a Megamax C program exits and SkipFinder is active.
        I first noticed this problem in a program that I compiled.  I
        confirmed it by trying to quit from Megaroids and from a null
        program ("main() {}") while SkipFinder was active.  I haven't
        seen any other programs that are incompatable with SkipFinder,
        so I'm assuming that the bug is probably in the C compiler.

    MISFEATURES
    -----------
    (3) Desk accessories created using Megamax C are not 'purgeable',
        i.e. they cannot be thrown out of memory when space is tight
        and be swapped back in as needed.  I used the Resource Mover
        to set the purgable bit on one DA, and was "rewarded" with a
        bomb when I tried to use it.  (Of course, this particular DA
        was bombing in different ways before, seemingly related to a
        lack of free memory on my 128K Mac when running MacPaint...)

        The compiler does seem to generate working desk accessories;
        it's just that it would be nice to be able to generate desk
        accessories that are purgeable.  All of the desk accessories
        supplied for Apple, by instance, are purgeable.  So I'm not
        sure whether to classify this as a bug or a misfeature.

    (4) There is no debugger, and the editors supplied (FILE and EDIT)
        are downright pitiful when compared to Unix Emacs, GNU Emacs,
        20 Emacs, Hemlock, or even less powerful editors like Oil.  I
        don't actually know of any decent editors on the Mac, so this
        really isn't an indictment against the Megamax compiler per se.
        (What I would really like to have is a Unix EMACS-style editor
        that takes advantage of the mouse like Microsoft WORD without
        sacrificing keyboard control or programmability.)