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From: g-frank@gumby.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.micro.68k
Subject: Re: Re: FLAME!!! Re: EA orthogonality
Message-ID: <387@gumby.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 27-May-85 21:10:11 EDT
Article-I.D.: gumby.387
Posted: Mon May 27 21:10:11 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 30-May-85 02:20:13 EDT
References: <5609@utzoo.UUCP> <75600002@ima.UUCP>
Organization: U of Wisconsin CS Dept
Lines: 41

> Every C compiler ever written for the '86 series has ended up
> having several code "models" which do their data and addressing in various
> ways that trade off size of usable address space vs. compactness and speed
> of object code.
> 
> . . . if you put all of the compiler
> experts in the world into a room, they still couldn't find a way to generate
> decent code for an '86 that appeared to have a linear address space like C
> code most naturally wants.
> 
> So as has been said before, the 8086 and 286 are fine for high-performance
> vending machines, but for real computing, please, give us anything else.
> Clever compilers can't paper over this yawning chasm.
> 
> John Levine, ima!johnl

   Clever compilers for almost any language but C can paper over most sorts
of yawning chasms.  The 8086 series is not the first processor without a large
linear address space, and it won't be the last.  The problem is that C is a
programming language written with a particular machine storage model in mind,
and it ports poorly to other architectures.  Modula-2, Pascal, Ada, all are
languages that port quite well to the 8086 family, and produce efficient,
readable code without any sort of trickery required of the programmer.

   The problem is C, not Intel.  If you have programs that require enormous
data arrays, you picked the wrong processor, didn't you?  Otherwise, you just
picked the wrong language.

   Do try to desist from characterizing particular processors as being "suitable
for vending machines," by the way.  I have a stupid 68000 system in my basement
that I can't use and can't sell because there's no software for it, and one of
those vending machines sitting on my desk.


-- 
      Dan Frank

	  Q: What's the difference between an Apple MacIntosh
	     and an Etch-A-Sketch?

	  A: You don't have to shake the Mac to clear the screen.