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From: lewis@axiom.UUCP (Lewis Gordon Pringle Jr.)
Newsgroups: net.micro.mac
Subject: Re: Portability of Mac Source
Message-ID: <151@axiom.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 23-Dec-85 13:10:13 EST
Article-I.D.: axiom.151
Posted: Mon Dec 23 13:10:13 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 25-Dec-85 01:39:33 EST
Organization: Axiom Technology, Newton MA
Lines: 32


>Who the &*()%^ cares whether mac code is portable?  Why should the power of
>the machine be decreased by several orders of magnitude just so the program 
>will run on stone-age machines?  I for one do not want to turn my mac into

	Well, I think that many people care if mac code is portable.  I happen
to be good friends with a Lisa owner who REALLY wishes more mac code was
portable.  Well written programs need not work on only one configuration of one
machine, in order to take advantage of 'the power of the machine' that you
are running on.

	I think the attidute that writing mac software is a Holy experience,
and mac programs shouldn't be desecrated with hints of portability is a crock.
I applaude the macs user-interface, and I think that all mac programs should
maintain it, but I am convinced that they can do so and still give thought
to the future.  What of future genaration macs (the Mac+++^3), and other
existing machines (like the Amiga, etc ..).

	Writting protable code doesn't necessarily mean that you make sure that
the program works perfectly on all machines it might ever be run on, but
a well designed and implemented program should not be too difficult to port
to a simmilar architecture (like Mac to Amiga).  I think that most people
can deal with not counting on the number of pixels wide the screen is.

					Merry Christmas,
							Lewis.
-- 

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