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From: cmcmanis@sun.uucp (Chuck McManis)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: C-compilers for Amiga are Terrible (was Re: Audio Interrupt vector)
Message-ID: <9705@sun.uucp>
Date: Wed, 26-Nov-86 14:51:35 EST
Article-I.D.: sun.9705
Posted: Wed Nov 26 14:51:35 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 26-Nov-86 20:58:10 EST
References: <8611191016.AA19776@cory.Berkeley.EDU> <1074@zen.BERKELEY.EDU> <1133@zen.BERKELEY.EDU>
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Lines: 48
Keywords: Will there ever be a good C complier?
Summary: Passing along information on the new Lattice compiler

In article <1133@zen.BERKELEY.EDU>, c55-grig@buddy.Berkeley.EDU (Ted Griggs) writes:
> 
> ... edited stuff about bugs and such ...
> My complaint with C on the Amiga is that of the two compilers: 1) Lattice
> has 2 100K compilers and the slowest linker I have ever seen, and 2) Manx
> compiles fast, link fast, and produces small code but on many occasions
> produces incorrect code.
> I have heard Lattice came out w. version 3.?? and a much faster linker.
> I hope that this is true.
> 

Yes it is true, I sent in my Lattice Update card and got my new compiler
on Monday. (about three weeks after they announced it on BIX) The update
cost $75, and included a new manual and the Lattice Text Management 
utilities (grep, wc, splat, file, etc) All I need say is "get the update!"
Some initial reactions :

* New stuff with the compiler includes the TMU package as mentioned above,
  a macro assember called asm (not MetaCompCo compatible), Blink 6.7 (that
  wonderfully fast Alink compatible linker), and a completely rewritten
  frontend 'lc'. New documentation includes the TMU manual and a new compiler
  manual that is spiral bound (yea!) and more complete. Oh, and a zillion 
  new library routines are available too.

* Two things strike you about the compiler when you use it, first it is 
  much faster, and second the user interface is a lot 'cleaner'.

* New options to the lc command are -M to recompile only those files that
  have been modified, and -L which automatically invokes the linker when
  all compiles complete successfully. The compiler still doesn't recognize
  control C during the phases, but if one of the modules in a multimodule
  compile fails to compile you are given the option to exit.

* Two library routines that really stood out were the time routines
  (unix compatible time(), asctime()) and the wild card expansion 
  routines for file names that can programmatically accept MS-dos
  type wild cards or Amiga wildcards.

* And finally Fork() support. But only for programs that were originally
  C sources. BCPL programs don't fork. 

Highly reccomended.


-- 
--Chuck McManis
uucp: {anywhere}!sun!cmcmanis   BIX: cmcmanis  ARPAnet: cmcmanis@sun.com
These opinions are my own and no one elses, but you knew that didn't you.