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Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!mcnc!ecsvax!ranger
From: ranger@ecsvax.UUCP (Rick N. Fincher)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple
Subject: Re: Apple Ada
Message-ID: <3176@ecsvax.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 19-May-87 14:41:06 EDT
Article-I.D.: ecsvax.3176
Posted: Tue May 19 14:41:06 1987
Date-Received: Wed, 20-May-87 05:54:56 EDT
References: <8705131249.aa17025@SMOKE.BRL.ARPA>
Organization: UNC Educational Computing Service
Lines: 38
Summary: Why Not?

In article <8705131249.aa17025@SMOKE.BRL.ARPA>, jshaver@APG-5.ARPA (John Science Fiction & Resume Service Shaver) writes:
> the Intel 310.  A full up Ada will require a mini, not a micro.
> 

Why the only thing a mini can do that a micro cant't do (as well) is support
multiple users.  The //gs can go up to 8 MB of memory.  Even 64K machine
can do significant amounts with overlays, although slowly.  Anyone who
makes a blanket statement about a particular program requiring a mini
to run just doesn't understand how computers work.  A friend of mine
just got out of the Air Force.  In her job she converted the Air Force's s
complete logistic system from an old system to a new one.  The old system
was a Univac.  It had 32K of vacumum tube memory.  The old PDP 11 and 
Data General Nova "minis" has between 32K and 128K of RAM.  C and Unix
were developed on a PDP-11.  These machines had operating systems that
allowed paged memory management.  Most micro operating systems don't
support this, but good compilers support overlay systems that give much
of the same functionality.  A compiler is just a program, so there is no reason why
a large compiler can't be broken down into overlays, use intermediate files
and other techniques to compile long programs on a micro.  The long programs
can in turn be br oken down to run on a limited memory machine.

Prodos 16 on the //gs can manage memory and bring code segments in from
disk automatically when needed, if you are short of memory.  But with
up to 8 meg, chances are you waon't run short.	

Sounds like you have been talking to a mini-mainframe fanatic.  These
folks like to spread stories around about micros not beinfg able to handle
this task or that.  I guess they think it helps keep their job secure.
After all If a cheap micro that you can run yourself will do the job ,
why buy an expensive mini, build a machine room to house it, pay someone
to run it and pay 5 digit figures for the priviledge of running the
operating system, annually, not to mention the cost of application software
whiu
which is usually inferior to micro software anyway.
No thanks, I'll keep my Apple.

Rick Fincher
ranger@ecsvax