Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!rutgers!ames!amdahl!pyramid!uccba!hal!ncoast!allbery From: allbery@ncoast.UUCP (Brandon Allbery) Newsgroups: news.admin,news.groups Subject: Re: Making binary groups obsolete (was Re:Are binary groups necessary?) Message-ID: <3677@ncoast.UUCP> Date: Tue, 28-Jul-87 23:33:47 EDT Article-I.D.: ncoast.3677 Posted: Tue Jul 28 23:33:47 1987 Date-Received: Sat, 1-Aug-87 09:26:22 EDT References: <266@brandx.rutgers.edu> <8225@utzoo.UUCP> <272@brandx.rutgers.edu> <153@hobbes.UUCP> <303@brandx.rutgers.edu> Reply-To: allbery@ncoast.UUCP (Brandon Allbery) Followup-To: news.admin Organization: Cleveland Public Access UN*X, Cleveland, Oh Lines: 38 Xref: mnetor news.admin:761 news.groups:1302 As quoted from <303@brandx.rutgers.edu> by webber@brandx.rutgers.edu (Webber): +--------------- | I maintain that writing a simple C compiler for a standard micro is easy | and I will make you the following counter offer: +--------------- Mr. Webber obviously is the sort who doesn't understand why there's so much fuss in the IBM-PC world about memory models. *That's* a *huge* reason why C compilers for MS-DOS aren't _easy_. His proposal also doesn't address: (1) People who need programs for their areas of expertise but whose areas of expertise don't include compiler writing. Snide remarks about people who can't write C compilers don't deserve to get programs are uncalled-for. (2) People who couldn't give a d*mn about compilers, they just want working programs. This is largely a superset of (1). Bob, it may come to a surprise to you that not everyone learns to write compilers while in their architecture/engineering/etc. curricula at college. You've just demoted these people to second-class citizens; a faster way to cause the computer era to end abruptly I can't imagine. If the head of Engineering wants Qubecalc, he is NOT going to buy a Pascal compiler to get it! Sources are NOT the final answer. For many people who use computers, they aren't even the question. Please remember that people other than CS majors use computers. May I also point out that C compiler SOURCES are a chicken-and-egg proposition? You'll have to distribute the compiler as a ***BINARY*** before the people it's targeted for can use it! (Cross-compilers are another thing not available to 99% of computer users.) -- Brandon S. Allbery, moderator of comp.sources.misc and comp.binaries.ibm.pc {{harvard,mit-eddie}!necntc,well!hoptoad,sun!cwruecmp!hal}!ncoast!allbery ARPA: necntc!ncoast!allbery@harvard.harvard.edu Fido: 157/502 MCI: BALLBERY <>