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From: root@hobbes.UUCP (John Plocher)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: Types
Message-ID: <193@hobbes.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 23-Aug-87 23:18:53 EDT
Article-I.D.: hobbes.193
Posted: Sun Aug 23 23:18:53 1987
Date-Received: Tue, 25-Aug-87 00:39:41 EDT
References: <7264@brl-adm.ARPA> <734@sdchema.sdchem.UUCP>
Reply-To: root@hobbes.UUCP (John Plocher)
Followup-To: comp.lang.c
Organization: U of Wisconsin - Madison  Spanish Department
Lines: 34

+---- Frank Adams writes the following in article <2322@mmintl.UUCP> ----
| 
| (Anyone doing serious development on an 8086 has to think about segments and
| probably make changes to their code to take them into account.  Large model
| runs too slowly, and small model isn't big enough.  This is what is wrong
| with the 8086 architecture -- high level language programmers shouldn't have
| to be concerned about such things.)
| 
| Frank Adams                           ihnp4!philabs!pwa-b!mmintl!franka
| Ashton-Tate          52 Oakland Ave North         E. Hartford, CT 06108
+----

One thing that has bothered me for a long time about the 808x compilers
is the following:
    When I was learning PDP-11 assembler we found out that the compilers
could use branch instructions iff the target was less than +/- 128 bytes
away.  If not, a jump instruction would be used.  Branches were short and
fast, jumps were big and slow.  Obvious.
    Along came the 808x and I find that there were 2 modes for addresses:
short and fast -vs- big and slow; these addresses could be used for code
and data.  Obviously the compiler/linker/loader should be the one to determine
which to use, right?  I mean, if a data object is within 64K of someplace
then "near" pointers could be used; if it is too far, use "far" pointers.
  Boy was I pissed when I found out that things didn't work that way!

		    AAAArrrrrgggghhhh!

All that needs to done is to have each library routine avaliable in each
combo of models, and a smart linker which can use them.



-- 
John Plocher uwvax!geowhiz!uwspan!plocher  plocher%uwspan.UUCP@uwvax.CS.WISC.EDU