Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!husc6!sri-unix!rutgers!cbmvax!daveh
From: daveh@cbmvax.UUCP (Dave Haynie)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: A500 and tools inquiry
Message-ID: <2340@cbmvax.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 14-Sep-87 14:27:02 EDT
Article-I.D.: cbmvax.2340
Posted: Mon Sep 14 14:27:02 1987
Date-Received: Wed, 16-Sep-87 01:05:48 EDT
References: <12334424939.21.GU.KOPEC@SCIENCE.UTAH.EDU>
Organization: Commodore Technology, West Chester, PA
Lines: 45

in article <12334424939.21.GU.KOPEC@SCIENCE.UTAH.EDU>, GU.KOPEC@SCIENCE (Mark Kopec) says:
> 
> 1)  I need a good machine that I can program EASILY in C and Assembly.  How
> good is Lattice C?  Is it easy to use?  As one whom has experience with KCC
> and Lightspeed C, I must say that I found Manx C horribly difficult to use by
> comparison.  Will this experience be repeated if I purchase Lattice 4.0?
> And which assembler is the preferred choice?

Both Manx and Lattice adopt the more UN*X-ish mode of operation; basically an
edit-compile-link loop, where compile (or make) is launched from a CLI.  I've
never used LightSpeed C, but I understand that uses the Borland-style 
method of compiling and linking from within an editor, which speeds things
up considerably.  

While neither Manx nor Lattice is designed to do this, neither is PCC on UN*X
machines, though if you've ever used Gosling's Emacs under UN*X, you get the
same effect through editor commands.  While I haven't seen a public domain
editor that does exactly this yet for the Amiga (Maybe Lattice has added such
features into its vi-like editor), I get pretty close just using standard 
tool.  Basically, I fire up an Emacs process and a CLI process.  Then I 
CC or Make, redirecting output to a pipe.  Then I click over to the Emacs
window, and load the pipe into a buffer.  So I end up with errors in one
Emacs window, source in another.  I have to manually ^XG to the proper line
numbers, but it's no big deal.  A simple hack to the source of the uEmacs
program, or perhaps a macro, could automate this process.

The latest entry on the Amiga compiler market, OXXI Modula 2, has such a fully
integrated interface, and claims a peak compilation speed of 30K or so, faster
than current version of Manx or Lattice (don't know what they're claiming for
Lattice 4.0).
> 
> 3)  Is any expansion box planned for the A500?  I have a few hardware projects
> in mind, such as an interface to temperature and humidity sensors.  Though
> this is of slightly lower priority, it would be nice to have this option.
> Unfortunately I cannot afford the A2000.

C-A's not making one, but third party companies will certainly be producing
A2000-style expansion boxes for A500 machines.

>  / / /\/  \    Mark Kopec

-- 
Dave Haynie     Commodore-Amiga    Usenet: {ihnp4|caip|rutgers}!cbmvax!daveh
"The A2000 Guy"                    PLINK : D-DAVE H             BIX   : hazy
     "God, I wish I was sailing again"	-Jimmy Buffett