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From: prindle@NADC.ARPA
Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm
Subject: Re: CBM C Compiler Talk
Message-ID: <5293@rutgers.rutgers.edu>
Date: Thu, 22-Oct-87 13:11:04 EST
Article-I.D.: rutgers.5293
Posted: Thu Oct 22 13:11:04 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 25-Oct-87 01:24:19 EST
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From: prindle@NADC.ARPA (Frank Prindle)

I have used a 1581 and C Power 128 (AKA Power C - 128 version).  The real
power of a 1581 with C Power 128 is that the 1581 supports more than 144
directory entries per disk, even when not partitioned.  Thus, you can put
all the tools (boot, shell, compiler, editors, linker, librarian, headers, etc.)
*plus* all the libraries (math.l, stdlib.l, syslib.l, stdlib2.l, syslib2.l,
and all the object modules for the library functions) on each 1581 work disk
you use, and still have the most of the disk (>75%) free to hold your
own C programs (utilities, sources, objects, executables, etc.)!  The software
development scenario then becomes a dream.  Keep your temporary sources,
objects, and executables on the built-in ramdisk (this has nothing to do
whatever with the 17xx ram expansion modules!).  The compiler first pass loads
in 7 or 8 seconds (eat your heart out, 1541 owners!).  The whole compilation
of a trivial (e.g. 30 line) C program takes only about 25 seconds.  Now for
the best part - without swapping disks, link your object(s) and ask the linker
to search the libraries - library linking is quite a bit faster than either a
1541 *or* a 1571 due to the 1581 full track cache (the whole directory is read
from the disk during a single disk revolution).  Top all this off with the
ability to protect the boot sector (from deallocation by the DOS "Valdiate"
command) by using a 1 sector partition, and you can see how the 1581 mates
*very* nicely with C Power 128.  You have to work over the boot sector and
the BASIC program SHELL a little bit to get them to boot off of any device
instead of just 8 (presuming you want to keep a 1541 or 1571 as device 8 so
you can load all those games!).  Here is a typical development scenario
for a simple (1 file) program, where the turnaround time (for a small
program in the range 30-100 lines) is under 2 minutes (from completion of
editing to a runnable program):

BOOT U9
$ setu 0 9 0
$ setu 1 9 0
$ rdon
$ cp 0:myprog.c 2:
$ ed 2:myprog.c
  -- edit the program all you want --
$ cc 2:myprog.c
$ link
> 2:myprog.o
> ^
>
  enter program name: myprog
$ myprog
  -- run your modified program --
  -- maybe it still doesn't work quite right --
$ ed 2:myprog.c
$ cc 2:myprog.c
	.
	.
	.
  etc. until you get it right
	.
	.
	.
$ rm 0:myprog.*
$ cp 2:myprog.* 0:
$ bye


Sincerely,
Frank Prindle
Prindle@NADC.arpa